Chapter Six Hundred And Sixty Eight – 668

The raiders were long gone by the time Felix arrived. It was less a matter of speed than the raiders own Skillthey seemed to have disappeared into the undergrowth with very little sign. Thankfully, Vess had her Gaze of the Unseen Hunter.

It was developed as a way to hunt monsters, she had said, a certain heat in her voice. But tonight men shall suffice.

Tracking them by the faintest traces of Mana they had left on the moss and logs, their party sped across leagues of swampland. In addition to Vess, Evie and Pit came with Felix while the rest stayed behind. The raiders seemed to stick between the dragon statues of the Gloaming Waythey were clearly familiar with the swamp and its wards and were unwilling to risk its confusion-inducing magic.

It quickly became apparent that the raiders were more like hunters. Traces of monsters preceded the tracks they followed, hoof-prints it looked like, and they were large. Not Pit sized, but certainly bigger than a horse. These creatures seemed to lead the raiders on quite the chase, weaving in and out of the Gloaming Way wards.

An hour later, Felix came to a stop right where the swamp began to give way to rising, drier patches of land. Evie, Vess, and Pit followed close behind. In addition to Abyssal Skein coating their bodies, a copse of trees hid him and the others, each one only wrist-thick but three dozen strong.

There, behind the creeping vines, Pit said.

I see them, Vess said, her voice tight. Felix could feel the anger radiating off her, like heat from a stove.

Whyd you call them raiders, Pit? Felix asked.

Pit shrugged. Its what they called themselves. Remember, were raiders, they said.

Dont look like much, Evie whispered.

There were five of them, all Human and male, just as Pit and Hallow had described, and they were beyond dirty. Muck and grime covered them, head to foot, relieved only by the mismatched pieces of rusted armor worn over thick, padded cloth. Two bore swords. The other three all had bows and they were intensely focused. Not far away, a pack of deer-like monsters stood among the mossy stones, so still that their pelts faded into the background. Quite literally; their edges blurred with some sort of concealment magic.

While Abyssal Skein hid their voices as well as their forms, the raiders had no such Skills at their disposal. Their voices were quiet, but with focus every one of Felixs party could make out their words as if they were being spoken directly into their ears.

Think thisll be enough?

Has to be. We havent caught nothin in three days, and my belly is hurtfully empty.

You? I dont care about you. I care about keepin those kids quiet. I told you takin them with us was a bad idea.

It was the only way, or did you want all of us dead in those villages? Now take your shots and dont miss, or youll have to answer to the boss.

Three separate throats swallowed nervously, and their bows lifted up behind the vines. Soft, subtle magic worked across their arrows, each one clearly being prepped with a Skill as they took aim at the herd.

They released.

The first sank into the meaty rump of one monster, but the others immediately scattered. Arrows snapped and shattered against the rocks. The injured creature tried to run too, bleating pitifully, but two arrows punched through its chest. It fell limp to the earth, dead, and started to smoke.

Move! Quick-like!

I am!

Two of the archers rushed out of their hiding spot directly for the deer-beast. One pulled a curved dagger from his waist and slashed it across the monsters neck, loosing a torrent of blood as a separate sort of power spread from the cut. The smoke cut off, stopped by the enchantments on the dagger until they could skin it properly.

Sivas Grace but this thing is bigger than an Avum!

Lift with your backs, nitwit! Or is all that Strength you got useless? The birth of this content finds its genesis in N?v€l??n★

Well know soon. Evie is tracking them back to their hideout now. We just need to catch up, which is why Im doing the building from now on. I dont want to waste any more time than necessary.

Beef straightened up. Right. Go for it.

Felix considered the road behind them. Each span was painstakingly constructed by his teen friend, and it looked considerably more stable than his first attempts. Beef, your new Skillcan you take things apart?

I can take apart the stuff I built, but not likeI cant tear a monster apart like you can.

Good. Destroy the road.

What! Beef covered his mouth before whispering. What? Why?

This was always the plan. We cant leave evidence behind. If you can deconstruct your chitin, then this should be simple.

Simple? Thats miles of road.

You can pull power from the decomposing swamp. Besides, its all connected.

No it isnt. I stopped whenever we could walk over those little islands. Even if I could break it all down, the process would stop at the first chunk of mossy rock.

No, Beef. Listen to me. Listen. Felixs arm crackled with lightning, and in his vision millions of faint blue lines appeared in all directions. I know you cant see them, but can you hear them?

Beef swallowed but closed his eyes. His bull ears twitched. II cant. Its just bugs and birds out there.

Felix cut off his Adamant Discord. Try. And listen with your Affinity while you do it.

Beef knelt down on the ground and laid his hands on top of his rough, chitin pathway. Blackened-green and brown Mana flowed from his hands, allowing his thick fingers to sink into the hard surface like water. Rippled spread, but only a few inches.

I feel it, the entropy around me, Beef said. His voice was thick with effort. I can break this.

All of it? All at once? Felix asked.

I More Mana poured from his hands and the base of his skull, surrounding his horns like a corona of dark light. I think

The road behind them began to break apart, sublimating from a solid to ephemeral wisps. It started slow, crumbling only a few inches, then began to pick up. Felix watched, not only Beef, but the connections all around him. Lightning danced across his arms and eyes as Adamant Discord revealed those blue lines. Those connections were more than physical; they existed on a conceptual level as well. If he were touching something, Felix could grasp his connection to that thingbut it also worked if he had touched it in the past, or it meant a great deal to him, or had something to do with his powers. Connections were strange and seemed intrinsically tied to significance. Near as he could figure, they were some combination of the Corporeal, Cognitive, and Ethereal Realms. Everything Felix had heard or read claimed that the Realms were entirely separate, but hed had been through enough Dark Passages to know that wasnt the case.

Things were a lot more fluid than people knew.

A deep tolling bell rippled across the air, drawing Felixs attention back to his friend. The pathway had half-vanished, but now it ripped itself apart all at once, burning away to smoke like a fuse on a bomb. Felix traced it as far as his vision allowed, and nothing remained.

I did it, Beef said in a small, quiet voice.

You did. Felix helped the kid back to his feet. Got it all?

I think so, yeah. There was wonder on the Minotaurs face. I felt it. That thing you said. For a second, it was like all the scattered bits I made were just one big whole. And I gained two levels in the Skill!

Hell yeah. Felix slapped Beef on the back. Go get Hallow and Ill round up the rest. Time to see if the Eidolons can run.