Chương 233: A... fish?

"So, let me see if I understood correctly… The astral space is breaking?" Kite asked where he sat in their base camp along with the rest of the group.

"Well, I'm definitely no expert in astral magic. Not even close. But from what little I know there are instances of spaces collapsing back into the astral, such as some of those which manifest in certain more unstable areas of the world," Braid explained with a helpless shrug.

"Of which Hua-Xi is one."

"But isn't the gate supposed to delay that until the trial is completed?" Kite continued, the question directed towards Braid and the officiator orb both. The former shrugged again and the latter remained unhelpfully silent while it kept doing its own analysis, as it had been since the word of the odd growing patch Wander had found had reached them.

"Does this even matter for our objective though?" River asked tersely, and was about to say more when Wander broke in.

"Hey, guys, I found another. Oh, and one more. And there's one too. And~," the rat began, her little head twitching this way and that as if looking between different scenes.

"Summarize, Wander, please," Braid interjected, and they let the rat mull it over in silence for a while before she spoke up again.

"Okay, it seems like things are happening all over the place. I've found a few dozen similar patches, and they're all out towards what I assume is the edges of the Labyrinth~," the rat reported.

"And they're all growing?"

"Yep, but slowly. Still, many small things growing slowly does seem kind of bad…~""Could this be part of the trial though?" Little Crow asked from where he was lounging off to the side.

"Unlikely," Soul replied, deciding to join the conversations for once.

"The Queen might not have been the most devout follower of Warrior, but her intent in creating these trials for the tempering of paths, not dealing with astral magic and similar distractions."

"I mean no disrespect with this, Soul, but knowing the heart of a diamond ranker with a few hundred years on you might be a bit of a stretch," Dragonfly countered.

"But in this, the trial-taker's minion is right!" came the trumpeting voice of the officiator orb, suddenly and loudly enough to make most present startle ever so slightly, auras tensing briefly as if ready for an ambush.

"Officiator? Any light you can shed on this situation?" Kite asked politely, letting his spirit return to its normal, more passive vigilance.

"By the grace of the Queen's herald, I have once again managed to connect to the trial," the orb stated proudly, before its tone got more somber.

"It would seem like the trial overseen by my counterpart is not faring well, its purpose subverted and the sacred rules thrown to the winds by these invaders. Also, I can sense that they are doing… something… to the space, although I cannot say what. More malicious tampering, no doubt. It is the strain of all these divergences that seems to be negatively affecting the trial as a whole."

"So… it can't handle everything that is outside its rules and is… what? Coming apart at the seams?" Dragonfly asked, clearly concerned.

"Do not debase the Queen's trial with such a mundane metaphor!" the orb retorted, but everyone noted that it did not contradict her.

"What should we do then? Retreat? If the space collapses, then our problem will be solved for us, no?" Little Crow asked.

"A coward's route," the orb chided.

"We will need to find the original officiator orb and let me subsume it according to the Herald's wishes. This will give me more control of the trial, and allow it to serve its purpose. The invaders needs to be punished after all."

"And while you have a point, Little Crow, we would learn little of their purpose here or anything else of the wider plans of Discord's clergy," Kite added.

"The idea is sound though. If things are deteriorating too far, I will definitely second the idea of exiting the trial. But I am also quite concerned with whatever it is they are doing to affect the trial as a whole. Is there nothing more you can tell us about that, officiator?"

"Alas, trial-taker, I cannot sense more than some kind of tampering, and that it is directed against the outer bounds of the trial. You will have to pry the information from their broken, defeated forms!" the orb replied, its voice rising back to the clarion call which seemed to be its favored mode of address.

"Now charge forward! This cannot be left to stand!" Silence reigned for a while in the cavernous hideout, but as it seemed that no more information was forthcoming, Kite spoke up again.

"So it seems that we might have time working against us now, if these growing rifts are anything to go on. And the officiator here does raise a valid point in that finding the other orb might help. But as far as I know, we have yet to catch a glimpse of it…"

"They might have left it behind somewhere. That's at least what I would do with something so important," Fantina mused.

"At their base? Or more nearby while they are fighting? The thing does insist on following you around Kite, so I'm not sure how far behind it would be willing to stay."

"Urgh. If only beetle guy wasn't such an ass, I should be able to find it in no time~," Wander grumbled.

"I can't believe I let that guy get a drop on me like that. Next time, beetle guy. Next time…"

"It's simple then," River added from her corner.

"We need to go on the offensive. Push them to the brink and then go for a stranglehold which should eventually force them to give us everything we need to know. Our conservative efforts will no longer serve their purpose." Kite took a moment to think as the others started discussing different options, and he eventually found himself agreeing with the acolyte of Pain.

"We will have to change some of our plans, but… I agree," he said, looking around the room.

"It seems like we might have to risk a more offensive approach. Attrition might be my path, but that does not mean that it needs to remain our overall strategy." River seemed satisfied at that, and the others all seemed to be in agreement, so Kite continued.

"And as for the other orb and the aptly named 'beetle guy'... I think I'm starting to have an outline of an idea in that regard as well. Wander?"

"Hmm~?"

"Shall I assume that, like you, this swarm controller will probably know his most immediate surroundings basically at all time?"

"Well, yeah… Worse, he seems to be less hampered by our conflict than me. I can barely speak when we're at it, but from what River overheard earlier he seems a lot more lucid. Damn that guy… How does he do it~?" the outworlder grumbled.

"So catching him in an ambush would be hard?"

"Yeah, he would probably see you coming."

"Well… I have an idea in that regard," Kite said with a somewhat strained smile as he imagined actually going through with such a plan.

"But to do that, many of us will need to act in concert for it to have a chance at working." So he told them. And as for reactions, they were… varied.

"Kite, I have to admit that plan is extremely satisfying to imagine. And it also sounds dangerous. I mean really dangerous~," Wander said, the first to voice her thoughts.

"And in this I agree," Fantina added.

"As the healer, I am extremely hesitant to split our forces too much, and in this way? Had you been one of my children, I would have outright forbidden it in an instant."

"But he is not your offspring, and the plan has merit," River pointedly added.

"All progress requires its degree of suffering and risk. I will help you with this, Pathbreaker."

"And I will too," Dragonfly added, reaching out from where she sat beside Kite to squeeze his hand.

"At least we're doing it together, so neither of us will be left behind worrying."

"I will be in your care, love," Kite replied, squeezing back before turning to Fantina.

"And I do understand your concern, Fantina. It is touching. But I feel like this might be something that is worthwhile if we are to have a chance at a significant advantage quickly enough." The motherly disapproving look that was leveled Kite's way in return could probably have been counted as an essence power in its own right, but the blonde woman eventually sighed and shrugged helplessly.

"Then I will at least be ready with my ministrations for when you return."

"Do not worry, dear priestess," Little Crow added cheerfully.

"Given that we will have to pull this off once the rest of them are bearing down upon us, with probable support from those constructs of theirs if we're unlucky, then you will surely find plenty of opportunity to ply your path of healing."

"Then let's get to planning," Kite said as he found no more protests from the others present.

"First, an offensive. And then… Well, hopefully an ambush which even the all-seeing beetle guy won't see coming."

"From the feel of you, it doesn't look like you made much progress with our honored and steadfast ally," Sunless remarked sarcastically as Verses entered the tent where the draconian was seated in meditation. She held her tongue with the barbed response however, taking in the draconian's still rather rough appearance.

The fact that he, a silver-ranker, was still showing lingering signs of injury in patches of recovering scales hours after their last attempt at taking down their pursuers was quite telling; whatever that blast had been, the damage had been significant. Therefore Verses chose to steady herself instead, seating herself at the other side of the bowl of incense and assuming a similar pose of meditation.

"He holds absolute faith in the defenses they have established," she said, able to freely vent her scorn in the relative privacy of the tent.

"Cursed astral zealots. Even the servants of Destruction feel reasonable to work with in comparison."

"Well, them thinking their dear Builder above even our whole world - gods included - does seem a recipe for some pretty high opinions of themselves. I really don't get it. Why worship something so vast that probably doesn't care the least about the speck of a world we're living on? Heck, I even feel closer to Unity's clergy than them. At least their faith is relevant to actual people here." Sunless must have seen the look of utter disbelief on Verses' face, as he waved away the slight outrage which came afterwards.

"What? It's not like Discord can hear us in here. And you know that my faith is strong, Verses. Still, I stand by my words. Once we're done here, I'm leaving the liaising with these creeps to someone else. Besides, we may not need their defenses. Now we know more of their tricks and-""Wake up, Sunless!" Verses actually raising her voice at the man seemed to - for once - get the intended effect as he fell silent.

"They outnumber us now. Unless the cultists can provide us with something more potent or at least a decent number of those constructs, we are not winning a fight against them under most circumstances. And as to their skill… Well, you should already know firsthand." Sunless at least had the decency to look chagrined, for once out of bluster.

Verses knew the man - or at least his skills - well enough to know that his high opinion of himself was usually well-founded; a big, black-scaled fish in the pond that was the kingdom their church had cultivated for so long. As long as he wasn't in the absolute heartlands, Sunless Fang was used to dominating the waters. But now… Well, it turned out that the shallows and reeds at the pond's edges were hiding more than just prey.

"So while it pains me to admit… We are under the power of the cultists now. Their defenses are what we will need to hold, and them finishing their ritual will give us the reinforcements needed to win. Neither of us like it… But that is the truth of the matter as things stand." Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Sunless looked off into the distance for a while before a bit of his usual glimmer returned to his eyes as he rose to his feet.

"Well, acting a bit more for the sake of a mission? I think neither of us is beyond that. And don't think I will completely give up just yet. Every armor has its chink, and so do those adventurers. I will find it. But I'll be… careful," he said, quickly adding the last reassurance at a withering glance from Verses.

"Now come on. We'd better get a better grip of our defenses and what the cultists can whip up next. And I'll show you that Sunless Fang can still pull off some surprises."

"Fantina, can I ask you something~?"

"Yes, Wander?" the priestess replied even as she calmly fired arrows into the melee in front of her, aiming the powerful shots to interrupt attacks or slow reinforcements so that one of her companions could keep up their momentum. The group was once again spread out over a few intersections and tunnel segments as they used their collective might to help drive the enemy drones before them.

They had been at it for a few hours now, with Wander screening them from any would-be ambushers to let them keep a steady pace pushing through the Labyrinth. During the days spent in the trial so far, Fantina had to admit that it was good to feel the metaphorical rust falling away as her body and mind started finding their way back to old instincts as she had an easier time keeping track of the battlefield even though the group was bigger than she was used to.

But there was another set of instincts currently going off as she caught a certain tone in Wander's voice which hinted at the topic of her query.

"Well…" the outworlder began.

"I kind of thought you'd be… hornier~?"

"Wander, dear, that's a statement, not a question," Fantina remarked in return with a smile hinting at the amusement of finding oneself back at a most familiar topic.

"Oh, right. But still… Why aren't you? I've spied on plenty of Fertility's clergy, and if it's one thing they've got in common it seems like that's it. Don't get me wrong, I don't judge. It's just that there's this whole image they've got going, while you're…~""Not as overt with that particular part of my goddess' calling?"

"Exactly~!"

"Well, let me ask you a question in return, Wander," Fantina continued, pausing to send one of her tentacles out to deliver a boon to a charging Dragonfly ready to tear through a line of enemy drones.

"Of all the priests and priestesses you've spied on, are they all the same?"

"Well, of course not. I know that. But with Fertility, it just seemed to really be their thing. Them and Lust of course… It feels like you guys should get a long fine, yet somehow the Lust priests seem to be on the run from you for some reason… ~""I believe that is due to some fundamental differing views in the purpose of more carnal pleasures. But had you looked closer, you might find that not every one of Lust's priests or priestesses would run screaming if they saw one with robes like mine.

As would you probably find fellow brothers and sisters of mine who are less overtly seeking to further our goddess' purview in such a hands-on approach."

"Oh I've spied on several, and honestly there seems to be less hands and more- ouch~!" The rat was interrupted mid-sentence as Fantina, without missing a beat, reached out and flicked its forehead.

"Sorry, habit," the priestess said even though she didn't sound the least bit apologetic.

"There's usually a child running their mouth within reach, so I acted on instinct. But before you sidetrack us further, I might get to actually answer your question. What I was getting at was that there are plenty of aspects to the gods and the concept they embody. While Fertility's decree to sire more children is one that many wholeheartedly embrace, there are different ways to go about it depending on what kind of connection one seeks with the goddess."

"Oh, you mean like how you go about being pregnant most of the time~?"

"Exactly. For me, it is a way to show my devotion to my goddess in a more intimate way while also focusing my affections on my dear husband. Others among my sisters would scoff at the idea as impractical when the vats are around, but to me and some others this is our way of showing devotion. To me, it is not just about siring the child - the spark of life - but to cultivate it further than merely making sure that life finds a way. And the love that is born of spending time with your children…

Oh look at me, now I'm getting all homesick," Fantina noted, dabbing a bit at the corner of her eye.

"Okay… I think I get it…" Wander said thoughtfully from her perch on Fantina's shoulder.

"Some like to be horny with almost anyone because it serves the goddess in one way, while you focus all that horniness on Jarvan because that is your way~?"

"I… That is…" Fantina began, but sighed as she was an old hand at choosing what to explain further and when to simply bow out.

"That is one way to put it I suppose. Should you ever want to know more of Fertility's teachings, I'd be happy to-" She trailed off as the little rat suddenly raised one paw for silence, recognizing that far off look in Wander's eyes.

"Is it the man with the metal beetles again?"

"No… Not this time. But something is off~."

"Well? What?"

"We'd best gather the others. Give me a moment~." As all of the others in the group similarly had one of Wander's bodies close by - with the one near Dragonfly having to mind the flaming aura of her armor - they were soon all gathered a short distance behind their line of drones that stilled clashed tirelessly with their opponents.

"Odd one? What is the urgency?" River asked, apparently eager to keep up the offensive as it kept taking them closer towards the other ruler and, in all probability, the agents of Discord and their Builder cult allies.

"I just caught an odd manifestation a bit further off, around a dozen intersections away from the main lines."

"Odd? How?" Kite asked.

"We have seen enough of them so far, so I assume that this is something special to draw your attention like this."

"Well, yes. First of all, it was smack dab in the middle of an intersection. The non-drones have so far never popped into being in the open like that. I didn't think too much of it, just making sure to keep a couple dozen eyes on it. And… well. It was a fish."

"A… fish?"

"I suppose fish might be a bit too generous a term. Think a lot bigger. One, two, three- seven. Seven mouths. Big teeth. Oh, yuck, apparently it has prehensile tongues too. It's just flopping around there though, making an angry ruckus."

"Wait, does it have shimmering scales shifting colors?" Little Crow asked, which had Wander nodding.

"Yep. Cycling through all kinds of color as if it can't decide whether to mimic the gravel, the cliffs or the storm above."

"I thought I recognized it! But by the great ancestor, what is a sevenfold anglerfish doing here?"

"Wait, a what now?" Dragonfly asked.

"A sevenfold anglerfish. Manifests in the deeper part of the nearby oceans," Little Crow explained.

"Higher end of silver rank, always appears alone. Apparently really annoying to find according to senior sister Sodden Crow. She's one of our few family members with aquatic paths. Her familiar apparently can't stand those things, so you can usually find the pair charging to where these particular monsters manifest. You wouldn't think a giant seahorse to be so ferocious, but it sure can prove you wrong."

"Odd mental imagery aside," Kite said, trying to bring the conversation back on track.

"Why would an aquatic monster manifest here?"

"That was exactly why I wanted to tell you guys about it. Feels really weird. And given those even weirder patches, we should probably be looking into it…"

"Braid, you are our best bet at these things. Mind taking Little Crow with you and investigate?" Kite asked the weaver, who nodded.

"Leave it to us. But as Wander said… More changes to the space? That feels a bit ominous…"

"I agree," Kite said, looking to the others.

"Even more reason to keep pressing on. Wander, continue keeping your eyes out for similar incidents. The rest of us… This Labyrinth won't conquer itself. May Warrior grant us the strength to push even faster." As a few more hours passed and the group got to spend their time grinding their lines forward unopposed, Kite had started feeling a bit concerned at the lack of resistance.

From his experiences so far in the adventuring life, and especially from his contracts with Gauntlet, this hinted either their foes setting up some kind of ambush, trap or similar advantage, or that they were going entirely the wrong way. Around them, the tunnels felt like they were gradually shrinking in number every few intersections which gave the impression that the group was actually drawing closer to the opposing ruler, at least if the geography around their own starting point was anything to go by.

So when Wander suddenly perked up at this shoulder, Kite actually felt an odd kind of relief mixed in with the wariness of her reaction.

"Oh? OH? Oh. Crap~."

"Well?" he asked, perhaps a bit more tersely than intended.

"I think I know what our foes have been spending their time on while we were pushing our way here. Those sure looks like some defenses. Wait, I'll try… Yep. A few of my bodies were just beamed to death. Pretty quickly too."

"Defenses? Which kind?" Little Crow asked as he touched down near Kite, joining the conversation even though Kite did not doubt that Wander was relaying the information to the others at the same time.

"There are a few tunnels where they have these things jutting out of the walls a few meters above the ground. Some kind of short metal pillars with several glowing orbs along their length. Those were the ones that started blasting through poor bodies 231 to 239 as soon as they came into view. There are some kinds of platforms too, but I don't know what they're for~."

"So they have indeed been busy. Always annoying when a mark manages to turtle up like this," the onyx-haired celestine sighed, twirling his parasol.

"It might be a blessing in disguise," Soul called from further down a nearby tunnel where she was off-handedly dismantling a few enemy drones with precise strikes.

"Because this tempering is getting quite stale now."

"We really shouldn't underestimate emplaced defenses though," Kite cautioned.

"I have circumvented or crashed through a few during my time with Gauntlet. With such a singular purpose, you can pack a lot of magical destruction into their frames, especially if they're immobile."

"That should only make them easier targets," Soul retorted.

"Without maneuverability, they will not be our match."

"No offense, Soul, but that would mean that you haven't seen many proper magical defenses," Little Crow added.

"My dear adopted cousin here is right. A bit of caution is only proper. What would you have us do, Kite?"

"Can you relay it to the others, Wander?" Kite asked, continuing once he got a nod of confirmation from the rat at his shoulder.

"We will need to know what we're up against here, so let us make a probing push. Go on the offensive, but don't go deep. See what they can do and try and spring whatever other traps might be waiting for us unseen. The confines are tight, so let's focus on two passages. Retreat to Fantina if you need assistance. Is everyone ready?" Calls of acquiescence or bursts of auras came from all around, and Kite let a stream of mana flow through his armor, making his spellplate light up as the arms of his mantle appeared.

Together, they started pushing forward again, and it wasn't too long before the defenses of their enemies made itself known when a group of red-tinted drones just ahead of Kite was beset by a barrage of magical beams as soon as they turned a corner. While their shields held for a few of the bright projectiles, the rate of fire was quite impressive." Wall!"

Kite didn't slow down though, sliding around the corner himself and getting a glimpse of the emplacements Wander had described - a turret-like pillar set high up on the wall of the crevasse ahead of them along with several other empty platforms - before rows of force walls appeared between them to blur the view. The barriers were positioned alternatingly to the left and right of the crevasse to allow one to easily zigzag forward while still under some kind of cover.

Soul even overtook both him and the drones as she charged ahead, bursting through the remnants of one of the force walls which broke just ahead of her before she activated her short-ranged teleport to close in on the pillar which kept trying to fire its destructive beams at both her and the other figures which started milling out from the tunnel.

But when Soul appeared again, her charged kick met only air as she was somehow displaced right at the mouth of the tunnel with the magical defenses rather than her intended target. In the brief moment where she hung in the air, the amethyst-haired celestine was even struck by one of the beams before managing to turn the following two with well-timed palm strikes.

"It blocks teleportation!" she called out even as she pivoted downward and landed with a spray of gravel as she prepared to take off, only to once again be interrupted almost mid-step as a new danger revealed itself." Moonfall hammer!" A huge glowing maul suddenly sprung into place above Soul, bearing down with some kind of invisible pressure which seemed to warp the air around it as it descended.

Kite had seen the spell before, and was therefore not surprised as one of the armored elves came into view as he touched down upon one of the platforms of the tunnel. But there was a notable difference to the power of the conjured hammer, and even base magic perception was enough to reveal the additional enhancements which the platforms in the distance seemed to bestow upon the man.

More auras became noticeable as the agents of Discord revealed themselves spread out across the defenses, and off in the distance Kite could see the intersection where their other group fought light up with additional projectiles, spells and other hints of discharging essence powers. Ahead, the other elf also made an appearance at another platform while the overbearing but hollow auras of a pair of the gold-ranked constructs bloomed into existence further behind the defensive lines.

At the same time, all of Wander's bodies within earshot cursed loudly - each rat using its own profanity in an impressive, foul mouthed display - as metallic beetles firing lightning and leaping with razor-sharp legs and mandibles started emerging from among the defenses and charging for the pieces of her swarm.

"Oh sweet Fortune," Kite thought, inwardly sending a short prayer toward the old token resting in a pocket close to his heart as he managed to block a series of beams from the turret while sending a pair of disruptive attacks towards the descending maul that managed to shatter the conjuration.

"Why do I get the feeling that we might soon find ourselves fighting a small-scale siege?" Much like before, the gods were silent in this place just outside the reality he called home. But that mattered less at the moment, as the frantic call of battle waited neither for his prayers nor other wishes.

"My path will not be cracked by the world, but tempered by it," he thought as the pieces of his old mantra crept into the analytic calm of his battle meditation.

"And neither will those whom I choose to protect. I shall not allow it." Even though the reflection was a fleeting one, something felt just a bit more… right as Kite fell into his role as the eye of the storm, his barriers and projected attacks adding their touch to the scales of conflict all around him. The moment to enact his plan wasn't now, but if they could just find the right opportunity, it would come. If not during this attempt, then one in the future.

Persistence could be quite the virtue under the right circumstances, after all.