Now that the bulk of their meal was stored, Al’Ruzan and Terry began the arduous task of dragging the dead dire wolf back to the cave.
Terry volunteered for the bloody job, which Al’Ruzan thought was more than fair.
He regretted offering within minutes, his tennis shoes slipping and sliding along the snow as he dragged the heavy wolf. But his pride wouldn’t let him ask for help, so he just tripped and stumbled his way back to the cave, casting Al’Ruzan dark looks by the end of it.
When they pushed past the fur-covered entrance, the others celebrated with quiet cheers that quickly turned into surprised gasps as they spotted the blood soaking Al’Ruzan’s clothes.
[Mara-Lin-Jaid]: What happened? Are you hurt?
What? No vision? Terry grumbled to himself as he deposited the bloody corpse at the edge of the cave.
Al’Ruzan handed over his knife to Chippy, who dutifully began skinning the bloody corpse.
[Al’Ruzan, third of his name]: Ask him.
The giant began stripping off his blood-soaked clothes, revealing strange musculature and blue-green skin beneath. Scars traced along his torso, some shallow, while many were deep. Terry couldn’t help but wonder what kind of upbringing would leave someone so young so scarred.
When he turned his gaze from Al’Ruzan’s scarred flesh, he found the others eyeing him expectantly.
He coughed awkwardly into his fist.
[Terry]: A miscommunication on my part. But as you can see, everyone’s fine.
Al’Ruzan chuffed to himself and began squeezing the blood and snow from his clothes.
[Terry]: Let me help with that.
Al’Ruzan looked at him in surprise, then handed them over. Terry activated his Draw Water Skill and pulled the moisture from the clothes. He wasn’t sure if the blood would pull free or simply dehydrate, but whatever happened, it was better than its current state by a long shot.
The blood ended up dehydrating, clear water pulling away as the red turned to flakes. With a couple of hard smacks, most of the bloody flakes fell away. He handed back a mostly-clean shirt to Al’Ruzan.
The Duelist eyed the dry shirt, then Terry with an appraising look. Before he could ask any awkward questions, Terry sent a Team chat.
[Terry]: How long until the monster shows up?
[Juan Carlos]: Usually five, ten minutes.
Terry got the impression Juan was less than enthused to be by himself—portal or not.
[Terry]: Okay, I’d like to get a look at this thing. I’m going to portal outside and find a place to hide.
Al’Ruzan and Mara-Lin-Jaid shared a wide-eyed look.
[Mara-Lin-Jaid]: Don’t. It’s not worth it.
[Al’Ruzan, third of his name]: You’ll invite more punishment on our heads.
Terry suppressed the annoyed sigh threatening to burst free.
[Terry]: How do you expect to ever complete this Quest if we let this thing hold us captive? You all have the same Quest as me. Maybe that’s what it meant—we’re stronger together, strong enough to take this thing head on.
Mara-Lin-Jaid and Al’Ruzan looked at each other with guarded expressions. Terry got the impression they were having a private chat. Chippy and Py watched the two of them with tense expressions, wondering if there might be another fight.
Juan sent him a message.
[Juan Carlos]: What’s happening, bro? Everyone went mute at the same time.
[Terry]: The Queen and King are conferring with each other.
It was a bit of an uncharitable statement, but the two of them had ruled over the others as if they were the preordained leaders—Al’Ruzan with his strength, Mara-Lin-Jaid with her visions. He didn’t like it, but he was also trying to turn over a new leaf with the two of them, so he forced himself to patiently wait for them to come to some decision.
He didn’t promise he’d agree, but he’d at least listen.
Almost on cue, the two of them turned toward Terry.
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[Mara-Lin-Jaid]: Okay, if you think you can remain hidden, then do so.
She took on a stern expression, like a mother scolding a child—which pissed Terry off.
[Mara-Lin-Jaid]: But only observe. That thing moves faster than either of you and is definitely stronger.
[Terry]: Got it.
He cut through space a moment later, appearing out in the blizzard a hundred feet behind the cave. Master of Light hid his visible and infrared light, leaving only a small window for his eyes. As he approached the cave from the rear, he looked for a spot in the white wasteland to get a good vantage.
The cave they resided in was a natural rock formation that slightly rose up from the ground, creating a bit of an elevated rock outcropping. If he perched on the top, directly over the cave entrance, he’d be able to see anything coming even with the terrible visibility of the storm.
As he moved into position, he reviewed his Talent point options that he’d been sitting on since he’d completed his Free Topeka Quest. He’d wanted to hold off until he’d got his bearings here and now seemed like the perfect opportunity. The first time he’d been awarded a Talent point, he’d selected Mask Signature. Focusing on the free point, he saw that Mask Signature branched out into two mutually exclusive options, while the other two options he’d had last time were still present as well—Condense Aura, which gave him a slot at his rank minus one, and Quick Shift, which reduced Affixation time by half.
The new options branching from Mask Signature were as follows:
Talent Upgrade: Mask Signature
Enhances Mask Signature to reduce the user’s aura significantly. The user will appear mundane to most aura senses and be nearly impossible to detect at the user’s rank and lower.
Prerequisite: Mask Signature
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Talent: New Skill — Project Aura Signature (D)
Receive a new Skill: Project Aura Signature.
Prerequisite: Mask Signature
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Skill: Project Aura Signature (D)
The user can create a close copy of their own aura and project it a limited distance.
Both of those options seemed immediately useful. He’d found through experience that his Mask Signature Talent excelled at making him appear weaker than he was and even let him hide from enemies. Receiving an enhanced version of that same Talent in conjunction with Master of Light would make him practically invisible to his enemies.
But the new Skill seemed even more versatile as he considered the implications. When he’d raided the sanguine back in Wichita, he’d projected an image of himself using his portals and Master of Light. If he added in this new Skill, his simulacrums would be nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
Then there was the immediate benefit of projecting his aura inside the cave. If this monster was aura sensitive, it might realize that there were only four people inside the cave when there should be six.
That thought made him worry about Juan, so he sent the man a quick message to return to the cave while he considered his two choices.
He felt that both were solid options, but the immediacy of faking his aura inside the cave eventually made the decision for him. With a thought, he selected the new Skill and Affixed it to his aura in place of Root Manipulation.
While the process completed, he scanned the surrounding wasteland for any sort of movement. The blizzard continued to obscure his view, but he could at least see the cave entrance below and the surrounding thirty or so feet.
With a quick message to the team so they weren’t startled, he activated his new Project Aura Signature Skill. He was able to place it with a similar sensation to when he worked with space, so it came naturally after a few seconds of practice.
A ripple in the air signaled the Skill was completed and he felt the sixth signature join the others a moment later. It felt odd to sense his own signature apart from himself; it was like an alien entity inhabiting his aura.
But there was no time to dwell on that odd sensation, the monster would be there any minute. As he studied the surrounding area, he had to wonder how it could arrive so quickly or know that they’d brought back a kill. Was it tracking their auras—which would be bad considering Terry had only just rectified the aura discrepancy—or was it watching them from the snow?
He wasn’t sure which thought creeped him out more.
He tried not to think about it as he waited, the wind biting at his skin, the snow melting in his shoes, the thought of cooked dire wolf making his mouth water. Thankfully, the monster didn’t keep them waiting long.
It seemed to rise from the snow outside their cave like a spirit. For the briefest moment, Terry imagined it was a draugr that had been haunting his party and his stomach clenched at the memory. But if it was a draugr, Terry was confident they could handle it—draugrs were the stuff of normie Terry’s nightmares, not the current him.
But it only took a cursory glance to realize that the monster was no draugr. It had white fur that blended into the snow and its aura was nothing like a draugr’s—at least, not any draugr he’d ever met.
The remains of the dire wolf Al’Ruzan had killed was thrown out of the cave—minus one leg—and the monster bent to retrieve it. As it moved, Terry confirmed that it was definitely bipedal in nature and it gripped the dire wolf corpse in two fur-covered hands.
The closest thing he could think of was a yeti, but he’d only seen them in sims and had never heard any stories of them being real.
Whatever it was, it moved fast. In seconds, it was nearing the edge of his visibility and he had to scramble down the side of the cave to keep it in sight.
A part of him considered leaving it at that—he’d caught a glimpse and satisfied his curiosity. But he knew instinctively that wouldn’t be enough; he wanted to follow it.
Thankfully, the dire wolf continued to leak blood from the stab wounds and the missing leg, so it was easy enough for Terry to follow the trail even if the monster itself was lost in the storm.
He moved around the cave entrance and saw the others staring after him with a mixture of expressions.
[Terry]: I’m gonna follow its trail, see if it has a den nearby.
A flurry of messages came in reply—Mara-Lin-Jaid scolding him, Al’Ruzan calling him a fool, Juan telling him to be careful—but he didn’t send an answer back.
He wasn’t going to pick a fight with the thing, just do some recon. And he was the best one to do it with his reduced aura signature and his Master of Light Skill.
The messages slowed as he followed the trail. Splatters of blood led in a straight line away from the cave and he didn’t have to look hard.
He guessed they’d traveled a mile or so before he spotted the small opening in the snow. It looked less like a cave and more like a fissure in the earth.
The blood trail led directly into it.
He eyed the fissure for a moment, torn with indecision. His gut told him to return to the others, figure out a game plan together—as the Quest said, they would be stronger as a team. Another part of him urged him to sneak into the fissure—or at least catch a glimpse inside. Perhaps it was a cave like theirs, or maybe it was an entrance into the vast underground cave system he’d discovered last week.
In the end, common sense won out and he resolved to return to the cave. He felt through space, reaching through to the cave with his senses. As he began to pull space apart, movement out of the corner of his eye caused his head to whip around.
A flash of white smashed into his head and then everything turned black.
When he came to, his thoughts were sluggish and refused to form a coherent idea. He was warm, he realized; comfortable, even. He luxuriated in that feeling for a moment, sinking into the furs wrapped around him.
His eyes snapped open and he went to sit up in a rush.
Pain stabbed into his head and behind his eyes, sending a wave of dizziness crashing through his body that nearly made him throw up.
He reluctantly let his head fall back onto the soft fur, instead feeling around with his aura. Instantly, he registered another presence nearby and sucked in a quick breath. On pure instinct, he reached out through space and searched for an escape. All around him, he felt the dense nature of rock and knew if he tried to portal nearby, he’d find himself crushed in the earth. He didn’t know how Travel worked when a portal was forced open into pure rock and he wasn’t about to find out today.
Sending his senses higher, he reached for the open air of the surface. Before he found it, that second presence moved.
Pulling his aura back, he prepared to defend himself. As the aura moved toward him, he scanned around with his eyes and saw the monster approaching from his side. Without a second thought, he began to split space through the monster—bisect him the way he’d done to Al’Ruzan’s finger.
Space refused to part.
The monster had rejected his aura with its own, the way Marlon had implied was possible, but Terry had never tested.
With a desperate flex of intent, he reached for his Liquefy Metal Skill to shape his silver bracelet into blades—only to realize that he’d dropped the Skill in favor of Draw Water and Manipulate Roots.
All he had were silver ball bearings on his wrist.
With a spike of pain behind his eyes and his head swimming, the only thing he could do was try to escape. He reached out once more to find the surface, when the monster came into full view.
His mouth gaped open and he dropped all control of his aura in shock.
“You’re…human…”
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