Chapter Two Hundred And Ninety – 290
Felix knelt next to a mossy stone. Collection of stones, really. They were on the side of a gentle dell, the trees high and the rocks piled to one side as if excavated in some long ago fashion. Maybe they had been. Felix wasn't looking for lost architecture however, instead he brushed aside some of the Vergris Moss and peered into the small hollows they had created.
The moss clung in dense clumps that kept in moisture and shade, which was the perfect place for a little colony of fungi to thrive.
Aria of the Green Wilds is level 55!
Felix heard the song inherent in the woodlands. It pulsed across every root and leaf, through the soil and the gentle breeze, a lilting melody that had no beginning or end. Each time he inspected a plant or even some monsters, the Skill would vibrate within his core space, feeding on the knowledge he garnered andin some casesproviding him with more.
Voracious Eye!
Name: Modus Sillcap
Lore: Modus Sillcap were named by the scholars of the Blue Tower in Levantier. It is a useful fungus that grows only in areas of dense shadow, life, and water Mana, typically in the interior of the Continent.
Alchemical Properties: Soporific, analgesic, useful for Sleep Tonics and Numbing Tonics.
Ooh, useful. Felix reached out and pulled the entire colony from the soft earth, careful to preserve the tiny Mana veins inside their stalks. He only knew to do that because of a few poorly harvested prior plants, and the inexplicable knowledge fed into him from his Skill. At Journeyman Tier, picking the mushrooms was easy, as long as he didn't rush.
"Felix? What's the hold up?"
He stood, his hand still gripping a selection of almost translucent mushrooms. Atar was several steps down the rocks, looking back over his shoulder. Felix held up a hand. "Sorry, found some cool mushrooms."
"Found someFelix those are Knockout Stools," Atar said carefully. His eyes widened. "You touched those with your barehand?"
Felix glanced between the fungi and the mage. "Yeah?"
"Ugh, of course you aren't affected. Put them away," Atar said. Once Felix tucked them safely into his satchel, he continued. "Those knock people out with a single touch. A normal person would have grabbed one and fallen over, likely breaking their skull on these rocks."
"Oh." Felix looked at his hand. "I don't have anything on me. You think it's because I preserved their Mana veins when I extracted them? Hm. Yeah, the power is likely within those, which means I didn't rupture the delivery vessels." He wished he still had his old journal to jot some notes down. Unfortunately the Farwalker had taken it as proof of the old Matriarch's passing.
"Mana veins? Really? Iwait. No, we have to go." Atar stopped his own curiosity with some effort. Luckily his Willpower had grown considerably. "C'mon. We're crossing another one of those bridges."
"Excellent," Felix said. He secured his satchel and made sure both his Femur and Crescian Blade were in their sheaths before hopping lightly down the mossy stones. He'd reached the bottom, which was lush with a grey-green grass and deep burgundy flowers called Feverclutch. They were another piece of flora that the Fogland produced, a part of an endless cavalcade of useful and powerful growths all around them. It required him to flex his Will every so often, just so he was not constantly distracted by the singing of his new Skill, or the interesting possibilities in the plants and flowers all around them.
If your Will was not sufficient to combat the distraction of that Skill, I'd suggest sundering it immediately. It feels strong, but wild. Karys had begun giving him unsolicited advice after the last week of constant questions from Felix. The sword had quickly realized that Felix was filled with questions, and not all of them were verbalized.
"I've got it," Felix reassured his new, old friend as he walked. "I'm not gonna be pushed around by some Skill, Legendary or not."
Atar landed behind him thirty seconds later, his hop and slide down the stones fast if lacking in grace. He hurried to catch up to Felix, who had already departed the dell and was well into the shadow of the thicket.
"It's unnerving when you speak to your sword, Felix."
"We all have our quirks," Felix said with a smile. He'd attempted to have Karys speak with everyone else, but aside from Vess and Evie, no one could hear him. The women could only hear a faint whispering, and both found it eerie.
"The idea of being taken out of my body and forced into another is...unpleasant to say the least. But then to be shoved into a sword?" Atar shook his head and shivered. "A nightmare."
It is an honor, boy. An honor!
"He can't hear you," Felix said to the sword.
"Oh good. I realized what I said was somewhat rude," Atar said with a grimace. "That spirit has been through more than I could ever conceive. I wouldn't wish to insult it."
Ahh...that isthat is better. Yes. Thank you, young mage.
Felix smiled to himself as they progressed through the darkened thicket. The thorny bramble had been hacked apart, creating a wide pathway that more than accommodated our larger members, which meant it become an easy stroll for all the rest. Beyond the cleared trail was his team, all of them crowded around the edge of what was one of many jagged ravines that streaked the Foglands. This one seemed just as large as all the rest, and the far end was even hidden by passing clouds.
"What's with all the chasms out here?" Felix asked. They'd climbed in elevation since they'd left the Henaari, but every dozen miles they'd end up at some eroded gap between the chunks of land.
It wasah, if I recall correctly, the-the...Karys stuttered to a halt, his voice taking on a quality Felix had grown to dread. It was reminiscent of the manner the Paragon had spoken when he'd first awakened. II apologize, Felix. I seem to have forgotten.
"Don't worry about it," he said, attempting to keep his voice light. "It was just an idle thought."
Of-of course.
It wasn't the first time Karys had forgotten something. He'd mentioned holes in his memory before, but they'd grown to chasms themselves in the last week. It always made the Paragon uneasy, so Felix quickly moved on. Scratching Pit's neck, Felix stepped into the group huddle his team was making. "What're we doing? Thought we found a bridge?"
At this, the mud monster shifted, pushing one foot forward and raising it's hands. Like it was ready to fight.
"Whoa, hey Evie, we don't even know the strength of this thing," Felix said.
"It is unwise to fight it yet," Vess agreed. She stepped forward, her partisan ringing against the bone bridge like a chime. "We will deliver violence if that is what you wish, but I had hoped we could instead speak."
The mud man's blank face turned, slowly, until it was looking right at the heiress. "Stand aside."
A voice like a burbling cesspool boiled up from the creature. Vess gripped her partisan and Evie made a gagging noise.
"Eugh, gross."
"Stand aside? Do you wish to pass by?" Vess asked.
In response, the creature's leading arm blurred, turning to a whip that crossed the fifteen foot distance in the blink of an eye. Vess was faster, barely, but the spear she conjured to parry it was instead smashed into swirling motes of air Mana. The mud monster's hand, turned into a spiked flail, smashed into and penetrated the bone bridge.
"Whoa!" Felix shouted.
Unfettered Volition!
Sovereign of Flesh!
Felix surged ahead, his skin transforming just in time to intercept a second strike by the monster's other hand. The appendage had become a wavy blade, and it hit him harder than the last Arcid. Felix was lifted into the air and hurled from the bridge.
Shit!
Adamant Discord!
Lightning bloomed from him and Felix gripped the piece of the world that meant 'up.' He pulled, and ascended on a bolt of blue-white lightning.
Just in time to see the monster backhand Evie out of the air.
"Pit!" Felix shouted as he ascended. His Perception slowed. Pit was already moving, swooping off the bridge to catch the falling chain fighter. Vess advanced, her spears and partisan joined together to strike out at the monster's legs. Felix pulled harder on his Skill, feeling a burn in his Aspects and core but not caring.
He exploded upward, and drove his knee into the mud monster's chest.
Mud erupted everywhere. Vess leaped backward, evading the lot of it, but it got all over Felix. It smelled of rotting flowers and musty water, and it congealed over Felix only moments later, massive, goopy arms strong enough to make his bones creak. With a crushing pressure, the rest of the mud folded in on itself, trapping him.
It is a construct! Disrupt its artificial core!
"I'm trying!"
Pit swooped back up, crying out, but his paralysing Skill didn't take. Vess pummeled with her spears and air Mana, but the mud resisted or reformed right after. Evie's chain did even less, only managing to cut furrows in the mud's surface that closed almost immediately.
Felix was dragged down, deep down into it. Until all he saw was endless muck.
Adamant Discord!
The lightning burst from him, pushing in all directions, but the mud resisted. Lightning was grounded into the liquid all around him, and the force was somehow absorbed.
Extend your senses! The core is here!
Felix pushed his Perception outward, but it was confused by the swirling contents of the mud Golem. His Affinity, however, snagged on the placid expanse of an artificial Spirit. Only...it felt alive. Felix reached, his hands stretching out, until the tips of his fingers touched a hardened coil of jagged wood. It wobbled from his reach.
Gimme that! He thought, straining his muscles to push him just an inch further.
He grasped it, and he felt his abyss rumble in anticipation. In excitement.
Ravenous Tithe!
The muck around him turned to black, luminescent smoke and Felix fell. He landed atop gleaming bone, his heavy metal greaves ringing against the surface, and a coil of wood gripped in his hand. Green, gold, purple, and black light swirled around it before rocketing straight into his channels.
You Have Gained A Memory From Vvim!
Do You Wish To View Or Save?
