The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 44

Chapter 44

“Well, that was a waste of time,” Larek remarked, walking out the gate leading into the Strike Faction compound. Inside of Nedira’s Void Pocket bag was a collection of the papers and maps that they had found in the guardhouse in case they needed to reference them, but as for obtaining any other information from the Martial left in charge of the place… that didn’t turn out so well.

“I know! I can’t believe he didn’t have any information!” Nedira exclaimed, quite perturbed. Larek felt the same, but he didn’t respond with anything other than a grunt of acknowledgement.

He shouldn’t have been surprised that Flint, the Martial that had been knocked out so easily by Larek, didn’t know anything about why the Strike Faction thought that they could succeed against the Calamity. It had been obvious as soon as he opened his mouth that the young man didn’t have any information, especially after the Fusionist heard that Flint had only become a Martial and joined the Faction four days prior. In fact, there was so much that he didn’t know that he had brought every paper full of notes and maps that had been left behind and brought them to the guardhouse, where he studied them in anticipation of following behind the rest of the Faction at some point. It was a foolish idea, of course, traveling through the Calamity’s territory by oneself, as even Larek would be wary of doing so alone; but the fanaticism he sensed within the new Faction recruit was fervent enough that he wouldn’t be surprised if the young man carried through with his plan at some point in the future.

Unlike what Larek had experienced with the Strike Faction in Bardington, which was also filled with primarily veteran SIC members, this particular branch of the Faction in Warshdin was populated by fanatics. They didn’t just subscribe to the philosophy that it would be better if they could strike at the heart of the Calamity and close it, they actively disliked anyone who disagreed with them, and spent considerable time planning and preparing for the time when they could actually attack the Apertures inside. From the panicked fanaticism that Flint spouted, the Fusionist got the sense that they pushed themselves to journey deeper into the Calamity at every chance, risked themselves to scout possible routes through it, and made themselves a nuisance around the city when they constantly asked for more volunteers and preached to those that would listen that their way was the only hope of salvation.

Not that Larek necessarily disagreed that closing down the Calamities would be the best for everyone, but with the chances of success heavily against them, he couldn’t understand what had prompted them to move now.

“So, what do we do now?” the Naturalist asked as they walked down the street with no real destination in mind.

Larek only had to think about it for a few seconds before he answered. “Our original intention in coming here hasn’t changed. If it is indeed Verne that had been here, then we need to find him; not only because he was my roommate and friend, but because he may have a lead on your brother.”

“While I agree with you, you’re talking about the two of us heading into the Calamity and following in their footsteps, which – as we’ve just learned – is extremely dangerous. Are you sure that is the wisest choice?”

He shook his head. “Wisest? Most definitely not. Our only choice? Again, not really. But I’m going to do it anyway. If you want, you can stay here and keep Flint from doing something stupid like journeying into the Calamity when he can barely protect himself from a Bog Goblin.”

“Uh, no, don’t be ridiculous. If you’re determined to go in there, I’m coming with you,” she said with finality.

I wonder if she’s going to be this stubborn when it comes time for me to go up against the Gergasi and rescue my family.

“He’s my friend, too, and I’m not going to let you go alone.”

He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, giving her a smile. “I’d love to have you with me,” he said, realizing he really meant that. They made a good team, and now that he felt a bit more comfortable protecting her with his still burgeoning Martial abilities, he knew he could do even better in the future. Even though he was still planning on facing his real father and the other “great ones” alone, he couldn’t imagine rushing into a Calamity without her.

“Good, because you’re not getting rid of me that easily. Where you go, I go; I’m not losing you again like I did nearly five years ago.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on going anywhere. Well, other than into the heart of one of the most dangerous places in this world, of course,” he added with a chuckle.

“Speaking of that, what’s the plan? Just rush in there, find them, and bring Verne back out?”

He shrugged. “We know their route and can approximate how far they’ve traveled, so… sure?” He thought about fighting their way north, killing monsters along the way to accumulate Aetheric Force, but from what he’d heard, the longer they were inside the territory, the more likely they would encounter something that they couldn’t easily handle. In addition, if they stopped to kill monsters, they might even become overwhelmed if other Apertures sent their monsters as reinforcements; knowing that they weren’t constrained by the limits of their normal territories made them extra dangerous, because unless they took the time to kill everything that arrived as reinforcements, then they could potentially be followed for miles, if not perpetually.

With that basic plan in mind, they started backtracking through the city toward the gate they came through originally. Halfway there and not wanting to waste any more time, he stopped in an alleyway with the intention of forming a Pattern box around the two of them so that they could fly straight up and then north toward the Calamity, but just as he was about to do so, he heard a shout coming from the only open end of the alleyway.

“Stop right there!”

As Larek looked up in surprise, he saw a group of five people standing right where they had passed a few moments before, and he immediately determined that they were all Mages and Martials. They were joined a few seconds later by another dozen or so that appeared behind them, presenting a wall of figures that completely blocked them from escaping.

Even though they were only about 40 feet away from each other, he shouted back, “What do you want? We have no business with you.” While he spoke, he was already pulling out his Pattern Cohesion and prepared himself; while he could easily form the Pattern box beneath the two of them, he was wary of doing so if these people ended up attacking them. He could see at least one of the Martials with a bow, arrow nocked and ready to fire, and some Mages could cast spells fast enough that they might hit the both of them before they could escape. Not that he was too worried, especially with their Automatic Ice Repulsion Fields, but he didn’t want to put Nedira in danger unnecessarily.

“You came into the city; that’s all the business that matters. With the Strike Faction away, the Defense Faction is employing the service of any Mages and Martials that enter, so you’ll have to come with us.” The man shouting back at them was smaller than the average Kingdom citizen, but his voice was strong and deep enough that it wouldn’t have been odd coming from someone much larger – such as someone who was Larek’s original size. Despite the authoritative tone, and the feeling of acute strength coming from the commanding Martial, Larek shook his head.

“No, I don’t think we will. Now, if you don’t mind, we were just leaving.”

“That’s not an option at this point,” the man replied snidely, waving around him. “If you didn’t notice, you’re severely outnumbered and blocked in.  Your only option is to come along quietly, serve your time here helping to close some of the nearby Apertures and cull the fringes of the Calamity, and you can be on your way. Should only take, oh, four or five months, max.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Nedira said suddenly, cutting into the conversation between the two of them. “Would you be a dear and get us out of here?” she asked with a wink in Larek’s direction.

He gave her a little half-bow. “By your command,” he said as seriously as he could while trying not to laugh. He could sense that the one who was making demands of them was becoming enraged at them talking between each other, and as he stepped forward, his mouth open to yell some more, Larek used his Pattern Cohesion to form the Pattern box around them.

Before he could start rising into the air, two things happened in quick succession. The man who had been shouting at the suddenly disappeared from where he had been and appeared behind the two of them, two knives in his hand. His speed was so high that even though Larek saw him moving, to anyone else it would’ve looked like he teleported. As the anger in the man’s face chafed at the disrespect that Larek was showing him, he stabbed forward with his knives, intending to strike Nedira in the back.

Simultaneously, an arrow whistled through the air, accompanied by two Fireballs launched by some of the Mages in loudmouth’s group, aiming straight for Larek. With his combat awareness being something he’d been working on over the last two months, he was more than able to sense all of these simultaneous attacks, but now he had to figure out what to do about them. His focus was already slightly shaken from the abrupt assault, so lifting them into the air suddenly was out; he was afraid that he would rush it and move too quickly, likely hurting Nedira in the process.

That left defending themselves, but for Larek there wasn’t any real choice as to who to defend. Flexing another portion of his Pattern Cohesion, he quickly formed a Pattern shield between the astonishingly quick Martial and Nedira’s back, while he let the arrow and fireballs continue unimpeded. The knife-wielding Faction member’s knives slammed against Larek’s shield, coming to a complete stop and surprising the man so much that he stumbled backwards. A half-second later, Larek’s Automatic Ice Repulsion Field activated and easily blocked the projectiles, to the astonishment of the one who launched them.

As everyone froze in shock at what just happened, the Martial Fusionist took advantage of the temporary lull. “That was a mistake trying to attack my betrothed,” he said, even as he slammed his Pattern shield into the knife-wielding Martial with bone-crunching force. The man, despite having enough Strength to make him a threat, was sent flying, eventually crashing painfully into the end of the alleyway, which was created from mortared stone blocks stacked on top of each other. The impact was so hard against the stone that one of the larger stone blocks even shifted slightly, causing the wall to rumble; fortunately, it didn’t fall, but it was probably the first time it had taken that kind of abuse.

As much as he wanted to retaliate further against the man, as well as the others plugging up the alleyway, he instead moved the Pattern shield to protect them from further projectiles and then took them straight up in the box. They moved a little faster than was probably prudent, and Nedira held onto his arm as her weight was pressed against the bottom of the construct, but in a few seconds they were 500 feet above the city.

“Thanks,” Nedira said as they stopped rising and headed north instead.

“You’re welcome. I don’t understand what just happened, though.”

“Uh, you just smashed that guy nearly through a wall with a thought is what happened,” she replied with a chuckle, and he felt some of the tension leave him as he joined in.

“Yes, but why did they attack in the first place? Didn’t they want us to join them?”

She shook her head. “Probably not. They knew we were there to see or join the Strike Faction, and from what we observed or heard, the two Factions were at extreme odds the entire time they were in the city. It wouldn’t surprise me if they took it upon themselves to eliminate anyone who weren’t likely to join them; it was made all the easier since the Strike Faction isn’t there to protest or retaliate.”

“That’s stupid. We’re all supposed to be on the same side, aren’t we?”

“You would think so. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out the way we want, does it? I just hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.”

Smiling and shaking his head, Larek lightly nudged her with his elbow. “Don’t you know you can’t say stuff like that out loud?” he joked. He still remembered Verne telling him the same thing when they set out for Copperleaf Academy after he had hoped that they would have a boring road journey, and that night they were attacked by Bog Goblins.

She smiled sadly back at him as she likely remembered the same thing. “We’ll find him, Larek. If he’s out there, we’ll bring him back safe.”

“I know we will,” he said with as much conviction as he could

Over the next few minutes, Larek gradually brought the Pattern box down in altitude, until they were only about 50 feet above the ground. He continued moving north at a decent speed, growing ever closer to the Calamity’s border; he could feel it more than see it, as it was an oppressive tingle at the back of his mind that only got stronger the further north they went. He thought that he had gotten used to it when they had been traveling before, but actually approaching it was something completely different.

When he felt like he was right on the threshold, he stopped the Pattern box and looked down at the landscape. Around them was a plain of short grass over gently rolling hills, a few stands of trees dotted around the area, but it otherwise looked relatively normal. Directly below them was a pathway that had been tread by many feet, and he knew this was where the different Factions entered the Calamity for different reasons, from culling or exploration and planning, and it was this pathway that the Strike Faction had taken on their journey north into the Calamity.

This clear pathway through the grass was also cut off completely when it intersected the territory of the Calamity. A clear dividing line was visible where the pathway seemed to disappear, erased entirely by the environmental changes set upon the area by the Aperture in charge. And the environmental changes were significant, to say the least; given that the original Aperture had Steel Slimes as its monster, he supposed that it made sense that it would be different – though he wasn’t exactly expecting this, despite reading about it in the notes they took from the Strike Faction.

Past that dividing line was a stretch of hard-looking dark rock, obsidian if what he read was correct. Where there were trees before were now pillars of a multi-colored metal, which were apparently so strong that they couldn’t be cut by anything, and the hills that gently rolled through the area just outside the territory were blockier in shape, as if carved out of the landscape rather than formed naturally over time. From what he could tell, there was not a single living thing within his sight nor in his awareness, though he was sure that would change the further in they went.

“Ready?”

Nedira nodded, readying her staff just in case it was needed. With any luck, it wouldn’t be; despite the notes detailing what they would find, it was possible they might be surprised by something along the way.

“Without another word, he eased through the border of the Calamity, feeling the oppressive tingle increase to an annoying buzz all over his body. Once they were completely through, it almost completely disappeared, prompting Larek to exhale a breath of relief. He thought that if he’d had to feel that the entire time, he would’ve had an extremely difficult time during their journey. Unfortunately, his next breath in was dry and metallic tasting, as the environment of the Steel Slimes – and Rainbow Slimes, if not something even more dangerous – made itself known.

Checking around them once again to see if their entrance had elicited any type of response, the two of them began moving forward when everything seemed clear. Nedira brought out her maps and began identifying nearby landmarks, which quickly oriented Larek and got him headed in the right direction.

And thus, they started their rescue journey of their friend and former roommate, Verne. If they were careful enough, they’d be in and out within a day or two, because they could move much faster than the Strike group.

That is, of course, if the group was still alive. He refused to think otherwise, and kept his attention on flying over the strange, foreign landscape that had once been the northwestern portion of the Kingdom.