36 (II)

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In desperation came struggle, and from struggle was an Adept forged. Isaiah learned how to melt into the darkness that day, to let the shadows hide his footsteps and turn him invisible.

Now, this is a sneaking mission. Shiv grinned to himself. Also explains why I couldn’t hear him at all when he was following me. I wonder if this skill can counter Adam’s Awareness… Let’s give this a field test.

Shiv darted among the trees and bled into the shadows. At once, the dense fabric covering his body dissolved into smoke and blanketed him entirely. Shiv could see through the shifting darkness, but from the outside, it must’ve just looked like a trick of the light. To his surprise, the darkness also blunted his footsteps, so he made no noise when the environment was pitch black.

This is proving to be a damn good choice already.

“Isaiah!” The woman sounded like she was on the verge of exploding in rage. There were two other mercenaries flanking her. After a moment’s observation, Shiv realized she was the short, heavily armored Umbral standing at the back of the group from earlier. He also distinctly remembered the high vampire calling her a bitch.

Well, time to start a toxic relationship on the wrong foot. Let’s see if all my practice bullying Adam is going to pay off.

Shiv crept along the edges of the darkness until he was behind the small group looking for him. Then, just as the Umbral was about to call out again, he burst out of the woods and strained his feeble Acting Skill as hard as he could. “Stop. I’ve heard enough of your voice. It’s enough to make someone want to get staked.”

The mercenaries jumped. One of them turned and fired a crossbow at Shiv. He angled his head and let it fly past him. “I didn’t mean that literally, you bastard,” he said with a sneer.

“You bloodsucking shit.” The Umbral stomped toward him. Her castle-gate-like helmet was closed this time, leaving only three slots for him to gaze down at her face. Shiv quickly judged the Umbral to be extremely angry, but also to lack the features to make that rage intimidating. “What did I tell you about keeping your orc pet on a leash? What did I say? That you get to feed if you keep him on point and focused. Was any of what just happened on point or focused?”

“For an orc?” Shiv asked, half-insultingly, half-honestly.

“You…” the Umbral seethed. “Get to the back. Rear guard. You’re pushing the cart with your damned orc. The guild will hear of your conduct. I will make sure you never get assigned to a single protection detail along the Midnight Route or any other routes within Compact territory.”

Shiv just sneered, scoffed, and turned away. This was what he wanted anyway—a means of getting close to the transport again. This is already working out better than me pretending to be a slaver.

Acting > 5

And the System seemed to agree.

By the time he was back with the transport again, he found 811 humming a jaunty tune about smashing humans into dust. Shiv hated to admit it, but the orc had a pretty good singing voice, and the lyrical composition wasn’t half bad either. I’m going to kill the big bastard, but I think I’m going to end up remembering him, ironically enough.

As he passed the front of the cart, he saw a tall and thin man was tugging the chain that 811 used to pull while the orc was pushing from behind. Shiv let out a loud theatrical sigh before he joined the orc in the back. As he approached, the orc grinned at him, flashing rows of pearly white teeth. “So. How did it go? Did you find a speck of blood to lick off the ground?”

Shiv just glared at the orc. He wasn’t acting. These feelings were genuine. And in a strange way, that made what he was doing the best kind of acting. The orc tossed his head back and laughed. “Ah. I have made you mad again. I tell you, Isaiah, that you might prey on these races like me, but you are so like them. So human yourself. Does it ever bother you?”

“What bothers me is when a bloody Master can’t kill some Adept-Tier vermin.”

“Ah, but in his final moment, he laid bare his heart for once, and the System breathed power into him. He fought with strength and beauty. I believe this to be a message. From the System. A vision of what he could have truly been if he were not a slaver in dire circumstance. And it was so tragically beautiful.”

Another trickle of yellow ran down the orcs face, and he sniffled. The large, murderous monster was genuinely emotional. These tears were real.

What the hells, Shiv thought. He shook himself out of his stupor and looked at the cargo. The Animacy Core was right here, bundled tight by cords and ropes and—well, it felt strangely exposed. Under-defended, even with so many powerful mercenaries guarding it. Something was off here. It wasn’t the same kind of off Shiv felt when the orc took him out into the woods to be killed, but there was a piece of the picture that didn’t make any sense.

I still better tag this thing. Like I told Still Water earlier, better to have paranoia than not. Using his new Stealth Skill as best he could, Shiv reached into his cloak—hidden to others by Perfect Semblance—and pulled out a magical tracker. He pretended to stumble and slapped the tracker under the cart. Then he cursed himself, because that was probably the wrong place to put it. He suspected the mercenaries would see the core switched from one transport to another at some point. Shit. Well. I have another tracker. I can just…

“Isaiah? Are you alright?” 811 asked, frowning. “I have never watched you stumble on an even surface before. And your posture… you feel heavier than you did before. You walk like you are much bigger than you are as well—the gait is all wrong. What has happened?”

He can tell that just by observing me? Why did the System put me up against the world’s most observant orc? Shiv cursed. Mustering his own frustration, he managed to snarl out: “Piss off! I’m like this because I’m bloody hungry too.”

811 blinked. And then laughed. “Oh, dear. Oh, dear. I am so sorry, my little friend. You must be feeling worse than I do, considering your lacking Physicality. What was it again? Adept? My, to only endure a single month without food or rest.” But the orc’s eyes glinted with affable cruelty. “But that is not the thing, is it? You don’t need food. You crave it. Crave it worse than I do. Poor, poor little ape-eater. So close in nature to your prey, yet damned to eat them. One wonders if it was truly a blessing to take that parasite into your heart.”

Acting > 6

And Shiv thanked the System for putting him next to the most overly intellectual orc in existence. As much as 811 noticed, he quickly lost himself to tangents and musings. Small mercies.

“I will admit to you, I am disappointed.” 811 sniffled. “I hoped someone might attack us on the way. To force a proper and bloody bout over this… thing.” To Shiv’s astonishment, the orc casually knocked on the densely bundled Animancy Core with a massive fist. But what Shiv heard wasn’t the ringing of bone against steel, but bone against wood.

What?

“You genuinely wish for that? For us to be ambushed?” Shiv poured disdain into his voice but kept things vague.

811 smirked. “Of course. I even have a small hope that we all lose and fall. Just to see the expressions on their faces before I perish and carry over into my 812th iteration. Just for them to realize that the actual prize is not even with us. That it is likely being moved by a more trustworthy and reliable group than a few mercenaries…”

Shiv’s thoughts ground to a halt. He stared at what he assumed to be the core all this time and blinked. The orc laughed again. “Oh, Isaiah, please use that mind of yours. I know you have one, since you managed to reconstruct my entire arm in the span of seconds. A brilliant mind. One soured on the flavor of bitterness and drowning in a depressed ego. Think. Think deeply. Why hire us? Mercenaries are loud. Effective sometimes, yes, but loud. And their honor and professionalism have a price. Imagine how easy it would be for someone of your original Faith to simply buy one of us for information. And think of what that is worth across the Abyss—whispers and threats of a new war.”

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811 drew in a deep breath and sighed. “You smell that? It is the stench of building chaos. Building and building as opportunities and doubt bleed over every crevice in this vast and lovely darkness. Imagine the shockwaves going from the chasm to Penumbra. Now imagine you were to think we have a device of such a nature, but be revealed to be moving some more meager treasure in the end. Disappointment and false information is a vaccine against proactivity. A potent one at that.”

The orc smirked proudly. Shiv blinked.

This was the consequence of rushing into an operation. Of not having enough intelligence. Shiv was beginning to see that clearly now.

Okay. I need to kill him the first chance I get. Because this thing… I hope he’s wrong, but a thing this size and of this nature shouldn’t be allowed to get that smart.Dammit. Shit. I hope Adam heard all of that—or maybe the brooch in my cloak managed to catch some of that. But if this convoy is just a decoy, then… where the hells is the real Animancy Core?

The question plagued Shiv. All the way until they started closing in on the gate.

***

“Shit!” Adam spat as soon as the orc finished speaking. He slammed a fist down on the shroom cap he was hiding on. “Godsdammit all!” His insides tightened. His heart began to race. If this group was just a decoy, then maybe the bomb was already across—maybe this entire thing was a ruse. Maybe—

No. Focus. We solve the problems we can. Think. The hiring of a decoy group means the real core is still out there. That means that it must pass through the gate… or has just recently. No one hires a decoy early. Or late. Decoys are meant to split focus and attention. So…so the best chance we have is getting Shiv inside the gate as soon as we can. We have to get him inside the gate—and the transport crew is the best way to do it.

The Young Lord mastered himself and conveyed what he learned to the others through his brooch. Uva really didn’t like his new plan. The Weaveresses didn’t sound sold either. Adam couldn’t wait. He just couldn’t. They wanted to call this entire thing off since the tracker was pinned, but Adam couldn’t accept this. Not with Blackedge at risk, not when—

“Adept,” Valor said. Adam blinked and regarded the skull. Valor was watching him, the flames inside his sockets dancing. “Think. You were thinking just now, but you plunged into worry again. Think about the process. Think.”

“I—I am thinking,” Adam said, frustration leaking through. “I’m thinking that we don’t know anything, that this entire thing was a waste of time—aside from getting Shiv a better false identity he could use. And I think… I think…” Adam genuinely started to think. “This Animancy Core… It’s pretty volatile, isn’t it? You said it… this is part of a Soulbreaking weapon. The… Soulbreaker Engine. Why would Compact allow someone to move that inside their gate?”

“They would not, unless substantial protections are in place. More than some tarp and a few wards. And the assembling of the engine will take time as well. And cannot be done inside a gate due to the structural damage it might inflict on the gate itself. You have more time than you think. And, more importantly, I suspect that the real transport team will cross paths with the decoy within the gate at the end. Just to muddy the waters further and perhaps swap carts or even members.”

“Right. Right.” Adam swallowed. “Should… Should I end this? Should I end the operation and find a way to get Shiv out?”

Valor didn’t reply immediately. Instead, the skull just studied Adam. “Would it please you if he died for good? Would it mend what is poisoning you?”

“What, no, I…” Adam thought about Shiv being dead. Being truly dead. And… he didn’t like the feeling. “No. No. Absolutely not. I… he’s a freak. A monster. He’s… I know what you’re trying to do here—you’re trying to make me understand my responsibility, but… he can’t die, he’s too… he has that skill! And it wouldn’t be right.”

“What wouldn’t be right?”

“His death. I don’t… he… he still needs to save Blackedge. He needs to save Blackedge with me.” The Young Lord felt something harden inside him. “That’s the only way I’ll ever forgive him. I’ll hate him more if he dies. I’ll hate myself more…”

“So. What do you think is the right thing to do?”

Adam paused. “I…” And then something occurred to him. “What does Shiv think?”

Valor laughed. “Oh, that’s simple. He has an opening to the gate now. So, I think he’s going to try to walk right in and start adapting and planning from the other end if nothing else occurs. He is practical that way. Though the Jealousy… The Greater Demon… I am not sure if his mask can survive its direct scrutiny.”

Once again, the Young Lord started thinking, and eventually, he drew his Spellstring with a sigh. “Well. Let’s see if one reckless deed can create an opening for another. Uva might just kill me…”

“And I will mourn you as a brave disciple if she does.”

“I don’t care for you much, Valor. I hope you know that.”

“And I am primarily using you as a subcontractor to deal with the tedious parts of Shiv’s training. So. I think that leaves things plain between us.”

The Young Lord and the skull shared a glance. Then they both snorted.

“Don’t die, Adam.”

“I’ll try not to, skull.” Adam took a deep breath. And spoke into his brooch. “Uva. Prepare to get your sisters out of the area. I’m going to take a few shots at the Jealousy when Shiv gets close to the gate.”

“You’re what? Adam? Adam!”

It was hard to hear her over the crackles of his burning wings.

***

Shiv eyed the watch towers, expecting them to blast him at any moment. So far, he had passed through multiple layers of defenses alive, but at any moment, everything might go to hell. The grinding sounds his mask made as the Jealousy’s Psychomancy pressed against him added to his worry.

“You seem stressed, Isaiah?” 811 said. “Odd to be such a thing near the end of a journey rather than the start.”

“I need to drain someone,” Shiv muttered, peeking up into the sky. He could see a lot of the wyvern riders doing passovers. A lot of them had mana fields too. Powerful mana fields. A good few were Masters in Psychomancy, Biomancy, Pyromacy, and more. And then there was the Jealousy. A dense layer of cumulus curled around its angular, octopus-like body as its damn eye glared down at the Abyss below, like some kind of twisted mockery of the sun. The Greater Demon was well beyond Master. It was probably Heroic at the very least. Shiv hoped Low-Heroic, because the way his mask’s Enchantment sounded made him worry that it was going to break apart on his face.

Ahead, the archway was activated, the gate was bright with spatial mana, and Shiv could see a vast bridge extending out toward a distant structure. It looked like some kind of metallic pyramid, and a grand chain connected it to the withered sun within the gate. Again, he wondered if it would have been wiser to try and break off and wait, but 811 was watching his every move, and they still needed to find the core.

Shiv didn’t know what was waiting ahead of him, or how he was going to find the actual core, or if his brooch would still work—

A loud crackling sound made him stop thinking. A System notification made him start again.

Equipment: [Mask of False Paths]

Condition: Moderately Damaged

Shit, Shiv growled internally. Guess the damn Jealousy isn’t Low-Heroic after all. He chanced a glimpse upward and looked away when he saw the demon seemingly glaring hard in his direction. Hard to tell with its titanic size, but he was sure that it was really, really focused on him. He prepared himself for what was to come. He didn’t want to lose the mask, but it might be his only chance to get out of here with his mind intact. His escape strategy was simple: Hit the orc as much as he could, avoid making contact with the earth, and launch himself out of this place using Momentum Core. If he did all that just right, he might be able to—

A whistling noise sounded from someplace behind him. Shiv frowned as he turned—and the pressure stopped. The Jealousy wasn’t looking at him anymore, instead, it was staring at a streaming trail of projectiles blasting toward it from the distance. Shiv blinked. The other mercenaries didn’t stop at all—they exploded into a sprint. 811 pushed the cart faster and laughed. In fact, everyone around them was sprinting for the Compact gate as it began to flicker.

“Oh, fools! To strike this late! Come on, blood sipper. Look away. They are the demon’s quarry now. You will not get to have a taste.”

Adam, what the hells are you… Shiv’s thought trailed off as he realized the Young Lord’s intentions. They all knew the Jealousy was the greatest risk to Shiv’s cover. So Adam must’ve been watching from afar, waiting until Shiv got close to the gate before he fired his arrows. This was a distraction. Nothing more. It was a distraction that came with its own risks.

Wyvern riders shot off into the distance. One transformed entirely into a bolt of lightning, crossing the span of kilometers in a flash.

Shiv winced. He hoped Adam didn’t put himself and the others in more trouble just to help him get across. Frankly, he couldn’t see Uva or the others agreeing to this plan so… Well, don’t let the riders get you. And don’t let Uva kill you after.

Uva liked planning and certainty. This was reckless and desperate. She was going to hate this.

“Isaiah!” 811 cried. “Come on. Stop looking. There will be plenty of things to taste once we offload. The slaves are on me, this time.”

Shiv grunted and doubled his pace. Nothing to do but go forward. These were the cards he picked, and so he was going to go forward, and he was going to play.

For the first time in his life, Shiv crossed through a mana gate.

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