City of Heroes:Book of M'nakh
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Contents |
General Plot Outline
- Part 1 gets Flesh and Bone and Resonance to Oranbega
- Flesh and Bone, after getting Arinara's message, goes to visit Resonance to ask his advice. Resonance joins him in talking to Akarist about it.
- Akarist lets them know that Prospion has a book that can lead them to the Book of M'nakh, and points them at a woman who was once kidnapped by Prospion, but rescued, who might remember the way to Prospion's portion of Oranbega.
- F&B and Resonance meet her, she does remember, and they take her directions to a cave.
- Part 2 introduces Al, and hooks Al up with F&B and Resonance
- Al is contacted by a Peacebringer about indications that the Void Seekers are conducting some kind of project with the Circle of Thorns that needs to be stopped, and is given coordinates for a cave
- Al takes his directions to the cave.
- Al encounters a pair of Void Seekers chatting away in the caves that they are apparently leaving, and eavesdrops on them.
- The Void Seekers are speculating as to whether the targets are going to take the bait and just stroll straight into the trap, or if they're going to strip the bodies off the mages. The second Seeker mentions that it's not really their problem, that he's just disappointed that they went to so much work for them and had to even give up a weapon and they never even got to kill a single Kheldian out of it. The other answers that they got what they came for, and plays with a magical charm that is supposed to let them locate any nearby Kheldians. He activates it, expecting it to be blank, and it highlights Al.
- One of them shoots Al, and presents it to the other, apparently his lover, as a gift. The other one breaks down in tears, hugging the first, and proclaiming his love. The first one responds, "Not in front of the Kheldian, Caleb. Hey, it's still alive, and getting away! Get off me!"
- Al sends out an emergency request for assistance while trying to escape
- Flesh and Bone and Resonance are practically on top of him, and follow his beacon, cutting down the Void Seekers.
- Al explains about the trap, and agrees to come as a reserve force.
- Part 3 covers the meeting with Prospion
- Resonance notes unusual designs in the ceiling as they go in.
- Prospion appears in Siobahn's body, explaining how a hero eventually failed to save her.
- A conventional explosive collapses the ceiling around the strange designs, collapsing on Resonance and exposing the designs as portals
- Prospion monologues as the portals fill the passage with demons
- Flesh and Bone is overrun, Al bails him out. Prospion, seeing the Kheld, runs.
- Pursuing, they catch him as he reaches his recently purchased Quantum Weapon.
- F&B Bones him
- Prospion gloats that although his body is broken, it means he can't be questioned to find the book.
- F&B and Al go back for Resonance, and together they search his library.
- Al finds the Index by instinct.
Part I: Intersections in Body and Spirit
It was just before sunset when Flesh and Bone thumped into place against a windowsill a few dozen stories above ground in Steel Canyon and rapped on the window.
"Hey, Chief. Chief, you in there?"
After a few moments a tired-looking man opened the window and let him in. "Ah, Flesh. Couldn't you have used a commlink like a normal person, or failing that, an elevator and a door?"
"Chief," the little mutant answered, as if to a small child, "yer almos' forty stories above ground. In this town, that means gettin' in an' outta almos' forty elevators, since some lunatic wrote an itty-bitty maximum shaft size inta th'buildin' codes. I ain't that patient. Neither are you, come t'think o'it, since you come an' go out this window w'out even botherin' t'open it. An' I needed t'see ya in person."
"All right, all right," the man laughed. "True enough. So, tell me what you've found."
Flesh and Bone filled him in on the situation with the Wyld. "... so you see, might be able t'swing a decent person outta this, if we can get 'em separated. Problem is, I talked t'everyone I know, an' not one's ever even heard o'this book. You got any ideas?"
The man mulled it over for a bit. "I'm going to guess," he said slowly, "that you talked to everyone you felt you knew well enough to ask, but there's one person in particular who owes us both a heavy debt who should either know, or know where to look for clues." He looked up at Flesh and Bone and grinned. "Even if nobody ever gets to know him. Let's go have a chat with Akarist."
Akarist was the sole known member of the Circle of Thorns to have defected, and as such, had managed to draw an enormous number of retaliation attempts. Most attempts succeeded in breaching his local security, requiring a city hero to go rescue him before he could be ritually punished by his former people. Each time, security was increased around him with the hope of slowing down kidnappers more than it slowed everything else. Thus it was that when a tall cloaked man and a misshapen naked midget showed up at his "protected location", even with an appointment, the security check took half an hour, exacerbated by the problem that Flesh and Bone had no constant biometrics to check against.
"Good grief, now I know why heroes'r always chasin' all th'way 'cross th'city t'rescue 'im," Flesh grumbled at one point during the wait. "By the time they get in t'stop th'kidnappin', 'e's already long gone."
"Hush," said his companion, suppressing a smile. "Let's not offend our hosts while they're still trying to decide whether to let us in."
"Eh, jus' 'bout th'only thing they got left t'ID me with 'sides m'transponder is m'personality. If I ain't ornery, they might never figger it out."
The security specialists did, however, eventually figure it out, and the two of them were led into the company of a taciturn robed figure who observed them in silence until they were alone together.
"I have not forgotten you," said Akarist. "Resonance, and Flesh and Bone. You are both difficult to forget, even in the flood of other heroes."
"I take it that security hasn't been improving much?" asked Resonance with a wry smile, pulling his cloak aside and seating himself.
"On the contrary, I haven't been kidnapped for almost three weeks, which is something of a record. Since neither of you takes much of an interest in my research, can I assume that another attempt is about to occur?"
"Not that we know of," answered Resonance. "And we are, in fact, here for research information this time, after a fashion. What do you know about the book of M'nakh?"
Akarist's face was hard to read under the best of circumstances, and it was expressionless during the pause that followed. "The book of M'nakh? That... is not a question I know how to answer. Research continues among the Circle, and although I do not complain about my accomodations, they do not let me keep up to date with the current writings."
It was not the first time Resonance had observed that Akarist's protective custody was as much a fancy prison as a protective housing, but as always, it seemed impolite to mention it. Flesh and Bone broke the musing with a less controlled outburst.
"Aww, man? Y'mean we waited out there fer nothin'?"
Akarist turned to face him. "I cannot answer the question as stated, but if you are seeking M'nakh's research, you might do well by seeking Prospion's Index. Prospion seldom worked on original discoveries, but focused on seeing if the recent discoveries of his neighbors could be used to augment each other. Before I left, copies of his Index were provided at cost of great favors, because there was much advantage to our factions in knowing which of us were working on what, and he knew of every project to begin in Oranbega.
"And before you ask, I cannot tell you where to find such an Index, but I may know of someone who can. The second most recent hero to rescue me told me that he had also just rescued a young mage in this city from Prospion's lair itself. The hero was... unmemorable, but the name of the young mage stuck in my head: Siobahn Gallagher." Akarist's masklike expression slipped enough to show a trace of scorn. "The thought of someone refusing to acknowledge one's abilities and surviving anyway was memorable."
"Awright, man, woot!" Flesh cheered. "First solid lead we've got, anyway. Makes me real happy nobody ever managed t'kidnap ya back. Stay that way!"
Akarist favored him with a long expressionless look, but did not deign to answer.
"You have both our thanks," said Resonance, breaking the stare. "And although my friend might have phrased it better, I am happy for many reasons that you stayed with us."
Akarist's mask slipped again to show a trace of hunger. "You don't refuse to acknowledge your abilities, but you do not seek to explore them ask quickly as you should, either. Why do you not ask my help on those matters?"
Resonance gave Akarist another wry smile as he stood up to leave. "I wanted to. I once petitioned to work with you on my particular situation. It was summarily denied, with no explanation except a note from the vice-president reading, 'Absolutely not'."
"Ah," said Akarist, regaining control of his expression. "I am not entirely surprised. I wish you both good fortune on your search. One last piece of advice: although Prospion is lazy, he is also devious. Do not expect to just be able to walk into his domain and walk out with his book, the way you may often do to other parts of Oranbega."
"Ooh, it won' be borin'! Thanks again," grinned Flesh.
There was only one Siobahn Gallagher in the city records, and she was living in Skyway City. Once contacted, she was eager to help.
"Oh yes, I remember where they took me quite well," she answered with a forced laugh. Her hands folded and unfolded over a cup of tea. "I don't think I could ever forget. They were so... brazen. Like it didn't matter what they let me see. They just picked me up and carried me."
Resonance made an encouraging sound, while Flesh did his best to sit as inoffensively as possible, a not entirely trivial task.
"I was living in King's Row at the time, and they just scooped me up and took me through a sewer entrance at the end of 2nd street. They took the first ladder down, and then straight forwards after that past a number of crossings until they dead-ended in a grating, which emptied into a cave complex. After that, it was weird. Every time there was a crossing, they went right. You'd think they'd have just made a big circle, but it ended up in a city. And they stowed me there and started chanting until I was rescued." She shuddered and brought the cup up to her lips, but put it down again without drinking. "Gods. When you called, all I could think about was how much a cup of tea would hit the spot, and now, remembering, it's like I can't stand to even think about eating or drinking." She stood up and turned away from them. "I'm sorry, I wish I could help, but I don't want to think about this any more. I'm... I have to ask you to leave, I'm sorry."
Resonance offered a gentle, sympathetic smile as he rose. "I'm sorry to have put you through that," he said as he turned towards the door, "but what you have provided us is very important and may save more than one life. Thank you."
The pair let themselves out and took the rail to King's Row in silence. The sewer entrance was easy to find, and the caves were right where they were described. Flesh stopped at the border.
"Chief, somethin' 'bout this bugs me. Most people who experience a shock like that can't 'member where they were, much less that kinda detail, an' at best she was bein' flopped 'roun' like a sack t'entire time."
"Well, she does have strong mage potential," Resonance answered after a moment's consideration. "I could feel it while I was there. Strong gifts like that tend to have secondary benefits, such as excellent memory... though she might not consider it a benefit in this case. And she was strong — so strong, in fact, that I'm kind of surprised that M.A.G.I. hasn't outright forced her to train it. She's probably something of a health risk to her neighbors when she has nightmares."
"Huh. Still, I got kinda a funny feelin' 'bout this."
Part II: Coincidences and Serendipity
It was always with a certain sense of inner conflict that Al spoke with the city's most prominent Peacebringer. On the one hand, it was always a great honor to be able to provide him with assistance. On the other, providing him with the needed assistance tended to be deadlier than helping most other sources of information in the city, and he had an unfortunate tendency to yell a little over trivial things.
Nonetheless, it was past time that Al checked in. He activated his comlink.
"Sunstorm speaking. Report."
"Why hello, Sir Sunstorm," Al opened in a manner bordering on the reverent. He was cut off by an exasperated sigh.
"Ah, Alfred," came the somewhat annoyed voice. "Look, I keep telling you, I'm just Sunstorm. Drop the 'sir' thing. Isn't this the fiftieth time I've told you that by now?"
"Er... no... this isn't the fiftieth time you've told me to drop the "sir" thing... It's..." Al trailed off, trying to count up the memories.
"Look Alfred, now isn't really a good time for this kind of conversation. I've got a serious problem on my hands, can whatever you want wait?"
"Alright, is there a problem that I can help you with, Sunstorm?" answered Al.
"Actually, you might, at that. One of my information sources has been bringing me reports of Void Seekers who have been regularly meeting with members of the Circle of Thorns, but before he could get me details of what they were up to, he disappeared. He doesn't have any great personal powers, so I'm more than a little concerned. Are you free to see if you can find out what's going on, and see if he's in need of help?"
"The Void Seekers again? Okay... Wait," Al trailed off, confused. "I thought those Thorn guys were a bunch of mages. What would the Void Seekers want with them?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't need to send you out there to find out, now would I," answered Sunstorm dryly.
"Alright," answered Al, "I'd be more than honored to find out what the Void Seekers are up too. I'll be waiting for the coordinates on my data pad."
"Excellent. It's good to have your help. Transmitting now."
The conversation was going much better than it usually did. "Goodbye Sir Sunstorm, and I hope you have a most wonderful evening," Al said, and looked down at the comm controls to break the connection.
"Damnit! For the last time I am NOT an English kni..." came from the speaker just as he pressed the button. The conversation had ended just in time.
Still, he felt a slight rush of fear, thinking about quantum weapons; Void Seekers never went anywhere without them. They probably bathed with the things. Al's muscles ached just from the memory of prior experience.
"Oh, how I do dislike those weapons," Al muttered as he hung his head and rubbed his neck. His PDA blinked and vibrated, interrupting his mental state; the coordinates had been received, and he grabbed the device and read them. Training and experience came through for him, as they always did, pushing his fear away as he flew off. Focusing on the risks instead of on the job at hand was what got people hurt.
The coordinates placed him at one of the many entries to the cave systems that honeycombed underneath the city. The followup instructions told him what turnings he would need to take to reach the part of the caves where the Void Seekers had last been seen. During the flight his mind had been busy working on the problem, and Al had come to the conclusion that with him being alone and facing multiple Void Seeker agents, charging in and hurling his Kheldian energy everywhere would land him in the hospital.
That left stealth, or at least as much of it as he could approximate. He concentrated for a moment, and his body shifted from a man to the fast, squid-like form of a Bright Nova.
It's a common misconception that stealth is always a matter of being camoflaged or invisible; sheer speed and placement often works as well. Thus it was that Al, in the form of a large, white, luminescent, flying squid, made his way by a number of Thornite guards, leaving them only with the impression of having seen a streak of light out of the corner of their eyes, gone by the time they turned to face it. He made it all the way to the border of a section of Oranbega, its mystic walls still shimmering with the force of a broken concealment spell not yet faded, with but one minor incident, over before the guards had any chance to raise an alarm.
While he pondered the best way to enter and find what he sought, what he sought came out and nearly found him. It was by sheer luck that the two Void Seekers walking out of the gate were so involved in conversation that Al had time to find cover in the form of a large stalactite in one corner of the cave.
"... and I'm telling you that the track record of those mages is awful. I don't think that it matters that they've set up an ambush customized for those two targets, or that they've been assured that they'll walk right into it. I've worked with those cultists before, and they're hideously incompetent, even with superior numbers. Good grief, they've got no concept of operational security. They were telling us this plan, and we don't have any need to know at all."
"Caleb, what I've been trying to tell you is that it doesn't matter. As of today, the deal is done. We got what we came for. Whether or not they can use what we've given them, or whether this latest idiot who wanted a heavy weapon of his own as a bonus is going to live long enough to use it, isn't our problem."
"That's the other thing," the Seeker addressed as Caleb answered, "how do we know that what we got out of them is even going to be useful? You haven't even told me what it is, and don't think I don't realize that my being left out of the negotiations before we took the deal was no accident!" Caleb gave his partner a hurt and angry look. "I know the importance of opsec, and I haven't wanted to push you on it, but isn't holding out on your own partner taking it a bit far? I've gone over a week with you on this, and I haven't gotten to shoot a Kheldian the entire time. The only thing I got to shoot at all was that human eavesdropper, and he wasn't even a hero. Went down in one shot and didn't get up again. It wasn't worth the effort!"
Al winced at that. Sunstorm was not going to be happy.
Caleb's partner sighed. "Look, this isn't at all working out the way I wanted it to. Cross my heart, this entire deal was for you. I kept the details from you because I wanted it to be a surprise for today. It's why I was so insistent that they could hire us for no longer than eight days, because I wanted it to be for today."
"Today?" Caleb asked. "What's so important about today?"
"It's February 14," his partner laughed. At Caleb's blank stare, he continued. "Wow, you really have been with us a long time. You were recruited from this part of the world, and even if you've forgotten, I haven't. I looked up the holidays, and they've got a holiday for love here, called St. Valentine's Day. You get gifts for the one you love most. I thought it would be nice to get you something for one of your old holidays. I was going to wait until we got home to show you what I'd arranged, but here, why don't you just have a look now." He handed something to Caleb.
"It's a pendant," Caleb said, looking at it with a confused expression, his hurt look fading as comprehension trickled in. "So what's it supposed to do?"
"It's a magic tracker. Feed it a little of your Q-energy as a calibrator, and it should start sending wisps of light moving towards the nearest Kheld, the closer the brighter. I know this week has been a little dry, but if this works even a little bit, you should have a target as often as you want one until it wears out. You probably won't get much out of it so far below the ground, but give it a try."
Al had just enough time to realize he was in trouble before a grand fireworks display lit up the caves, highlighting him with great streamers of light, and he made a mad flight for the nearest tunnel as Caleb raised his weapon with an orgasmic gasp. Angry red and black energy intersected with the brilliant white squid before Al made it halfway to the cover, slamming him into a wall, disrupting his abilities, and leaving him stunned on the floor.
Caleb bounced up and down and dropped his weapon to jump into a tight embrace with his partner, crying tears of joy. "John, John, thank you, oh, thank you, I love you soooo much!"
With an uncomfortable laugh, John tried to disengage. "Hey now, Caleb, I love you too, but not in front of the Kheld, alright? Let's go finish it off, and..." he broke off as he looked over at it and realized that it was flying again. "Caleb, damnit, it's getting away! Get off me and shoot it!"
Flesh and Bone and Resonance had taken a less subtle route through the cave system, leaving the occasional crumpled Thornite guard behind them.
"We're getting close," Resonance observed. "I can feel power nearby."
"Huh," replied Flesh. "Well, ain't been much o'a defense so far. Wonder what it was that Akarist thought was gonna be diffren'."
He wasn't quite finished with the last word when the emergency channel on their comlinks activated.
"Excuse me," came a polite but hurried voice, followed by some heavy breathing and the distinctive sound of an energy weapon discharge. "Anyone out there? Hello?"
Resonance and Flesh looked at each other for a moment. Well, that's different, seemed to pass across their expressions.
"Well, if anyone can hear this..." there was another buzz and the sound of exploding rock, "I am in dire need of assistance. If you are in range, could you please resp-agh!" The voice cut off for a moment in a sizzle of static. "Please!" the voice picked up again. "I am in the cave system beneath King's Row and am in need of assistance! Please help!"
"That's right next to us!" exclaimed Resonance as he reached for his comlink, but Flesh, subvocalizing through his implant, was faster. "Flesh'n'Bone'n'Resonance near your loc. Transmittin' link codes." There was a moment's pause as their computers connected, and then telemetry data came streaming in. Mage and mutant checked it against known tunnel locations and began their race at almost the same instant.
Dodging enemy fire didn't leave Al leisure to examine local maps; he was picking tunnels much more randomly. So far, it had been working: he had taken a few grazing hits, but with enough spacing that he could keep his mind clear. Spotting a landmark he thought he recognized, he made a sharp midair flip, shot through a hole in the floor, and zipped back off in the opposite direction.
It wasn't long before he realized he was not where he thought he was. The tunnel was narrow, long, and straight with a flat floor. Worse, it seemed to be getting narrower as he flew, and the common stalactites of the area he had just left seemed to have disappeared, leaving him with no cover. It was also dark — the phosphorescent fungus from the main caves had yet to spread here. The path ahead was lit only by the glow from his own body.
It's a lava tube, he realized, slowing down. But if it's that narrow and flat, that means...
The many artificial tectonic upheavals during the Rikti War and the period following had caused a great many unnatural formations below the ground, but where possible, the earth still liked to follow physical laws. When lava was forced out of an underground breach at high pressure, the outer portion still cooled faster than the inner portion, creating a natural stone tube that became as straight as the flowing lava. Sometimes, as the stone cooled and contracted, ceiling sections broke loose, exposing them to other caves or tubes — but this became rarer as the tubes became smaller, and tubes as small as the one he was in tended to end in fills or become too small to squeeze through. He was heading down towards a dead end.
Al flipped around again in the air and raced back the way he came. He'd gained a slight lead on his pursuers when he dived through the floor, so if he'd just been lucky enough for them to pass by it without realizing he'd gone through, he might be able to come up behind them and lose them.
As he neared the hole, bright streams of sparkling light pulsed towards him and gathered.
Al's training kicked in again. Void Seekers were protected from Kheldian energy, but they weren't invulnerable; he might be able to knock one down as he dropped through the hole and buy himself some time. He picked up some speed and gathered his energy, and as the first figure fell, hit it midair with everything he had, zipping by it as it spun from the impact. A red and black bolt lit the cave where he had just been, but went wide by a safe margin.
"John!" came a dismayed cry from behind him as he flew.
Al flew high, looking for another section of collapsed ceiling to use. Staying in the tube was a bad idea. With a flat, even floor, the well-trained Void Seekers would be even faster than he, and with no twists or stalactites for cover, he'd be an easy target.
There!
Al put on a bit of extra speed as a large dark spot in the distance heralded an escape route...
... and then two more figures dropped through it and took up combat positions, one moving to flank him. Al was preparing to make a last, desperate stand when he realized that one of them was awfully short to be a Void Seeker. As he got closer, the light from his glow revealed the flanking one to be a short, squat lump of pure muscle, and the other wearing fabrics far too comfortable-looking to be any form of Void Hunter. More importantly, neither of them appeared to be armed at all, much less with Quantum technology, and although a lack of visible armament did not imply harmlessness, neither was attacking him. His assistance had just found him.
"Why, hello, and thank you!" Al began. "Thank you very much for answering my request. There are two..."
An angry red and black energy bolt sizzled out of the darkness and took him from behind. This time, however, a pleasant, warm tingle followed the pain, filling him with energy and soothing the pain away.
The short, squat figure vanished down the tunnel towards the attackers at an unbelievable speed, as if shot from a cannon. The other man let down the arm he had pointed at Al, traced an invisible figure in the air with a finger, and focused on it, causing it to exude a strange nonphysical pressure. Moments later the figure seemed to become visible just long enough to unfold, and then it unleashed a brilliant white beam, lighting the long tunnel as it reached out and touched one of the Void Seekers, knocking him to the ground and causing his shot to go astray. Not letting the opportunity be wasted, Al sent sheets of his own energy at the same target.
Caught in still frames out of darkness by the strobing energy, the blob of muscle appeared frozen in midair, replaced in the next flash by a spray of razorlike bone fragments. A moment later the light caught him connecting with the second Void Seeker, the first already collapsed on the ground. Then there was darkness, a loud thump, and silence.
"Hey, Chief," came a call out of the dark after a few long moments. "Some light o'er 'ere, eh? I wanna get a better look at what we got."
The man grinned up at Al. "Let's go have a look together, then. You're as good as a magelight. I'm Resonance, by the way, and Speedy Gonzales over there is Flesh and Bone, but I just call him Flesh."
Resonance ended up calling up a magelight after all, as once they were all together over the fallen Void Seekers, Al shifted back to his non-luminescent human appearance for formal introductions.
"Well, good t'meet'cha, Al," said Flesh, after Al had offered his thanks once again. "So, what brings y'down t'the caves, anyway?"
Al explained his mission, earning a comforting slap on the back from the midget when he reached the part about the observer having been killed. At least he assumed it was meant to be a comforting slap on the back; since Flesh couldn't reach that far up without jumping, it landed a little lower and was a little disconcerting.
"Y'can't save'em all, Al," said Flesh, without any sense of discomfort or innuendo. "Ain't yer fault, by no means. By th'sound o'it, 'e was a goner 'fore you even 'eard 'bout 'im. An' I think'ee managed t'pick up a piece o'a puzzle." Flesh went on to explain the connection with the Circle research and the woman possessed by the Wyld.
"So y'see, m'guess is, these two were workin' w'th'M'nakh research, an' this Prospion guy was watchin' 'em, an' 'cided t'cut 'imself in fer some o'it at th'end. That brings th'two Seekers t'this part o'Oranbega, 'stead o'wherever th'M'nakh research is. Speakin' o'which, either o'you two gotta zig?"
"I'm sorry, Sir Flesh," replied Al in some confusion, "but I do not smoke tobacco."
"Not a cig, a zig," said Flesh as Resonance reached into a pouch and pulled out two small objects and tossed them to him. Flesh snatched them out of the air and stuck one on each fallen Void Seeker. At a squeeze, the bodies disappeared. "Transporter beacon fer th'Ziggurat. Those two'll get questioned later, an' we can dismantle those two Q-guns an' that tracker. An' no need fer callin' me sir. I'm jus' Flesh."
"I see, Sir Flesh," said Al. Flesh rolled his eyes. "I apologize for the confusion," Al continued, oblivious, "but if I may ask, would all this mean that you two were already down here looking for the same Circle of Thorns members that the Void Seekers were working with?"
Flesh opened his mouth to say something, but Resonance cut him off, giving Al a sharp look. "Yes, we were. Is there something else we should know?"
"Well, Sir Resonance, I fear that if you continue, you may be heading into a trap." Al went on to repeat what he had overheard.
There was a minute of silence as Resonance absorbed this.
Resonance rubbed his eyes. "You said that they were expecting two targets, exactly?" he asked.
"Yes, Sir Resonance, at least, that is what I remember them saying," answered Al.
"Flesh, do you remember how long ago we went to talk to Akarist?"
"'Bout an hour anna half now, I think, Chief, if y'mean how long ago we talked t'im. Li'l o'er two hours since we decided to."
"That's not very much time to set up a good trap, and even we didn't know what track we were on until then. I don't like it being 'customized' to us, but if it was put together that fast, it probably has a number of holes in it." Resonance stared off into the distance for a moment, thinking hard. "Depending on one thing," he continued, "I think we should go straight in just as we were, and simply stay alert." Resonance turned to Al. "Would you mind following us at some distance and acting as a reserve force? They have no reason to know about you, and a trap designed for two is often easily overcome by three. The problem is that if Flesh is right about the connection, they may well have a quantum weapon or two with them."
"I would be honored to assist you, Sir Resonance," Al replied. "After all, I did promise Sir Sunstorm to find out what was bringing the Void Hunters and the Circle of Thorns together, and this appears to be connected. And also, you did come to my assistance, and if the three of us together were able to easily defeat the Void Seekers that were here, those with merely the weapons should be no great threat. I have just one question: what exactly is it that you would like me to do?"
Flesh and Bone grinned at him. "Jus' hang back a bit while we go in an' set off whatever they got, then pick a good time an' charge in, hurlin' that Kheldian energy o'yours at anythin' that ain't us."
"Oh," said Al, somewhat taken aback. "Well, Sir Flesh, I suppose I can do that."
"An' jus' one more piece o'advice, Al."
"What's that?"
"If you keep callin' everyone 'sir', someday someone's gonna ask ya t'fetch'im a shrubbery."
"What a strange thing to ask. Why would he do that, Sir Flesh?"
"Ne'er mind."
Part III: Instincts and Experience
After retracing their path a ways, Resonance and Flesh left Al just outside the Oranbegan gate to which they had originally been directed. Years of practice gave their movement a measured, predatory quality as they made their way towards the inner chambers. A hissing and thudding sound brought them to a stop as they approached a small, pillared chamber. The demons that the Circle of Thorns often used to fill in the ranks of their guards lacked subtlety, but made up for it with brute force. Flesh tightened his muscles, and then stopped.
"Chief," the mutant whispered, "mebbe we should do that tricky thing y'do w'th'light, an' jus' sneak past 'em. I still ain't likin' this whole 'walk inta the trap' plan. We start takin' out clusters, they're gonna know we're comin'."
Resonance shook his head. "No helping it," he whispered back. "We're relying on Al, and that means we have to have a clear path between him and us, and I'd prefer to have our escape path clear anyway. The Circle of Thorns relies on magic for almost everything, though, so I should be able to see any traps before they're sprung."
Bones sharp as razors extruded through Flesh's skin, beaded with a deep yellow ichor. "I guess it's time t'party, then," said the mutant, and hurled himself down the corridor, chased by his friend's magic. The fight was over in moments, and if it was the opening stage to a trap, it wasn't obvious. They moved on, repeating the process every few minutes, clearing not only the path behind them, but any side passages as well, leaving no potential surprises at their back. A short ways into a long, narrow corridor, Flesh stopped, staring at the ceiling.
"Hey, Chief. You ever seen a symbol like this before?" he asked.
Resonance followed his gaze upwards to thick metal curves and lines embedded in the ceiling: a convex arch followed by two parallel lines, followed by a concave arch.
"That th'magic trap we're waitin' fer?" asked Flesh after a moment when Resonance didn't answer.
"No... no, I don't recognize the shape, and no... well, I don't think so," the mage mused. "There's a trace of magic to them, but it's not much stronger than the magic inherent to all of the materials in Oranbega. It was probably enchanted into place, but there's no connection to any other source of power, and there doesn't seem to be any source of power even nearby for it to tap into. If it's a latent spell, a mage would have to fuel it entirely out of his own energy, which would take time, and if it's particularly potent, it would require several mages." He stopped, considering something. "I could fuel an artifact like that, perhaps, but I have never heard of anyone like me among the Thorns. My guess is that it's some kind of personal sigil for Prospion, except that I can't shake the feeling I've seen curves and lines of that shape and size somewhere before, and I feel like I should be able to tell what they're trying to represent."
Flesh checked the corridor again to make sure it was clear, and then jumped up to the ceiling, wedging himself against an arch for support while he took a closer look. "Know what'cha mean 'bout it feelin' familiar," he said, dropping back down. "E'en th'metal looks like somethin' I seen down 'ere 'fore, but I can't think o'what. But if it ain't got power, guess it ain't gonna hurt us."
As they approached the end of the corridor, they saw another, which as they drew closer turned out to be identical to the first. Flesh and Bone looked at it for a moment, then looked down the hall towards the other one, and then back at Resonance. "Chief," he hissed, "those things bracket th'hall, about a fifth in each way. Gut says this is th'trap. Let's get outta 'ere."
"My, you have good instincts," came a familiar female voice. A figure in the bright orange robes of a high ranking Thornite mage turned the corner, flanked by a host of dark-robed guards and flickering, spectral apparitions.
Resonance took a few steps forward, and then nodded in comprehension. "Prospion, I assume. It seems we were misinformed. The hero who rescued Siobahn a few months back must have come after the ritual, not before. My compliments on getting him to 'rescue' you anyway."
The Thornite mage laughed and pulled back her hood, revealing Siobahn's face. "On the contrary, he was entirely successful... then," she answered. "But a hero on the other side of town failed to stop in the park as he was rushing to an emergency, and so my servants were able to capture a new body, if a much less capable one, and I was able to try again." Her face darkened. "I was defeated then, too, outperformed in a duel with one of the mages of your pathetically young city, but what you lack in practice, you make up for in numbers, so there is always someone of great natural talent about, ready to take advantage when our shells are inadequate to carry our knowledge. He would not have survived facing me in my current body. But immortals learn patience. I was defeated once more when trying a different approach in spectral form, by a woman with an ancient mystic blade to which she had no right... but the fourth time... the fourth time the caped crusader that came charging to the rescue was not up to the task, and now I have a true mage's body. And that is why this so-called city of heroes remains our feeding ground, and why we will eventually dominate it, even with the damage the war did to our city and our supply of magic-capable flesh. For every great hero this place draws, capable of standing against one of us on our own terms, it also draws the talented but unskilled, the strong-minded but weak-willed, the well meaning but afraid of their own power, the raw material that becomes the senior mage that requires one of your greatest to face."
She laughed. "And then your greatest are kind enough to walk into a trap, removing them from the city. Don't expect your hospital beacons to save you, by the way. We've known how to subvert them for quite some time now."
Resonance nodded calmly. "Those who rely upon them eventually fall. There's one small problem with your trap, however. I am a mage, myself, of a sort, and even in your current body, you cannot send enough magic to activate those symbols when I can redirect your power. It's something of a specialty of mine, I'm afraid. Your guards will also not stop my friend here — that's something of a specialty of his. If you surrender now, the city may even allow you to keep your new body. Otherwise, I'm afraid we're going to have to take it back."
"Capable of redirecting my power?" answered the woman who had once been Siobahn Gallagher, her eyes widening. "Oh, your body must be a fine one indeed." Then she relaxed, a smile lighting her face. "It's such a good thing I knew you were a mage, and thus, did not use a trap reliant on my magic."
Flesh and Bone was already in the air as she drew her hood back up and withdrew a small device from a sleeve, but there was too much distance to cover. A thunderous explosion came from the ceiling as she pressed a button, and showers of flaming rock and dirt blew down upon them. Flesh knocked one large stone aside with a shoulder mid-leap and ricocheted from it out of the path of the rest, looking back to make sure that Resonance had also made it clear.
He hadn't. The mage lay slumped half-buried under rubble, bleeding from a large gash on the side of his head. Flesh and Bone leapt to him and began hurling debris down the hall until a loud humming made him look up again. The blast had cleared away a large portion of the ceiling, revealing a pair of summoning gates mounted there base to base; the symbols they had seen had been the parts that protruded downwards the farthest.
Demons were already falling from them only to land face-first on the floor. If it weren't for the danger they represented, watching them pick themselves up only to have another wave land on top of them would have been comical. Flesh dug faster, and then changing his mind, hurled a series of bone spikes at the nearest gate. Rather than wavering, the gate seemed to become more energetic.
"An associate of mine invented a gate that could be powered by heat and impact," said Prospion as the demons fell, "so that our demons could summon their brethren even if the magic was disrupted. He never got it working usefully. Our own magical power disrupted the new gates, and everyone thought it was stupid to go to the expense of building unpowered gates on the off chance that a foolish invader might attack one anyway. None of them had the vision to use your people's own explosives, to be willing to sacrifice an entire hallway." Fierce, glowing eyes stared at Flesh as he pulled the largest rock off of Resonance. "I've been waiting months," she continued, "for the right moment to use it, and then the two of you appeared. One agile enough to dodge the explosion and tough enough to protect the other from attack, but needing the mage to overcome large numbers. The other fragile enough to be overcome by the blast, and gifted enough in magic to see exactly what I wanted him to see. It was like the trap had been created specifically for you."
She had been talking long enough for Flesh to pull Resonance free, and Flesh was halfway down the corridor with him on his back when she pressed the other button. Flaming rock and flaming demons showered down at the other end, cutting off escape.
"I've been told," Prospion added, discarding the remote detonator, "that you can recover from almost any injury, little man. I have a theory that this will not save you once my demons have converted every cell of your body into ash. Do you have any last words that you would like me to record?"
The little mutant gently put down his friend, covered his body with bone razors, and turned back towards the mage, now hidden by a wall of demons. "Yeah, I got somethin'," he said, stretching his neck. "Now's a really good time!" he yelled, and hurled himself into the nearest demon.
Al had not waited for the signal. At the sound of the first explosion, he had set off at a run. By the second, he had changed into a Bright Nova for better speed. Even so, the battle was going badly by the time he arrived. Flesh was still bouncing rapidly off of anything large enough to be a stepping stone and cutting through demons like a living buzzsaw, but some of his exterior bones had been shattered, and a long streak of scorched and blackened skin ran down his back. Sheer numbers were burning him away faster than he could regrow, and the only thing that had kept him alive thus far was that the corridor was too narrow for more than a few demons to attack him at once.
Al cast his gaze about trying to prioritize targets, and then he saw the gates. Training dictated that any time there was a gate or portal for reinforcements, that took priority over almost anything on the ground, but his instincts shrieked a warning at him, making him hesitate. Don't hesitate, his training screamed in his head. Every second counts!
For once, hesitation worked in his favor. "Don' shoot th'gates!" came the muffled yell. Flesh bit through the demon's arm in front of his face and yelled again. "Shoot demons, not gates. Don' shoot gates!"
The snippet of conversation he had overheard through his comlink while he was running clicked into place, and he understood. Sheets of white energy smashed into packed masses of demons instead, knocking them into each other and buying some breathing room... but not enough. Swinging off of a flailing demon's arm, Flesh had just decapitated the one next to it, but the maneuver had left his arm extended just a moment too long.
A third demon's sword connected just above the elbow. Flesh continued on through the air. The arm spun off in a different direction, coming to rest on a pile of rubble.
This is the wrong tool, thought Al, and then pushed himself hard through the air as he focused on the memory of the other form common to his people, that they called the White Dwarf.
The White Dwarf was not a flying squid. The White Dwarf was a very large, very heavy, bipedal crustacean, and a midair transformation preserved momentum. Large clawed feet crushed demon wings and limbs to the floor as he dropped out of the air and blocked off the advance from one side. The floor under his feet seemed to wriggle a little, so he stomped once to make it quieter.
It didn't work. That was when Al realized why Flesh was spending so much effort bouncing off of everything but the floor: the floor itself was writhing like a living thing, warping itself over his feet and trying to drag him down. He lifted a foot experimentally, and it moved slowly, but the floor let go. Whatever it was simply wasn't strong enough to hold something that massive. He had just smashed down the demon in front of him when Flesh collided with his head and held on as hard as he could.
This would not necessarily have been a problem, but the little mutant's body was still large enough to cover most of Al's face, including both of his eyes.
"Sir Flesh!" mumbled Al through the mutant's stomach. "Please, Sir Flesh, I musth ask yuff to moff. I cannot see!" Al waved his arms around in front of him, and feeling a demon wing under one hand, pulled at it until he felt it tear.
"Sorry," gasped Flesh, and slid sideways, holding on to an armored plate instead. A flaming sword came crashing down onto Al's head in his place. Al flinched, but stood his ground. The White Dwarf plating was very strong.
"Jus' need... a momen'... t'catch m'breath," continued the mutant, swinging behind Al's neck to avoid another strike. "Y'see m'arm... anywhere?"
Al knocked another demon onto its back and stepped on it to move over to the arm. The hall should be full of bodies, Al thought suddenly, and then looked down again. The body he was stepping on was already sinking into the floor, being eaten by whatever it was that the mage had created there. Another demon got in his way, and he struck it, but it came back at him. A long bone came from over his shoulder, went through its eye and then retracted, leaving Al with another place to stand. Even badly injured, Flesh was deadly.
"Thank you, Sir Flesh," said Al, coming to the rubble and turning around. "Here is your arm."
"Hell yeah," said the mutant, grabbing the arm and pressing it to his stump. "Now we're dancin'."
"Actually, Sir Flesh," Al answered in between swings, "dancing is usually thought of as a social..."
"Jus' hit somethin'!" yelled Flesh, and jumped back into the fray. Al sighed, a deep, burbling sound in the shelled body. The little mutant apparently had some of the same personality problems as Sir Sunstorm.
Personality problems or not, however, Flesh made an effective partner, a sword to his shield. The mutant tore through demons with great speed, and Al provided him with enough cover for him to not even need to slow down much. Without anything to feed them, the gates had gone quiet, and without reinforcements, the ranks began to thin.
And then Prospion was in view again. "Oh, yeah, bitch. Yer mine," muttered Flesh, and twisted to hurl a spine. A spectral figure moved in the way, and with a gesture, the Thornite mage vanished down another corridor. The floor suddenly stopped writhing and became a floor again. The missing bodies were still gone.
"Aw, hell," muttered Flesh as the spectres and Thorn guards advanced. "Gotta wrap this up fast, I need 'er."
That was easier said than done. Being only partly in the physical world, the spectres were not as vulnerable to simple cutting or bashing as the demons, and Al hissed as a touch sent the bite of an unnatural cold straight through his shell. It was time to change tools again. Moments later he was airborne, scooting backwards and strobing energy. The spectres made a screaming noise and vanished. Two explosions of bone shards later, none of the remaining guards were moving, either.
"Quick!" yelled Flesh, "grab th'chief an' follow me. We gotta catch'er." Not waiting for a reply, he took off down the corridor after Prospion. Scooping the fallen mage up in his tentacles, Al flew along after.
The passageway ended in a set of double doors leading into a great library. Bookshelves over five meters high lined the walls and stood between great stone columns in the middle of the room. Spheres of magelight hovered overhead, sending shadows twisting around each other; stained glass bathed the room in color. Prospion was nowhere in sight.
Flesh moved quickly and quietly from column to column, listening. Hoping to provoke a reaction, he pulled a book out of a bookshelf and tossed it against a wall. There was only silence.
Helluva pain in th'ass when th'bad guys won' do somethin' nice an' stupid fer ya, he thought.
Al showed up at that moment, his outline making a silhouette in the doorway against the bright lights of the corridor. That was when Flesh heard the high pitched whine of a weapon powering up. In two bounds he had crossed the room, to see Prospion in profile, sighting down the a quantum gun large enough to be used as a fixed cannon. It was large enough that Prospion wasn't even trying to hold it — both she and the weapon were floating.
Flesh let out a blood-curdling battlecry, hoping to break Prospion's aim, and then hurled a long shard of bone out of his forearm. Prospion fired, not even looking up as the shard hit him in the chest, passing clear through to pin his right arm. There was a clattering sound as mage and weapon fell out of the air.
"Ohshitohshitohshit..." muttered Flesh as he bounded over to the body to get a clear look at the doorway. "Al?" he yelled.
A glowing squid peered cautiously around a shattered pillar, and then shimmered into the shape of one man carrying another. "Sir Flesh?" asked Al. "Is everything okay?"
Flesh let out a deep sigh of relief, and then looked down at Prospion, who was making a bubbling sound as she struggled for breath.
"Almost", she whispered between wheezes. "... took ... one ... with ... me. Maybe ... next ... time."
The bone had passed through both lungs, dribbling paralytic venom the entire time, Flesh realized. She wasn't going to last long enough to be questioned.
Prospion saw it on his face. "Yes..." she continued, "... you ... will ... never ... find ... it ... now." She took a few more ragged breaths and then stopped. The smell of fresh urine permeated the area, and on impulse, Flesh pulled back the hood and headdress to look at her face. It looked just like the face of any of a thousand other victims Flesh had seen before.
Funny, he thought to himself as he stared at her, how death makes us all th'same. No evil, no magic, jus' sightless eyes an' decayin' flesh. Helluva way t'finally end up jus' like everyone else, Siobahn Gallagher. Wish y'coulda found somethin' better.
"Sir Flesh?" came a voice at his elbow. "Is everything okay?"
Flesh jumped and caught himself just before he took a swing. "Damnit, Al, make some noise or somethin' when y'do that," he complained.
"I give you my sincere apologies, Sir Flesh," answered Al. "I did not mean to startle you. The Thornite has been defeated? We have won now?"
Flesh looked back down at the corpse and then around at the gigantic library, wondering where Prospion's spirit had ended up, and who might end up facing it next time. He sighed.
"She's down. But we ain't won squat," he said with frustration. "Unless you know howta find a single book in this mess. How's Resonance?"
"Sir Resonance seems to be improving. He regained consciousness when I set him down, but wisely did not say anything when there might still be fighting. You were badly injured earlier. Are you okay?"
Flesh nodded. "I'm awright. If it don' take me out completely, I heal up quick. Let's check w'Resonance, see if'ees got any bright ideas."
The found Resonance propped up against a bookshelf, right where Al had left him. He opened his eyes and looked up at them with a sheepish smile. "Looks like you were right, Flesh," he said with a wince, as he brought a hand up to gingerly probe at the wound on his head. "Walking straight in wasn't one of my better plans."
"Hey, chief. Any plan y'walk away from, an' all that," Flesh replied, starting to slap him on the shoulder but changing his mind at the last moment. "Can y'patch yerself up 'nough t'think straight? We gotta problem now," he added instead.
"Not quite as fast as you do, Flesh, but yes, once I catch my breath," Resonance replied. After a few moments, he closed his eyes to focus, and a wave of energy passed over all of them.
"Mhm-hmmm, chief," said Flesh with a wink. "Y'sure know howta make a man feel good, and I ain't even injured right now."
Resonance rubbed at the blood on his face and stood up, leaning heavily against the bookshelf for support. "Pity it can't stop the dried blood from itching so much. Or fix the really mashed bits faster. Or the headache. I need a shower. So what's the problem?"
"I killed the bad guy," said Flesh flatly. "Can you read Oranbegan?"
Resonance looked around the library. "Ooooh boy," he hissed through his teeth. "A little, but not anywhere near well enough. Okay, Akarist said this thing is important enough that other mages will trade favors for it. That means it's got to be different from the rest of the books here, so there's at least a chance it will either look different or be stored differently. Wander around and see if you can find anything that looks out of place about any of the books here. I'll see if I can find any magical sign."
Flesh hesitated, looking around the multicolored lights and unreadable script. "Chief," he said finally, "I ain't meanin' t'be rude, but we got maybe an hour, tops, 'fore we start seein' more Thornites. Ain't ya got any better ideas?"
Resonance gave him a mild look. "Look quickly?"
Flesh sighed.
Instincts and hunches are what you get when you have enough information for your brain to recognize that there is a pattern present, but not enough information for it to link that pattern to something concrete.
Al's consciousness was very, very good at doing this. Thus it was that he had been floating up and down, peering at books for only a few minutes when something about the bookshelf he had just left bothered him enough that he went back and stared at it again. It was one of several bookshelves that had several empty shelves, and the books on it were all equally mundane-looking, so he had moved on. He looked at them again, but nothing new occurred to him. Still, something was bothering him. He took a book off of one shelf, flipped through it, put it back on one of the empty shelves and was about to move on, when his eye was drawn back to that same book. He picked it up and moved it to the empty shelf above it, and then back to its original shelf.
"Sir Flesh? Sir Resonance?" he called out. "I believe I may have found something unusual."
The other two gathered around him. "What'cha got?" asked Flesh.
Al gestured at the bookshelf, and moved the book around again. "Do you see? The empty upper shelves are very slightly deeper than the lower shelves with books. It's almost impossible to see behind the books, but if you move one, you have more space left in front if you put it above."
Flesh and Bone whistled. "Nice goin', man. Heh. High-falutin' mage relyin' on a false back in a bookshelf. Seems kinda mundane."
Resonance nodded. "It makes sense, though. The best way to hide something in a place of magical intrigue might well have been to use a technique so unmagical that nobody would even think to look for it. Any idea of how to get it open?"
Flesh shrugged. "Gotta be a catch, somewhere. If it's t'void countermagic, it won' be opened by spell." He pulled some books out of the lower shelves and felt along the sides.
"Ouch! Damnit..." Flesh pulled his hand back, a drop of blood and ichor welling up from a finger. "Heh, poison needle. Now that's cliche. Lemme try again."
A moment later, he pulled the rear panel back, sweeping books all over the floor. "Two catches," he nodded. "Gotta push 'em both at once'r ya get jabbed. Straight outta some trash fantasy flick."
Resonance knelt down and looked behind the false back. Four silk-covered tomes sat there. He pulled back the silk to reveal identical markings and a faint glitter of magic to his inner sight. He let the silk fall back and picked up the tomes, handing one to Al.
"I think you've earned this," Resonance told him. "I imagine that it will impress Sunstorm when you bring it to him."
"Thank you, Sir Resonance!" replied Al with a slight bow. "I am very grateful for all of the assistance you have provided!"
Resonance grinned at him and clapped him on the back. "And I'm very grateful to you for yours. You've pulled us out of a tight spot, and found what we needed. I'm not sure either of us would have noticed that shelf. But now we'd best be leaving. We all have people who want to see these."
They made their way out in companionable silence until they reached the cave system and it was time to part ways.
"Oh, one last thing, Al," Resonance called out as they turned towards different passages.
"Yes, Sir Resonance?"
"Really, neither of us is an English knight."
"Oh. Is that important, Sir Resonance?"
There was a pause.
"I guess not. Take care, Al. Give my greetings to Sunstorm."
"I'll do that, Sir Resonance. Thank you again!"
