2515: Lost Childhood (Part 1)

Lost Childhood (Part 1)

"Fine, but if I lose them because you wasted my time haggling, I'll kick your ass." Faluel replied.1

"You got yourself a deal." The moment Laxa gave her the coordinates of a nearby mana geyser, Faluel hung up the call, faking haste.

Lith imprinted the geyser, using the flow of world energy to fuel the tower from a distance and call upon Solus through the bond they shared with the artifact. The distance was still too great for their mind link to work.

Yet thanks to the combined effects of the mana geyser below Lith and the one in Solus' position, the tower had enough power to reveal its location to him. Lith now perceived more than a general direction, gaining a rough glimpse of her dimensional coordinates.

Also, Solus exploited the energy flow to send mental images of the flying path of the Fomor. Lith could see a thick forest getting thinner, then a tall waterfall forming a lake, and lastly a long mineshaft leading deep underground.

The pictures gave him no idea how long the descent had taken, only that the movement had been vertical.

"That way." Lith pointed Sud-East and conjured holograms of the images he had received from Solus. "Before you ask, the tracker can scan its surroundings just like a communication amulet but covertly.

"I couldn't do this before because of the distance. Only now that we are close is the signal strong enough to send me the data collected by the tracker without compromising its cloaking system."

"Either the Hydras' bloodline legacy is amazing and Faluel is an oversharer, or you are a damn genius, kid." Ajatar grumbled. "I would find your claims ridiculous if I weren't witnessing them with my own eyes."

"Thanks, I guess." Lith shrugged, neither confirming nor denying either of the Drake's hypotheses. "Let's move."

The presence of both a waterfall and a lake narrowed down the search to only one location. No one had bothered to explore every single corner of the Kingdom, but a flying mage could chart dozens of kilometers per day from a safe distance.

Things like how far a forest extended and notable landmarks were all noted in the maps available to the public.

The only place in the vicinity matching the images was the Varda River plunging down the Redrock Cliff and forming the Istmar Lake. 

Ten minutes and 200 kilometers later, the group reached its destination. Yet according to both life and array sensing formations, the area was clear of anything but local wildlife.

Life Vision too confirmed that there was nothing unusual around.

"This is weird." Faluel said. "Even if the mana geyser is cloaked, we should still be capable of perceiving the arrays that shroud its presence. Are you sure this is the right place?"

Lith closed his eyes, focusing on his bond with Solus and confirming that the Hydra was right. There was something weird.

Usually, the mind link would allow them to speak if they were within its range or be silent otherwise. Now, however, Lith could sense a static noise in his head every time he tried to contact Solus.

The channel was there, but it was blocked. The few bits of mana coming through the ground were too fragmented to retain any coherent thought.

"Damn sure. It must be so deep underground that even detection spells can't reach it. We have to look for an access point. The Fomor turned into a Balor after leaving the mana geyser so he can't have used dimensional magic to Warp inside.

"Glemos' children must have a way to get back inside while in their fallen state and as far as I know there's no monster capable of moving underground as Nalrond does." Lith replied.

"It's a rare talent indeed." Ajatar nodded. "Which means that if this is the right place and there's a hidden passage, there must also be some kind of trap of alarm. Let's split up to cover more ground but be on your guard.

"One slip up and everything we have done so far will be for nothing."

"I'll go check the obvious location." Morok said. "I bet that behind the waterfall there's a well-hidden cave."

"I'm going to take a dive into the ground and check for an opening with Earth Vision." Nalrond extended his hand to Friya. "I'm no Awakened, though, and even with my heightened mana perception, I might miss a cloaked trap.

"I could use a second pair of eyes."

"Sure." She nodded, wearing a thin smile on her face as she swallowed in nervousness.

'I swam through the earth with him in the past to help Nalrond learn how to consider his beast half as normal and have fun with it, but I never told him that's quite a claustrophobic experience.

'It was already bad feeling buried under tons of rock and mud, with no light or source of air except for his Rezar's bloodline ability. Now I have to face all that plus the risk of something blowing up in my face.'

The idea of ending up buried alive in case they got separated or ambushed deeply scared Friya but she didn't let it stop her. She knew how much her trust meant to him and that she couldn't ask him to embrace himself if she couldn't do it either.

The couple was swallowed by the surrounding grassland as the ground rippled like water upon their passage. The small waves made the grass blades wobble for a second before everything went back to normal.

Protector went to check the depth of the lake, Tista moved to the top of the waterfall, and the rest of the group explored the nearby forest, looking for any evidence of the passage of the runaway monsters and secret entrances.

Lith used Invigoration from time to time, spreading his mana through the vegetation to spot traces of recent damage caused by being stepped over.

'Making your footprints disappear is an obvious move, but I think I'm one of the few living beings paranoid enough to also restore the vegetation in my wake.' He thought. 'I could conjure my Demons to scout the area, but if I let go of them once they are done, there might not be enough souls left if a fight breaks out.

'If I keep them, they would drain my mana until I find a way to put them to use instead.'

Lith's plan worked and he found numerous hidden traces of the monsters' activity that only the messed up vegetation revealed. The trail led him to a small clearing in the forest yet what he found there didn't make any sense.

Whoever came to the clearing was smart enough to avoid their passage forming a trail in the grass. They restored the plants that would give out the direction they came from, but not the rest.

'The pattern of the footprint indicates that something violent happened here. People moved furiously and quickly, stomping everywhere in a frenzy. Were the monsters training in preparation for the raids?' Lith pondered as he knelt down to the ground to better check the vegetation.

The use of weapons implied cutting grass that even if regrown would leave behind a trace.

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