Existentially Bound: Part 7
Impenetrable
Much to Harid's worry, his daughter's recuperation time had taken longer than even she had expected. While the magics seemed to be innately familiar to her, the combination of both her own blood magic and her mother's death magic had left the woman in an extremely vulnerable state. The only consolation to her father was that due to the inability to act, the group had a bit more time to plan the incursion. Even Ember's impulsiveness seemed to be subdued (whether due to her friend's state or due to Valandra's influence within her, Harid couldn't tell. But, the man was relieved to include his own small group into the strategy of infiltrating the asuran base, discovered from what Jinx had surmised was a beacon placed by Six Alpha.
Tressa smirked beneath her mask. "A Black Rose can grow in the harshest of conditions. In the heat or in the snow: it matters not. As long as we are not growing separately."
Kimura's cheeks turned as pink as her ill-begotten namesake. She was immediately glad her mask covered everything but her eyes. "I… um…"
The sylvari flashed her golden eyes at her lover, with grin. "She is of great importance to Harid's daughter. This… Six is of his garden; would it not be worth it for this rescue had it been I who had been captured?"
Kimura nodded silently, then swatted at another mosquito.
"I wish I still had my explorer's outfit. The one that had the hat and long sleeves; I didn't know the mosquitoes were quite this bad here near the coast," Paige admitted coming to stand beside the women.
Harid joined them. "I did offer you some of Varyl's elixirs to keep the insects at bay. Not my fault if didn't take me up on the offer!"
"Yes father, but his elixirs smell like dolyak filth!"
A thorny eyebrow was raised as Tressa regarded the man. "This elixir… Is it simply your bottled perspiration, Harid? Such a thing smells extremely similar."
Kimura inadvertently snicker-snorted beneath her mask; it was all Paige could do to stifle her own laugh.
Harid was about to roll his eyes, smirked. "So you smell me, do you?"
"Father! Now is not the time!" Paige said, interjecting and bringing a halt to the uncomfortable perceived flirting.
Emily approached, instantly freezing several bugs which flew near her person. "So, what's the plan then?" she asked, already growing impatient. The Ember side of her wanted to rush into the gates, destroying everything in her wake before finding Six. Yet, Valandra's presence had caution attached to it, and a need for strategy. Thus, and extremely agitated Emily stood fidgeting and extremely anxious.
"If I recall correctly, last time we marched into one of Lennk's labs, it didn't go so well," Kimura said analyzing the distant structure. An obvious asuran entrance hallway could be seen at the base of a giant mountainous wall, directly under the Maguuma Jungle which abruptly stopped above it.
"Jinx wouldn't send us in too dangerous of a situation," Paige offered.
Tressa picked at her hair-like fawn which had found its way out of her hood. "The asura did say it was of 'little activity' since the beacon had been activated."
"'Little activity' can have many connotations," said Kimura, frowning.
"Like a 'little explosion'? I recall that particular asura's explanation of a 'little explosion,' indeed." The ice queen's voice presented itself through Ember.
Harid adjusted his mechanical arm, with a slight grunt. "Well, that's where me and my team come in, yeah? We scout ahead; give the all-clear once there's no signs of traps and danger."
"This would be the best approach," Tahlia said suddenly, taking everyone by surprise. The mystical whisper was silent and light on her feet. Even Tressa, who normally got the jump on others was taken aback at the woman's stealth. She had been extremely quiet on the journey, and had only just emerged from their ship.
"Whisperer, are you certain you want to come?"
Tahlia nodded. "After my conversations combating the insistence of Shiera, I finally convinced the recovering woman to stay behind. She wanted so very badly to confront her former slaver, but the spirits… They told me she must not see what we shall witness."
"Did they tell you of anything else perhaps? What we'll find in there? As crazy as this sounds, Kievaa and Lennk have a plan for every plan! They always seem to be one step ahead of us. Any insight would be helpful." Paige implored the Whisperer. Much to her chagrin, Tahlia simply shook her head.
"Well then, I suppose first a quick, stealthy approach best? Followed by a direct assault?" Tressa said twirling a dagger. Kimura was also already checking her ammunition.
Harid's shoulders drooped slightly. "Dear Five… you're not suggesting with 'Ember it'?"
Ember sighed as ice began to crystallize around her form, creating armor. "Can we just drop the 'Ember it' thing? I will kill everyone; don't temp me!"
Tressa flashed her yellows at the ice woman. "Improvisation? Such is a skill in my line of work; do not dissuade such action, embrace it as your own."
A frosty-lipped smile curled on the woman's face. There was something about how the slyvari spoke to her that resonated, as though through her experiences, Tressa understood the woman's impetuousness and shortness in social situations. Her words had helped her these past weeks and Ember did do as she had said: she leaned upon others that helped support her.
Valandra had been there, as she said she would, both to help console Ember, as well as taking over when Ember needed to retreat. Through the entire grieving process, Valandra had been her glacier: slowly pushing her forward as to not get frozen. The experience had left them both with a solidified core; their barriers slowly melting away as they become one with each other. Ember couldn't imagine herself without the consistent love Valandra had for her. And, Ember could feel her other half felt exactly the same way.
Rodia's voice called from below the cliff, causing the party to scoot closer to the edge. She stood with several large animals, stingray like in appearance, floating upon their own accord at the water's edge. "Had the crew acquire some local trained skimmers so we can make our way there quickly. With Wolf's luck, we'll get there without being detected."
Paige smiled at her friend. "With Wolf's luck and may Bear give us strength," she called out.
Harid raised an eyebrow but ultimately smirked. Paige returned the grin and shrugged at her father. The group made their way down the hill, meeting Rodia and the skimmer contingent at the base, across from the waters leading to the asuran entrance tunnel. There was an electricity in the air - a worrisome anticipation, shared by everyone in the party. Kimura's offhanded comment about the last time attempted to infiltrate Lennk and Kievaa's base resonated with everyone in the group. With one failed operation, they had all but lost everything: their homestead, their estate and everyone within, as well as members of their own… Six Alpha, Valandra, and Demitra.
The skimmers did as expected: the ride was a relatively short one given their speed. Each member is mounted from the beasts, some more effortlessly than others, but all remained steadfast on their mission and the importance of reclaiming one of their own.
Harid squatted beneath some bushes growing from the small beachfront as the majority stayed behind him. Tressa and Kimura both stealthily hid within brush growing from the rocks and somewhat closer to the entrance hallway. Once or twice, Kimura checked their flank to ensure no surprises waited for them in the nearby tree-line, and more than once, Tressa was alerted to what she though was movement in the brush. After a few checks, both women looked to Harid for the all-clear. The man gave them a motion, but remained staring through the scope of his rifle, on alert.
Tressa looked back at Kimura. "Quiet. Discrete… Dark."
Kimura almost giggled from the woman's intensity. Some time ago, she had considered Tressa's demeanor rude; the two had even become something of rivals. Yet she had grown attached to the sylvari, had come to love her, and in turn enjoyed the woman's snark and seriousness. Tressa had changed as well. Her time with House Dejarin and Harid, himself, had allowed her to open up and blossom into something greater than she'd been before. And, every change was a delight to Kimura.
Before the former thief could respond, Tressa was already gone; her footfalls barely audible in the lagoon or the sand of the shoreline. Kimura tried her best to be as discrete, but did make some noise. At the sounds of sloshing through the water, all three of the unit were on the lookout: if there was any automated defenses set to pick up movement or sound, they were now alerted.
Yet, there was none. No blinking lights. No turrets powering up. No force-fields.
Tressa wasn’t convinced. She produced a small pellet filled with a substance, that when thrown down, produced a cloud of smoke. At once, she vanished as the capsule produced the cover. Kimura had seen her partner's move before, and followed in kind. As the winds took the smoke from them, both the assassin and thief were gone, already deep into the entrance way.
Harid grinned. "Good job, girls," he said with pride.
Both the thief and the assassin halted their advance on opposite sides of the hallway, but crouching behind enormous bulbous cylinders with only slightly translucent walls. Their goal lay ahead of them: a sealed door which lead to the facility within. Kimura leaned forward, attempting to gauge the door's lock, a security system, or any type of mechanism she may be required to break to gain access, when suddenly something slammed into the side of the tank from within. She yelped loudly, jumped back several feet, and looked bewilderingly at Tressa. The Black Rose stood, observing her own tank, wiping condensation from it. Inside lay a mass of flesh, which seemed to have been left for dead, the insides of the tube containing scratch marks of the creature's attempt at escape.
Kimura stepped closer to her own tank. Within was a still-moving object, which resembled a deformed and malnourished experiment. "Oh, that's just gross-" Kimura held her hand over her mask, forcing herself to keep from vomiting.
Moving past the abominations, both women continued venturing forward.
"Pink, look," Tressa said, bending down to a bit of dirt which continued to the door and beyond. She pointed to a large displaced impression. "Footprints… Large footprints."
Kimura pointed at a few smaller ones seemingly in no specific pattern. "These look more… confused. Almost chaotic, compared to the large purposeful ones."
"Fleshling blood, here as well. It's dried. Been there a while from what I see…"
Pink Thorn ran her hand along the ridge of dried mud, following its trail. Her lime-green eyes peered at the door as the tracks continued and the dried mud ridge followed it. "Something's definitely been coming and going. Maybe even something dragged in here. A body perhaps?"
The Black Rose couldn't help but taunt. "Wouldn't be any sign if it were me."
"True. So they either they were armatures or just didn't care. I don't like this… This place gives me the creeps. Smells like-"
"Death. I know the fragrance well," the sylvari's skin brightened a moment as the words left her leaf-like lips, seeing the statement wasn't taken as the joke she'd meant it, she continued with the mission. "Let us just get this gate open and inspect the innards before reporting back, yes?"
"Aye," Kimura nodded. She approached the panel, ready to break into the facility, when the door ominously opened. She looked worriedly at her partner, which seemed to echo her feelings, but she knew any hesitation would be met with Tressa's explanation of the importance of the mission, so she simply sighed and nodded.
Both women padded softly into the dimly lit facility. Harid watched with his finger on the trigger of his rifle. Paige, Ember, Rodia and Tahlia came to stand beyond the shoreline, watching with anticipation and dread…
When the door suddenly slammed shut!
"No!" Harid yelled, running toward the entrance, splashing through the waters.
"That's it!" Ember yelled, launching herself with an ice blast forward. "This place is going down!"
"Tahlia, Rodia," Paige said, trying to coordinate the group's advance, but it was already too late.
The norn's long legs propelled her forward, her bow was drawn and she was already shouting, "To battle!"
The group converged in the hallway, advancing forward when a loud deafening roar came from inside, followed by shouting by Tressa and Kimura as guns fired and blades made metallic clangs from the hidden battle.
Harid rushed the door. "Rose! Thorn! We're almost-"
Suddenly the doors exploded outward, as a creature of enormous size forced its way through the group, knocking everyone back. It pushed through the rescue party, in its grip was both Kimura and Tressa, bodies flailing about as it rapidly sped out of the tunnel. Harid shielded himself from the door as it smashed into his metallic arm, barely deflecting the large object. Paige landed with a thud, would have hit her head and Tahlia not acted as her cushion. The Whisperer had her breath taken as the woman collapsed into her. Ember immediately and instinctively erected an ice wall for shielding, watching in shock as the giant creature blazed past.. All regained their footing quickly, and rushed back out, where both Kimura and Tressa were slammed into the shallow waters by what appeared to be a colossal reptilian creature. Its large jaw opened, revealing a head full of sharp dagger-like teeth, as it let out a guttural, primal scream of fury.
"Rose? Tressa… are you…" Harid was immediately assessing any damage sustained.
Her hood and mask removed, Tressa blinked back confusion and pulsed her bio-luminescence as she came to. The worried expression on Harid's face spoke volumes. She grinned a glowing red smile. "Worried about me, are you? And here I thought you did not care."
The man rolled his eyes, helped her up and looked around for his rifle. His eyes lingered on its broken remains only for a minute, before he pulled a scimitar he had brought as a fallback. While his prosthesis didn't allow for much nuanced combat, the man would put the full weight of his appendage behind the weapon and ensure it met its mark.
Tressa was already behind the creature before its roar ever completed, already with daggers sizing up various vulnerabilities of her opponent.
Paige quickly made her way to Kimura. "Are you injured?" she asked, helping the woman up. Her eyes were locked onto the gator-like monster they faced.
Kimura held her head, her hood lost in the scuffle, while her mask remained fixed. Her pink and white hair lay matted from the water in which she had landed. Her pistols were immediately recovered. "I'm fine, but we're not gonna win against this thing. My bullets are bouncing off this alligator's hide!"
Paige raised an eyebrow. "Then maybe I can sap its strength!" She said, beginning to channel the incantation needed to enact the drain.
Harid looked past the monster at his daughter's actions and his heart sank, immediately brought back to his own fears of Paige's mother giving into the raw power which came with such death magic and curses. He looked to Emily. "Do something!" he yelled. "Don't just stand there!" he called out to Tressa, an obvious desperation in his voice.
A dagger formed within Emily's grasp, solidifying the electrical power of lightning, as both Ember and Valandra simultaneously commanded. Her hands began to form miniaturized swirls of storms of bitter frost and cold. Both she and Tressa lunged at the creature, who swiped its mighty claw, propelling the women back. They slammed into the dirt-mound behind them, daggers flying from both their hands.
Tahlia stepped forward, calling forth mystical chains to bind the creature. The ghostly aura of the chains arose from the earth below it, seeking out the monster's very soul to grasp onto. To Tahlia's surprise and horror, however, they collapsed in on themselves, having nothing to grasp. The spell unapologetically sent a shock-wave flying back to its source, forcing the Whisperer to her knees and compelling her down. She groaned, grunted and fought against the unavoidable gravity of her own conjuration.
"Rodia, can you get the Whisperer… Rodia?" Harid said, looking for the tall norn.
From the overhanging rock above, a wolf-like howl abruptly came from above the man as Rodia leaped into battle. In her hand was her bow, letting loose a spirit-magically imbued arrow which flew with haste at the creature. It found it's mark, stabbing into the reptile's shoulder. An painful screech came from the monster, which descended into an angry growl. Rodia landed solidly on her feet, already drawing another arrow.
Valandra roused Ember from the blow, silently pointing out an opportunity. The women were in sync; no need for verbal or mental communication. She stood, held aloft her hand, and called forth lightning directly into the arrow. The bolt came down from the sky in a crackling, sizzling boom, which struck the arrow, forcing its way into the beast. It roared in agony, spun around, snarling at Emily. It rushed the woman, in a manner faster than should have been possible given its size. Emily was almost unable to solidify a manifested ice wall before the creature slammed into it.
"Stop it before it kills her!" Paige yelled as her incantation lifted her from her feet. A glowing murky green aura surrounded the lady as the creature's very life essence began to drain.
"Maybe I can… Shhhhh. It's okay; calm down!" Ember began. The creature was of a reptilian origin, and the woman sincerely hoped her time with drakes could be put to use. The force of the creature's blows made it difficult for the woman to hold the wall, but she continued in her attempt, making hatch-ling-like cooing sounds.
"Emily!" Taliha called out, sitting up from the knock back of her own spell. She swirled her hands in concentric circles, her magic producing astral swords of glowing mist. "I feel only anger within the creature's soul. Flee while you are able to!"
Rodia echoed the woman's statement, darting to get a better shot, but continuing to pelt the monster's backside with deflected arrows. "Creatures of all sorts can be made tame, but not in this state! The beast wants blood! By Bear's strength, it shall see its own!" Rodia peered down her arrow, whispering a spiritual power into it. The shaft glowed a vibrant green with acidic magic that would enter the monstrosity's eye and remove the threat for good.
The monster continually pounded on the icewall, and Paige drained sapped its very life-force, making the monster weaker. Kimura laid down a steady barrage of bullets, which halted as she began to reload. This provided Tahlia, Tressa, and Harid an opportunity for closer combat. With their blades. Rodia steadied herself, awaiting a clean shot. When the creature's eye was in clear view, the norn exhaled in preparation for her arrow's release…
When suddenly, something from above caught the norn by surprise. Fearing another creature of this one's pack had flanked them, Rodia quickly spun around, only to see a blur of motion heading straight for her. It landed with an animal-like shriek directly onto the woman's shoulders. Rodia let out a muffled growl as she dropped her weapon, almost toppling over from the surprise.
The figure upon her, was a very petite, very small, very angry and scared human adolescent girl.
"Stop it! Don't hurt Bob!" she screamed her tiny voice, pounding feebly. Her hands latched onto whatever she could: Rodia's thick braids, her leather top, her large breasts, kicking and screaming the entire time.
"Stop it! You're hurting him!" the young girl continued kicking and swinging her fists (none of which could actually have touched the norn).
"Him who?"
The red-haired girl pointed to the creature and screamed, "Bob!"
The colossal gator stopped his relentless pounding, turned to see Rodia holding onto the young girl. "Hurrrrrrrt herrrrrrr," Bob growled as his eyeslits grew narrow.
"No! I'm getting through to him, I just need a little more time," Ember implored, but the monster's rage was directed at the ice, exploding it as he smashed through the frozen wall. Chunks of ice and shards of frozen debris flew outward, forcing the approaching melee combatants to take cover, and shoving Emily back with the force of the explosion.
A power from her adversary shot through the life-force spell Paige had been casting, the surge slamming into the woman like a stampeding dolyak. She flew limply through the air, would have hid her head on a nearby rock, had she not landed in Kimura's already waiting arms.
She grunted catching the wayward poofy-haired woman. "I got you," Pink Thorn said.
"Let me go!" the girl screamed as she flailed about and squirmed beneath Rodia's grasp.
"Calm yourself, girl, and stay put!" the towering woman ordered, tossing the girl aside. "Heed my words: stay quiet!" She quickly strafed to the monster's flank, began yelling and taunting the beast as she recovered her bow. "Beast here! Fight me! Fight us! You want blood? Come taste ours!" she said, desperately trying to divert the monster's attention from the girl.
But it wasn't enough… Bob rushed at the girl, snarling and growling and roaring as it approached.
Rodia let out a cry. "Leave the cub alone!" She said as she let loose an arrow. It flew through the air with haste, landing directly into the gator's weakened skin. Bob barely halted his advance on the small child. "Assist or he devours her!" Rodia commanded the group.
"Stop it! You're enraging him!" Emily yelled. Using the spell she'd just created her own ice wall with, she conjured another directly in front of the norn.
The massive gator roared, raging forward on top of the young girl. She leaped in an attempt to move from Bob's approach, causing the reptile to lunge to meet her. At once, his giant arms wrapped around her as he continued along the path, snarling and growling while the young girl limply dangled from the creature's grasp. Both disappeared into the jungle at the sounds of branches breaking and the girl wailing.
"Cub!" Rodia called out as she ran toward the tree line. She glanced back, never losing step, her sky blue eyes locked onto Paige. "Keep going! I shall rescue the child!"
Paige took a few steps forward, holding out her hand, when Harid's held her back. "Stay on mission, daughter. Six is counting on us!"
The woman withdrew her hand.
A sheet of ice covered the water in which Emily stood. "We just going to let her go kill him?"
Paige took in a breath, forced down the lump in her throat. "She'll see it through; I…. I trust Rodia. If there's a way I think she's honorable enough to find it…"
"Screw that! I'm going after her!" Ember said, but her foot wouldn't move. She frowned, internally cursing at Valandra's hold. "Damnit! I didn't give you permission to take control! Stop it!"
"No. Not until you are cooled off. You're irrational and… he's not…"
"Not what?" Ember yelled.
"He's not Scarra." Valandra's voice was purposefully collected.
Ember's frown remained, but a tear rolled down her cheek as her shoulders drooped. Neither women said another word as they turned, slowly walking toward the entrance.
"Ugh. That hurt," Kimura grumbled as she sat up and rubbed her head. Her eyes immediately found the sylvari, looking much the same way. "You okay?" she called out to her companion.
Tressa ran a hand through her leafy hair. "Petals accounted for, yes. You?"
"Aye. Never a dull moment with this lot, is there?"
The Black Rose flashed a grin to her friend and a wink to Harid.
Harid stood, offered a metal hand to Tahlia, as he addressed the group. "We gotta keep going. Not sure if that thing was sent for us, or if we were just lucky enough to stumble upon it, but we need to get moving before we're found out, if we're not already."
Paige nodded. "Yes, father's right. We need to stay on mission for Six's sake. I just… hope there's not more of those."
"Doubtful. They would have sent them all if there were more, I wager. Quite possibly other dangers lurk within, however." Tressa said as they all came to walk beside Paige, making their way cautiously behind Ember, who was already a few paces further.
"Rose is right: We prepare for the worst. There's already much more than a 'little activity,' as our wacky little asura suggested," Harid said wrinkling his nose.
Paige continued ahead cautiously, only slightly looking at the bio tubes as they passed. "Jinx isn't to blame, father. She said there hadn't been activity since Six set the signal; I believe her… you should too!"
Ahead, Emily stopped at the door frame, Valandra wording caution to the impetuous half. "The intel came from an asura…" the ice queen injected."
"One who talks to a chicken," Ember added.
"She's never steered us wrong before. And she helped both of you: Ember and Valandra out of your suits, as well as Shiera. Her brilliance helped us find this location. Let's just…"
Ember conceded, cleared her throat, let the group catch up. "I um… Sorry," she mumbled the apology. "I hope she's alright… I also wanted her to be here," she said to Tahlia.
"Agreed by her, but told to me that this should not happen." Tahlia's hidden eyes gazed deep into the structure that lie beyond. "There is something here…"
Paige's heart sank. "What… is it, Whisperer?"
The woman's voice was filled with dread. "Something disturbing… Something wicked…"
[To Be Continued...]
