(I) Weave
Chapter 23 of "Path of the Deathless" kicks off with: -14 (I)WeaveTension immediately flooded the chamber, but Shiv didnât care. He suffered enough at the... Continue reading!
-14 (I)
Weave
Tension immediately flooded the chamber, but Shiv didnât care. He suffered enough at the hands of a mind mage. And he knew what they could do to him. What they could discover.
Shiv thought.
The Umbrals reacted subtly to his warning. The Psychomancer among themâthe one standing at the very front of their cohortâflashed her eyes, and a spark of mana indicated that she was analyzing him. That was already not good. She mouthed the word âDeathlessâ under her breath, and a look of pure confusion came over her. âWhat is your Path? I have never heard of it.â
Shiv ignored the question and pressed his warning. âI am not threatening any of you.â He held out his hands, keeping his fingers open, even as his kitchen knife remained attached to him, bound as it was. âHowever, I have experienced an unfortunate encounter with a feral mind weaver.â
This drew the Weaveressâs attention, and once more he read something from the spiderâs body languageâa sort of embarrassment.
âSome of our hatchlings are born with⌠less than full faculties,â she admitted. âIt is unfortunate you encountered them, but you should rest assured that we will not damage you the same way.â
âYeah, no. This halfway trust goes both ways, and from what youâre saying, they werenât even a good mind mage. Even so, they reached into my mind and nearly broke me for good. I didnât much like that. I will surrender my weapons, and Iâll do whatever else you ask. But if you touch my mind, Iâll push your brain out of your eye sockets.â
The Psychomancer Umbral narrowed her eyes. âYouâre more than two meters away and not that fast. I doubt youâll get to any of us before I make you sleep.â
âYouâre probably right about that. My Reflexes are definitely lower than all of yours.â Shiv paused for effect. âThereâs just one problem. Youâre in my , too.â
And slowly, her sneer faded as her eyes widened. Yeah, none of them were Biomancers. They should have covered all their bases. But then again, this was a containment chamberâa teleportation anchor. Even if this forward team was lost, they could just seal the place and trigger the spells lining the walls to incinerate everyone inside. There wasnât much he could do against that. Other than die and resurrect, of course.
Valorâs voice held a disappointed edge to it.
Shiv cracked his neck and shrugged. âNo mind magic. Not on me. Thatâs my tact. If they reach in, Iâll either pop them or pop myself. Thatâs my red line. Iâm sure you have yours.â
Valor paused for a second, then gave a long sigh.
The Weaveress considered the situation, observing Shiv. He faintly looked at the Psychomancer and Umbral, and guessed that they were communicating telepathically. Their answer to his adamant refusal to have his mind read came as the Umbral Psychomancer finally spoke: âWe can handle an Adept.â
Shiv could respect the confidence. Too bad they didnât know who they were dealing with. he thought.
He thought of all the years of misery back in Blackedge.
A sticky sound came from behind Shiv, and he turned to see the gateway get sealed shut by a layer of webbing. On the other sideâwhere he briefly sensed two alien biologies with his fieldâother Weaveresses worked to close the portal. A few seconds later, only a patch of silky-smooth webbing remained of the entrance Shiv came through.
âWe request that you stand in the center of the escort, honored guest,â the Umbral mind mage spoke. âWe additionally request that you keep your hands to yourself after surrendering your weapon, and that you refrain from threatening me or my sisters with your Biomancy.â
âYou figured that out pretty fast,â Shiv said. âHow do you know I was a Biomancer?â
âMe and my sisters have a number of magical skills. Itâs one of the mana types not included. Now, if you would, please.â
Shiv proceeded as they asked. He unequipped his kitchen knifeâalbeit reluctantlyâand handed it over to the Umbral. Before the Umbral could turn away, he addressed her again. âI wanted to bring back the spear that belonged to Sister Nomos of your order, but it was destroyed along my journey. I'm sorry. She died doing her duty. I preserved her and her sisters in ice somewhere way back behind me. You should still be able to find themâbut Valor said their communications brooches might be compromised. Plenty of vampires there too.â
â the Umbral cursed. The Psychomancer stared at him for a long moment, then offered him the slightest of nods. âThen you have more decency than most surfacersâthan most other Abyssals. Thank you.â
Shiv thought.
âExpect the kitchen knife back,â he said as he stepped to stand in the middle of the group. âThatâs mine. In fact, I need that back.â
None of them replied to him, and Shiv just shook his head. He thought he had bad social skills, growing up as an outcast of outcasts. But so far, it seemed that all these Umbral treated talking like it would give them the taint.
Valorâs voice sounded. The dagger was currently being held by the Weaveress, and she used two hands to clutch it as if it was a revered relic from some bygone age.
âOh, Great One, it honors us to see you delivered. It pleases us that you accepted our Great Motherâs offer.â She stared at Valor with her eight eyes. âThere are many things we have to discussâand many things we can offer one another.â
Valor said, sounding suddenly very exhausted.
At that, the Weaveress briefly stopped walking. To Shivâs surprise, the other Umbral stopped as well, perfectly in sync. He nearly ran into the Psychomancer, but he caught himself, and he shifted backward, remaining at the center of the group.
He nursed that thought for a few moments and realized it was probably true. Mind mages. He still couldnât believe it. In all his years on Black Edge, he knew maybe only one Psychomancerâand they were in Roland Arrowâs direct employ. Another one of the Town Lordâs . Mind magic required one to bear a Monitoring Curse to make sure that they didnât use a skill for their own various purposesâor even worse ends.
Shiv realized.
As the spells circulating the teleportation chamber flashed and passed through Shiv, he watched as some patterns glided against his skin, lighting his newly gained Diamond Shell. One of the younger-looking Umbrals eyed him, and her eyebrows rose. âWhy is your skin so shiny?â
âSister,â the Psychomancer said severely.
The Umbral that just spoke to Shiv sputtered and looked straight on.
âForgive her,â the Psychomancer muttered. âShe is new to the Order, and her focus slips sometimes.â
Shiv shrugged. âI donât mind that. The rest of you are too severe, in my opinion.â
With examinations concluded and a temporary truce reached, a doorway leading out from the teleportation chamber revealed itself, and Shiv followed his escorts as they walked down a long and surprisingly luxurious hallway.
He didnât need to go through several security checkpoints like back on Blackedge. Nor was there a clerk waiting to stamp him in and make sure that he wasnât bringing any illicit substances, contaminants, or harboring any other questionable items. There was, however, a strong scent of incense in the air, and he found himself walking beneath web-wrapped chandeliers gleaming with brilliant shards of night-glass.
Surrounding him were stone statues of Weaveresses, each holding strange implements, looking down at him, extending their bottom two limbs as if trying to bless those who walked this path. This area was wide open, and he noted other doorways he assumed led to different teleportation anchors.
he thought. Slowly, he tried to piece together how large this complex might be. Blackedge was a fortress-turned-town, the tip of a spear against the abyssal invasion. This place, thoughâthis place felt a lot bigger than a town.
It took a bit of walking before they reached a large platform. As they arrived, another group of Umbrals carrying what seemed to be a very wounded Weaveress staggered before them. A scene followed as the lead Umbral for the other group opened her mouth to speak, only to see the Psychomancer and nod. It took Shiv a moment to realize a full, silent conversation happened between them.
he thought, his unease growing.
As one, they released their wounded Weaveress and offered her to Shivâs group. A few of the Umbrals guarding him walked over and began helping the large spider creature along.
âWhat happened, sister?â the Weaveress with Shivâs group greeted her injured companion.
âThe Court... The Bloodspawn,â the wounded spider moaned. âThey are growing more brazen by the day. They are desperate, searching⌠Theyâre trying to find the dagger⌠before we doâŚâ
âAh.â The Weaveress standing behind Shiv let out a note of pleasure. âI fear it is too late for them.â She held the Cage of Valor Thann high, and the wounded Weaveress gave a most human squeal of girlish delight. âThe Mother will be pleased!â
âThe Mother will be pleased,â the Weaveress holding Valor echoed.
They entered the lift, and the other group of Umbrals and their Weaveress ceded their spot to Shivâs group first. Soon, he found himself going downwardâeven deeper down. he wondered.
âYou are a long way from the surface,â the Psychomancer suddenly said.
He looked at her for a moment and let out a chuckle. âYeah, Iâve been hearing that a lot. Doesnât help that I didnât really want to leave. I was kind of thrown.â
This caught her by surprise. âThrown!â The Psychomancer turned, showing half her face. Her crystalline diadem flashed brilliantly even in the dim glow, and Shiv studied her features. She had a sharp nose and more than a few scars on her lip. Her dark blue eyes were also interesting. He found himself envious of her ability to see in the dark. He also found himself regretful that he didnât manage to steal the crystal hat the mind weaver hadâor even the staff from the fire weaver.
âYeah, I was thrown,â Shiv continued. âMy home got attacked. The Abyss started a new warâor so I thoughtâand I ended up falling all the way down. Didnât really want to end up down here, but sometimes life works out funny that way.â
Foreshadowing: In her room is a daggerâa blade found in her motherâs chest. Her mother was an Umbral sister too. She went out on a mission one day and didnât truly come back. Her body and the blade were the only things returned to her. The weapon is a surfacer dagger, and she has been searching for the killer ever since.
Foreshadowing > 2
Stunned by what Foreshadowing revealed to him, he missed what the Psychomancer said the first time.
âExcuse me,â he muttered, asking her to repeat herself.
âI said, Iâm surprised youâre still alive. Itâs quite the long fall to go from the surface all the way down to the Umbral Depths.â
Shiv chuckled darkly. âYeah, well⌠Iâm pretty tough.â
âHow tough?â the Psychomancer pressed. Shiv knew she was digging for answers. She was curious. He couldnât say that he wasnât curious about her in certain ways as well.
âProbably tougher than you. At least, without that armor youâre wearing.â He examined her armor in more detail. Each of the Umbrals here wore a webbed cloak. It obfuscated the exact nature and composition of their armor, but he could tell it was some kind of leather. The same kind that Nomos and the others wore. Unlike the mages from the surface, most Umbrals kept themselves light and quick. Strange.
Shiv thought to himself. That thought filled him with a sense of pleasure. A few days ago, a few stray pieces of shrapnel could have laid him low. Nowânow he was marching through flame-consumed wastelands, ignoring the shouts of a dragon the size of a mountain, surviving bites from a giant snake that could rip off someoneâs head.
âLet me give you a bit of advice, oh durable one.â The Psychomancerâs voice held a slight hint of teasing. âYou might think yourself quite strong and capable for surviving so long in the wastelandsâespecially surviving where a group of our own sisters could not. But here, you are not merely so dangerous, so mind yourself and act accordingly. We will treat you as befitting an honored guest, so long as you donât give us a reason to think otherwise. We have already offered a great deal of leniency toward you.â
Shiv considered her words and thought that it was most acceptable.
âI wonât end fights if no one starts them.â And faintly, Shiv caught something: The corner of her scarred lip briefly twitched upward. Shiv realized.