Published at 16th of February 2024 2:24 pm

Chapter 2.34 Unity Is Hard To Preserve

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Nox Ratra

Journeyman

Crystalize Essence | Essence Animation

69/104 | 6/22

Essence Shaping | Arrow

20/41 | 2/8

The party explored for an hour, spending a cumulative quarter of it in combat. They crept, tracked their targets for several minutes, and ensured other patrols were a sufficient distance away before engaging. Nox and Lillin had to restrain themselves and avoid loud attacks. It limited their offensive potential, making each fight calculated, careful, and painfully slow.

Nox compensated by using spell-woven arrows with magic tailored to the involved essence. They provided valuable debilitating effects or changed the battlefield to the party’s advantage. They drained his mana significantly, but no one suffered further injuries.

Caitlin and Ernest took turns being the primary vanguard since the narrow bridges kept them from fighting side by side. They used the limited space to funnel the asura, purposely letting some pass so the second could catch them off balance with Alexander’s squirrels. Lillin patiently threw gravity orbs to keep their foe off-balance. She grumbled about having to contain her strength but played along.

The party rested for exactly thirty minutes before continuing for another hour, repeating the process multiple times during the delve’s course. Michelle exited the coffin during breaks to inspect her brother but didn’t have to bother with significant healing again. Instead, Ernest had her reverse the release of monster limbs or replace them when one got too worn down. They claimed a few elite draconic asura corpses, too. Meanwhile, Lillin stored any trinkets or equipment with signs of enchantment. Nox also had her stow a few third eyes in stasis fluid, planning to study them for alchemical purposes.

Joana didn’t make them delve for the entire six hours, to the party's relief. Instead, she guided them to an exit during the fourth one-hour exploration period. She declared they had put forth a sufficient performance for the class and doled out individual criticism. The advice Joana had for Nox didn’t surprise him. He needed to consider the environment better and prepare for situations where direct, all-out attacks wouldn’t be possible.

“Instead of coming up with spells as and when needed, it might be worth designing and storing a few general-use arrows,” Joana concluded. “Alternatively, you could memorize a handful of easily modifiable spell scripts for your favorite essences.”

Hogg’s avatar lingered around the major bridges leading to the university exit, forcing the party to another. The elevator took them to a new section of the first floor, and they emerged just outside Noble Quarter’s external walls. Ravenous, tired, and frustrated, they ended up in a tavern with plates of roast lamb, crispy potatoes, and boiled vegetables. The food lacked seasoning and Leana’s magic touch. No one complained, and they ate mostly in silence.

The first low-adept level delve left them humbled. Niddhogg’s domain was far more dangerous than Professor Wolfheart’s summons or the rifts they had explored below. Ernest had lost significant power since his last foray into the dungeon. Even though Caitlin and Alexander had visited it recently, they felt impotent without Professor Wolfhammer’s direct support. Meanwhile, Lillin’s low arcane endurance frustrated her. The mimic-body had no trouble keeping up with inhuman physical exertions, but her mind struggled with the strain of mostly intent-driven casting. Her magic also consumed alarming levels of mana, forcing uncomfortably long breaks between potent spells. Joana’s presence also kept Lillin from altering her physiology enough to cut loose with a maximum power gravity armor.

“What’s going on with you, Michelle?” Nox asked once they were done eating. “I understand that we made a mistake, and Ernest got hurt. You have every right to be mad.” He glanced at the larger Beaufort’s head. It looked like someone had stretched a baby’s face over a human skull. He had chubby cheeks and no hair. “But something is going on that you’re not telling us.” He leaned across the table and spoke softer. “Is it the Imperium?”

“It is.” Michelle sighed, glancing at her brother. Despite his rigid form, Ernest appeared deflated.”But not in the way you think.”

“Whatever it is, tell us.” Caitlin placed a hand on Michelle’s forearm. Bruises covered her face and neck. They grew lighter with every passing minute as passive magic repaired the damaged blood vessels under her skin. “We’re here for you, Michelle. I’m sure we can devise a solution if we put our heads together. I know the Imperium are bastards, but—”

“They are, but not in this situation. There’s been a change in the Inquisition over the last few months. The Beaufort name has been pardoned. My supposed crimes were erased last month, and our field of study is no longer an abhorrent abomination.” Michelle leaned back in her chair and took a long swig from her mug. A deep belch escaped her as she continued. “I fled my chimera free when fleeing our old home. Some survived and reproduced in hiding. When Terrastalia passed, leaving myconids and other beasts along the IMperium’s border, my old chimera protected the villages and towns without defenses.

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“The Imperium wants me to continue my research with their funding in my old family estate. They’ll return all territory and titles to us along with a hefty sum as reparations. My work in the Edelweiss barony also helped them cure a blight variant plaguing their farms, too.” Tears flowed down Michelle’s cheek, and her voice trembled. “Ernest and I have the opportunity to return home. We’ll get almost everything back, but that means serving the very people who killed or caused the death of most of our family and turned us into fugitives.”

“Are you sure it's not a trap?” Nox asked.

Michelle nodded. “The paperwork is very official and has been banked with the artisan’s guild and university. The Inquisition risks losing local support and several privileges if they trick us.”

“You can’t seriously be considering this, can you?” Caitlin asked, still holding Michelle’s arm. “Please tell me you won’t accept their offer after everything you told me.”

“You don’t understand,” Michelle sobbed, freeing her arm. She rose from her seat and stood by her brother, hand resting on his shoulder. “Beaufort Keep and our lands are a lot more to us than our family’s ancestral home. The laboratories contain spell scripts and traves of our ancestors' work. Knowledge is our inheritance. What kind of person would I be if I let their work disappear or fall into the hands of the people who killed them? It’s my duty to pick up where they left off and continue my family’s name.” She paused, wiping her eyes and nose. Ernest placed a giant hand over his sister’s and gave her an encouraging nod. “We need to do this. The world is changing. They’re finally seeing value in what my family has spent generations doing.”

“You know they just want you to create war machines, right?” Caitlin asked. Her words felt unnecessary, and Nox wondered whether the almost cruel words had come from the Woodson woman’s fear of losing her best friend.

“Is what your family started any different?” Michelle asked curtly. “Isn’t this university and its most populous department a system for churning out war machines and weapons?”

The two women stared at each other in silence. Despite the cold words, Nox saw no rage in either set of eyes. Instead, Michelle and Caitlin looked hurt and scared.

“We hadn’t decided because we were scared of losing you,” Michelle said. “Worried about Imperium influence, we spent years keeping people at bay until Kris forced all of us together. You all have become very dear to us. But today did it for me. I can’t stand to see Ernest getting hurt over and over again. We want no part in this war. I want to go home.”

“Me, too,” Ernest replied. “I want to see my sister happy and not forever using work as a distraction. Returning to the old Beaufort land will bring us peace.”

Nox wanted to ask what it meant for the party. After all, they would struggle to function as just a trio. The university would refuse to grant them dungeon access or give them information regarding rifts with insufficient numbers. However, Nox held his tongue. He was just as worried about losing his friends. He didn’t share the same concerns as Caitlin. Though a corrupt entity riddled with dungeon lord cults, the Imperium valued paperwork and rarely reneged on deals made through the artisan’s guild. Yet he worried about the pair.

“Good for you,” Lillin said. “I’d love to someday return to the place where I was born. I’m happy for the two of you.”

“Thank you,” Michelle said, with an almost shocked look.

Everyone but Caitlin echoed Lillin’s sentiment. The female half of the Woodson siblings rose and marched out of the tavern. “I’ll cover her part of the tab,” Alexander said, breaking the silence that hung over the table for several minutes following the departure. “I’m sorry about Caitlin. She’s bad at making friends and worse at parting with them.”

“It’s alright,” Michelle said. “I’m not mad at her. I’ll miss her, too.”

The party went their separate ways after their meal. Instead of returning to the store, Nox took a carriage to the noble dormitories on the Woodson University campus. He arrived just as Aria was departing, surrounded by a group of women in equally fabulous attire.

“Is everything alright?” She rushed to Nox when she saw him. Grime, soot, and dirt covered Nox, but that didn’t stop the woman from catching him when he stumbled.

“I’m sorry,” Nox said. “I didn’t think you had plans.” He nodded at the curious women hovering nearby. “I’ll let you carry on with your friends. Perhaps Pudge—

“Are you alright, Nox?” Aria asked, holding Nox’s face by the lower jaw and forcing eye contact.

“I just had a hard day and wanted to see you.” Nox wanted to say that he didn’t want to be alone. He wouldn’t be if he returned to his apartment. After all, Lillin would be there with him. Unfortunately, the mimic-woman struggled to grasp emotional concepts. Nox doubted her increasing human tendencies had progressed enough to help her in the current situation.

Aria looped an arm around Nox’s and addressed her friends. “I’m sorry, ladies. You’ll have to go on without me. My bo needs me tonight.”

The skilled Edelweiss heir received giggles and nods for the declaration from most of her friends as they moved on. Instead of asking questions, Aria led Nox through the dormitory’s courtyard and into the wing containing her apartment. The pair passed Annabelle and Wilson on the way. Both couples avoided eye contact with each other.

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