(II) Dagger
In Chapter 14 of "Path of the Deathless": 9 (II)DaggerShiv examined Nomosâs spear. It was pretty well-balanced. The tip was some kind of... Discover the next events!
9 (II)Dagger
Shiv examined Nomosâs spear. It was pretty well-balanced. The tip was some kind of glassâjust like the daggersâand he could see a slight crack running along the top of the blade. A coldness trembled within the weapon, and Shiv felt that almost-heat againâwhat he knew now to be an ambient mana field.
On a whim, he decided to ask Valor about this, wondering what the dagger might tell him. âValor. Question: Is magic tied to oneâs vitality? I know itâs a strange question butââ
âYeah,â Shiv said, nodding. âThatâs exactly how it felt when Iâwhen I faced the high vampire. His field was pretty massive, though.â
Shiv learned that in detail the hard way. Over and over. But that was also how he probably got Biomancy imprinted on him. That made him consider something: If he tasted death through the other forms of magic, could he imprint on those as well? Was there a limit? âHow many magic skills can someone have?â
âMakes sense,â Shiv said. And it was also good for him. He might just be able to attune and level all the different magics. The Deathless was awash in questions now. After a few minutes with Valor, he learned more than he had over the years on Blackedge. Despite all the surrounding death, he couldnât help but feel happier than ever.
He might be trapped in the Abyss for now, but his spirit was running free.
He wanted to ask the dagger even more things, but he decided to wait until he finished matters here and found a safer place. If Valor was right, he was probably going to run into another high vampire if he stayed. Maybe more. Shiv wondered if he could win that fight eventuallyâbut considering how the high vampire he just killed figured out his great secret by the end, Shiv could see a situation where they focused on incapacitating him rather than killing him.
That wouldnât end well.
As he nudged each of the Umbrals next to each other, he picked up Nomosâs spear with one hand. He knew there was magic expanding out from it, but it wasnât his. He wondered how he could channel the ice. It was also awkward holding it in one hand, as his chefâs knife was practically fused to his right palm. Shiv briefly unequipped the kitchen knife and assumed the stance he had watched Nomos take earlier.
Knife fighting came easy after a lifetime in the kitchen, on the streets, and murdering lesser vampires from behind. A spear was a formal weapon, though, and Shiv had no training in that.
âValor. Final question before we go: I got Nomosâs spear, but⌠how do I use it? The magic inside it.â
âFocus and intent?â
Shiv took a breath and did just that. He imagined thrusting out like Nomos did, but rather than launching a wave of stabbing icicles, he desired a sheath of frost to encase the Umbrals. He stabbed. The tip of his new spear flared with magical radiance, and suddenly the fallen elves were covered by a dense layer of frost, protected from the hardness of the world and preserved in their final moments.
Shiv let out a breath as the tip of his new spear faded back to dimness. âNice.â
This was going to change a few things for him.
He left immediately after thatâbut not before splattering the high vampireâs body with a massive slab of ice. Shiv chuckled as he walked away. Who said vengeance left one feeling empty? He was having the time of his life.
Using the spear to light his way in place of his now lost torch, Shiv moved along the walls with spear in one hand and compass in the other. He found a winding tunnel leading up and out from the caverns he was in. After what felt like ten minutes of twisting about, he came out into a wider set of tunnels. The ground turned flatter beneath his feet. Rather than standing on jutting stones with divots and uneven surfaces, he was walking over evenâalbeit crackedâground.
Here, he chucked the first brooch, doing as Valor recommended.
As he looked about some more, he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. There was broken glass in some places. He passed through what looked like a damp room filled with rusted lockers. As he came out, he found himself walking along a strange, brutally mangled length of metal that vaguely resembled a carriage.
âDid someone build and abandon this place? It almost feels like the old cityâs ruins.â
Valor said, confirming Shivâs suspicions.
âHow did they survive?â Shiv said, wondering how someone could even endure in a world where they couldnât get stronger through effort. Even at his most desperate, at his lowest, a skill advancement ignited something in him. Made him keep going, made him want more.
Shiv continued walking as he stared at the long metal carriage that didnât seem to end. âDid some great lord ride these carriages underground?â
âWhat?â
âEveryone?â Shiv said. He tried to imagine a world where everyone got to experience comfort and wonder. His mind couldnât manage it. âIt sounds like they cared about each other a lot. More than we do right now.â
Shiv kept walking for a while, doing his best to stay vigilant and careful. The good thing about the spear: Shiv could make it go dark at any time he wanted. After he left the dilapidated underrail carriage behind, he continued his journey through the strange, artificial tunnel for what felt like a good few hours. He only made a brief stop once to collect some more of those glowing mushrooms.
âHey, Valor. I got a question. The spear responds to me pretty well, but I managed to get an angler beastâs stalk earlier. It could shoot a beam when it was still connected to the monster, but I couldnât get it to do anything while I had it.â
âWhat? That was a ?â Shiv paused. He was imagining killing and eating the cave biterâs youngâonly to discover it was the young. âJust how big do they get?â
âMerchant ?â Shiv hissed. He tried to imagine a cave biter carrying all of Blackedge on its backâhow large and mighty the creature would have to be. That was⌠terrifying. But then the Deathless remembered the vicar. The skeletal serpent showed an awesome display of magic Shiv didnât even think possible. There was so much he didnât know, so much he was learning.
Shiv thought with a faint smile.
âWell. I look forward to cutting the stalk off an adult someday,â Shiv said with a grim smile.
âThe cave biter tried to eat me.â
Once again, Shiv felt the ground vanish from under him. âSapience? They can think?â
The Deathless couldnât help but laugh. âThatâs⌠Thatâs Everything is incredible. The world is great.â
Valor paused.
Shiv shrugged. âA shame they died. Didnât know them that well. Did what I could. Also, they were kind of mean to me.â
âYeah, I kind of got a taste of that.â Shiv shook his head. Out of everyone, the nicest person he'd met so far was someone trapped inside a dagger. This was all feeling like some kind of fever dreamâa really nice fever dream.
Remembering Georges and how Blackedge was under attack reduced Shivâs enthusiasm by a bit. He didnât much like most people there, but he still needed to grow more powerful and help with the war. Mainly because he wanted to rub his ascension in their faces. Especially Roland Arrow. He always knew he wasnât who they feared, and that he was his own person.
The glory of his imagined return and everyone begging him for forgiveness was interrupted as he finally came to a wide-open exit. As he carefully stepped out from the tunnel, a scene of something magnificent unveiled itself before him.
He looked up to find brilliant, bioluminescent veins, the brightness comparable to that offered by the fragments of the broken moon, spreading all across the distant ceiling of the massive cavern. And it just kept going, even past the horizon. It was like a trail of flowing stars running through the night sky. Except he was still underground. Except the Abyss was supposed to be a nightmarish realm that only housed monsters and terrors.
Consulting his compass, he found it directing him forward into a dense forest of⌠Were those giant mushrooms? Trailing mycelia undulated through colossal fungi rising before him, each one towering higher than a normal residential cluster on Blackedge. It was like he was discovering wonder with every step he took. If things kept up this way, he would feel too indebted to the raven-helmed stranger for throwing him off Blackedge.
Maybe Shiv might spare the tainted bastard. Just for letting him experience this. That didnât mean Shiv wasnât going to beat them within an inch of their life and take all their weapons and armor, though. Mercy didnât come for free, and Shiv was a very materialistic Pathbearer.
âYeah,â Shiv breathed as he strode toward the large fungi, feasting his eyes on everything. âIâmâIâm in a wide-open place now. Like a mushroom forest.â
A beat followed.
Shiv stopped. âWhat? Whatâs wrong with this place? It looks really peaceful. It might be the most peaceful placeââ
Something buried itself in Shivâs back before he could finish the sentence. A stiletto of pain burrowed deep through his lower back before stopping dead against his spine. Shiv let out a surprised shout of pain as he found himself lifted off the ground.
Valor called out, sounding worried.
Shiv somehow kept a grip on his spear even as the blade in his back twisted upward. He heard a chittering sound behind him, and when he turned, eight large black eyes greeted him. Four twitching mandibles flicked bubbling acid toward his body. Eight horrible, clawed hands clamped down his body, and the monster that seized him spread four pitch-black wings as it started rising into the air.
It was vaguely humanoid, but mostly resembled something between a wasp and one of those large, hairy spiders that hid in the city ruins sometimes, and every part of Shiv recoiled in disgust. âIâm⌠Iâll be backâŚâ he said to Valor, ignoring the stone daggerâs calls. Shiv a surging paralytic flood his body before his muscles went numb. His Biomancy gave him an intense sense of how it was rushing through his bloodstream and burning through his nerves.
His Toughness combated the venom quite well, but Shiv was still starting to feel lightheaded. He used his paltry magic field to the poison in place as best he could before turning the spearâs tip at himself.
He grinned at the thing he guessed to be a . âHey. Let me show you what it takes to drive a stinger all the way through someone.â
And with a surge of intent, a long needle of frost spiked straight through Shivâs chest and ran the weaver through as well.