Chương 45: Pool to the Pit

The Historian watched as the water in the Pool churned unnaturally.

"Master, is it supposed to do that?"

"No," he said, grinning.

"No, it is not." It was obvious that something had gone catastrophically wrong, and there were no good actions the Historian could take to stop the process. For all his power, the Pools of Alignment were a natural phenomenon much older and more powerful than any member of the Vulpian faction. When he looked at the Pool, at the way the psionic energy was flowing about and around the weak human, he couldn't help but be excited.

Just what could a Tier 0 do to an ancient, natural wonder that would cause it to react like this? With his limited affinity for the energy, the Historian could only really see that there was some sort of battle going on between Scarlet and the Pool. One was on the offence, one on the defence, and the stronger side was slowly but surely gaining the advantage. Tareth was not nearly as accepting of the situation. This was one of only two Tier 0 Pools under Vulpian stewardship.

He didn't know what was happening, but the vicious glint in his eyes only dimmed when the rapidly churning water began to settle. It seemed Scarlet had given up fighting for control over the energy and had instead found some way to syphon it off. The Historian had no clue how, but the amount of energy was clearly decreasing. At first, the energy in the Pool decreased by such an infinitesimal amount that the Historian barely took note. However, the process didn't stop there.

Sitting in a literal Pool of psionic energy, Scarlet became both basin and drain. A small amount of energy was absorbed into her. Then a gentle, steady trickle. Then a giant gulp, and then the energy was flooding into her. She began to scream. The shrieks were so guttural and visceral that Tareth actually looked around to make sure the sound barrier was still working. He figured the woman was just weak. Weak and a liability. He'd seen younger kits undergo much larger Alignments with far less dramatics.

Then he noticed the look on his master's face. Tareth couldn't feel the energy. He had no clue what was going on in the Pool. All he knew was that things were not going exactly to plan. The Historian, on the other hand, was delighted. There were many things the Historian had expected to see when the Pools of Alignment finally settled. A portion of one of the faction's greatest natural treasures collapsing in on itself had not been among them. It was no surprise, then, that alarms immediately began to sound.

That wasn't good, the Historian thought. He was the only one to notice as the sound barrier prevented both Scarlet and Tareth from hearing them. He would give the girl a few moments before ensuring she made it out safely and anonymously. When he checked back in on the Pool, he found to his complete astonishment that the psionic energy was just gone. All of it, without a trace. The water was now no more special than that of an ordinary lake or pond.

The woman walking casually out of it however could not remotely be described the same way. It was clear something about her had changed. Looking into her eyes he could see a whisper thin halo of royal-purple slowly bleeding in from around her chestnut irises.

"Attunement," he breathed, and Tareth's head whipped around so fast the Historian wondered if he hadn't managed to strain even his enhanced body. Then there was the new addition. Perched on Scarlet's shoulder was what appeared to be a mouse. The creature felt unlike anything he had encountered before. It was small, unassuming, and yet there was power there. The Historian could clearly tell it was some sort of Familiar. Looking into its eyes he could see microscopic iridescent flecks.

Their presence was so minute that even those in Tier 3 might not notice, lest they'd primarily invested in perception. So many questions, so many new experiences. Something inside him shifted into focus, his Embodiment! Then the Historian watched as a notification he hadn't seen in so long suddenly appeared. A stat increase. Oh how delightful, how utterly worth everything and so much more. And this was just the beginning! The Historian was jubilant, his disciple, not so much.

"You!" Tareth shrieked.

"There is no time," the Historian said, making a sharp clicking sound that somehow dissolved the sound barrier. That was when both Scarlet and Tareth heard it. The klaxon wail of a siren.

"Were you successful?" he asked, tossing her storage bag and cane. She caught them deftly and nodded once.

"And who is this?" He gestured to Maus.

"My bon- my Familiar," Scarlet said, and the Historian raised a brow, but even the vagaries couldn't dampen his mood.

"Ha!" The Historian tilted his head back and geckered.

"So many questions," he said, almost vibrating with excitement.

"So very many questions. All in good time." The group broke into a run. Tareth, simply by virtue of being closest to the exit, reached it first and ushered them through. Apparently he knew where they were going so he stayed in the lead, with Scarlet and Maus in the middle and the Historian bringing up the rear. Even wet and shivering in that grey robe that now had bits of breakfast bar, rubble, and blood marinated into the fabric; even barefoot and exhausted beyond belief, Scarlet somehow managed to keep pace.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Notifications were still popping up like bullet comments on a popular livestream. She couldn't wait to take a moment and sort through her gains. Unfortunately it appeared such things would have to wait.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are we running from?" she asked. She wasn't even panting. This was amazing, she thought, slinging the backpack around her shoulder.

"Well, my dear, from everything and everyone, really." Scarlet was taken aback, though her stride didn't slow and her body didn't stumble.

"Everyone?"

"Yes, the entire faction, I believe. Probably most of the elders. If I'm not mistaken, many of them still have descendants that, while unlikely, might use a Tier 0 Pool." Scarlet looked back at the already distant zone of destruction.

"Are you saying I've just made myself an enemy of the entire faction?" She asked. Aggrieved, but with nowhere to really direct her anger.

"Nothing so drastic," the historian waved it away at the same time Tareth shrieked " Yes!" The Historian rolled his eyes. Scarlet didn't understand, not completely, and that was unacceptable. He shook his head and made a hand sign she was becoming increasingly familiar with. It basically boiled down to, I'll explain it later. Only it never seemed to be later. She would get her answers, she promised herself.

They pounded down hallway after hallway, none of which Scarlet recognized, though half her focus was diverted to her legs and hips. She was running. She was running full tilt, and there was no pain. If she were alone, she might have laughed. Instead, she focused on what was going on around her, her psionic awareness spreading out with an ease she couldn't have claimed even ten minutes before. The struggle for Maus had been harrowing.

In the end, it had almost felt like the bond was working with her, changing and adapting as Maus's reconstitution accelerated over and over again. Then Maus was back, filling a hollow, stabilizing a part of herself she hadn't even known was fragile. With her storage bag chafing one wet shoulder and her cane in the other hand, she tilted her head and nuzzled her companion. Her Familiar. Scarlet couldn't suppress her grin. What a Familiar actually was she'd need to query later.

For now, Maus was with her, and that was enough.

'We're going to have a long talk, buddy,' she sent through the much more robust bond. Then her smile froze. At the same time, Maus disappeared from her shoulder. They had reached the end of a corridor, and the sirens and alarms hadn't dimmed at all. In front of them was a door, much like the one that had taken her mana signature back in the suite the night before. She'd been passively monitoring the information layer, reading bits and pieces, tracing her steps, and passively 'reading' the world around her.

She didn't dare look too deeply at the complex door, but the simple enchantments being used to open and close it had fascinated her enough that she payed close attention. That was why she noticed the moment Tareth tried to lock the doors. Maus was on him in less than a blink, his spatial affinity showing its worth as he landed on the vulpian's outstretched hand.

"What did you just try to do?" Scarlet asked. She was glad, at least, to see a look of sheer disappointment on the Historian's face, and read it in his unguarded emotions. She was less enthused when he turned his gaze to her and that expression became calculating. She'd been too fast to respond. Perhaps fast enough that her perception shouldn't have been able to catch what was happening so quickly.

Because she'd been observing him so closely, she'd been able to act almost the moment he decided to trigger whatever lockdown protocol he'd attempted. It was the first time she was getting an idea of just what it meant to see into the info-layer. Thoughts and feelings were just information. When thought became action, that energy travelled. At that moment, the information shifted.

The idiot (and he had to be to think he could pull one over on his master) was radiating malice so potent she'd have embarrassed herself if she missed it. Thoughts were information; energy she could tap into and read. The treacherous Vulpian had been all but shouting his intentions into the universe, and she'd heard the distant echo. The revelation struck like thunder. It was a remarkable discovery she couldn't enjoy just now because she knew the Historian was making some remarkable discoveries of his own.

Still, these were questions that would have to be explored later. The Historian growled at his disciple. Literally growled. He said nothing, but the look in his eyes and the menacing energy he radiated said it all. He made a clicking sound that seemed to echo preternaturally through the room, and Tareth was seized in a cage of ice.

"You dare," he said. His voice so low that, without superhuman perception, Scarlet wouldn't have heard it at all. Then he turned to her with a sigh, catching what must have been murderous intent of her own.

"No. No time." Somehow, the alarms had gotten louder. Scarlet and Maus, who had teleported back to her shoulder now that his job was done, were both very gently scooped up. They didn't complain. Instead the two sets of eyes remained steadfastly glaring at Tareth with unconcealed ill-will. Neither pair left his face as Scarlet addressed the Historian.

"Where, pray tell, are you taking us?" she asked, jaw clenched.

"Why would you pray to tell?" Scarlet shook her head at the miss translation. It didn't matter. She'd see when they got there. Then, with another of the Historian's signature clicks, they were elsewhere. <-... ->"What is that?" She couldn't help but exclaim. Rage and fury taking a back seat to unconcealed curiosity. They were in a flat plain made entirely of hard packed dirt. In the distance earth was a gaping crater she couldn't see the end of, even with her increased perception.

"That is the Pit."

"The Pit," Scarlet repeated. Tareth made a muffled noise from within his icy cocoon, and she was gratified when the Historian did something that turned muffled noises into muffled groans of pain. The imprisoned vulpian immediately quieted down.

"The Pit is a colloquial name for this portal world. I believe its true title is the World of the Endless Horde of the Sunken Land," he said, and the name was a fitting one for the endless sea of flat dirt that led to a sheer drop where the pit began. From what she could tell it was all dirt at the bottom too. When she really strained her perception she could see what looked like the indistinct blurs of combat in the pit, several kilometers away.

"That doesn't sound particularly encouraging." She eyed the Historian.

'Not safe?' she heard through the bond.

'Probably not, buddy,' she sent back. Recognising that 'safe' may not be in her vocabulary for a long time.

'Okay, boss.'

"No, no, perfectly safe," the Historian said.

"Perfectly safe up here. Of course you'll be spending most of your time down there." He pointed to the figures still fighting in the distance.

"Oh, and don't worry. This isn't purely Vulpian territory. This is a training world we share with many a few allied factions, including some humans, so your presence should go unnoticed." Scarlet just sighed. What was she supposed to do, throw a tantrum and beg him to take her back? She was here to get stronger. Fighting was a surefire way to do that. She just needed to check her status, take a nap, change clothes, and get some damn answers first. Then a new notification appeared.

[You have entered a Claimed portal] [This portal is restricted. Would you like to request access?] [Yes | No] Well that notification had a lot of implications. [Yes]