EPISODE THIRTY-THREE:
A CONVERSATION WITH MYSELF
“Their will alert them before the Scalebacks get close, right?” Vash said to himself, trying to shake off the feeling of dread. Through his , Vash saw the Scalebacks organizing themselves into three groups of four. The largest bull, a hulking, scarred creature with one cloudy, blind eye, laid out instructions to the other hunters. Vash couldn’t understand the words, but he was an Eth Mitaan, a servant of Kyrinos, Lord of Hunts and Hunters, and the leader’s intention was clear. The hunters would keep their distance, track the Wayfarers, and when they came to a suitable ambush location, they would spring their trap.
“But Jabez is a Master Wayfarer, a seasoned adventurer with a magic hammer.” Vash said, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.
“Corwin has become a damn good fighter.”
“I’m hours behind them and on the wrong side of the river. What can I do?” Vash snarled, annoyed that his own conscience was getting so loud.
Vash hesitated, realizing that he wasn’t sure what exactly he could do with his new Talent. Using mana had allowed him to use it at a greater distance and with specific intent. The layering trick that he had used back at the Guild Lodge, during the Gauntlet, had opened up new options for him to use and combine his Talents.
“Let’s think this through.” Vash said, opening his eyes and looking around. He still maintained his connection to the vision, making his head swim slightly as he tried to process the images that his normal sight was giving him, and the ones from his . It was like seeing double, and Vash took a few moments to adjust.
“All right, hold the vision in your head. Maybe think of it like a memory rather than something you’re actually seeing.” Vash told himself, fighting against the feeling of vertigo.
Slowly, Vash pushed the vision into the background, into his thoughts rather than his eyes. He could still ‘see’ the vision, but it no longer sent waves of dizziness through him. For now, he was steady.
“That’s a good first step.” Vash said, keeping up the self-encouragement.
“Next, let’s see if we can keep our connection while not knuckle-deep in mud,” Vash said, slowly pulling his fingers back out of the soft black mud of the riverbank. As he withdrew his fingers, he felt his hold on the get more tenuous. The vision in his head started to fade and lose detail. “Contact seems to be necessary for this kind of connection.”
“I am fucking focused!” Vash snapped.
“That’s a good question.” Vash said, considering the thought. In the same way he had shifted the focus of his Dungeon Sense vision, he moved his awareness of the connection point away from the tips of his fingers.
Slowly, the connection moved up his fingers and coalesced in his palm, which was resting on the damp sandy soil.
Rather than shifting the awareness all along his body, which would mean pressing his whole body into the mud, Vash focused a second point of awareness on the ball of his right foot. Piece by piece, the connection drifted through the ground to Vash’s foot. It was a taxing process, very much like learning to tap into his Core the first time. He was having to split his awareness and focus into several parts in order to maintain the link.
After several tense moments, Vash felt the connection solidify in his foot. It was an interesting feeling. He felt more grounded, more aware of where he was and what was around him.
He carefully lifted his fingers from the ground, but still maintained the connection. Standing upright, Vash rocked slightly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. It took a little practice, but soon he was shifting the link from foot to foot, smoothly maintaining the connection while lifting each foot a bare inch above the ground and then setting it back down again.
“I can walk, that’s good.” Vash said, slowly walking to the north, following the river again. Even though he had stretched his awareness using , he really couldn’t affect anything close to Corwin and Jabez. He had to catch up to them.
Maintaining the connection was tricky at first. Vash kept his mind focused on shifting the link from foot to foot as he trudged along the river. He got the hang of it before long. Within an hour, he was effortlessly keeping the link while moving at a decent pace.
As he walked, he checked in on the Scalebacks and the Wayfarers. Corwin and Jabez had passed through the worst of the vertical climb, and were now passing over a plateau that stretched from the river’s edge and disappeared into the murky distance of the cavern. The same pale grasses that Vash was passing through carpeted the plateau growing to just above Corwin’s knee.
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“An open area.” Vash breathed. “The Scalebacks will want someplace with less visibility for their ambush.”
With Corwin and Jabez ‘safe’ for the moment, Vash could concentrate on what he might actually do to help them.
“I doubt I can just shout warnings across the river.” Vash said, glancing over at the dark water on his right. His Dungeon Sense told him that the opposite bank was only about a hundred yards from where he stood, but it also told him that the river was teeming with creatures like the Hammerworms, and worse. The shadow essence of the Underlands could create some genuine horrors.
Vash nodded in agreement. It was one thing to be told of the dangers of the shadow, to have someone preach about it on Temple Day. But it was completely different to experience those dangers for yourself.
“No wonder Wayfarers always seem so grouchy.” Vash said, idly wondering if he would end up that way if he continued along this path.
“True, this is only short term…” Vash began, then trailed off. “Wait, am I talking to myself and answering?”
Vash stopped, feeling cold dread grip him. He remembered the old temple, the vision of the king who placed the soulstone upon his forehead and the demonic eye that lodged there afterwards. When he woke up, the soulstone was nowhere to be seen.
. The voice in his head said. As it did so, the tone changed. Before, it had been using a voice similar to his own. Now it shifted to a woman’s voice, a pleasant alto with just a hint of huskiness.
“Then what are you?” Vash asked, cautiously.
. The voice sighed, sounding endlessly weary.
Vash said nothing, too stunned to truly process what was happening. “Why can I hear you?”
. The voice said proudly.
“That doesn’t help.” Vash said, frowning.
“The place I grew up in didn’t like part-elves learning too much.” Vash said, irritably. “Didn’t want dangerous half-breeds running around.”
. The voice said, a hint of disgust tinging her tone. Dungeon Sense
Vash felt his insides twisting with panic. “So I have an unknown soul inside my body right now.”
Thoughts of the shadow-taint, possession by Drae demons, raced through his mind.
The voice said, as soothingly as possible.
“Magic book? What magic book?” Vash asked, confused.
. The voice said.
“Corwin said they weren’t enchanted.”
“All right, since there’s nothing I can do about this right now. I suppose we just go on as we have been?” Vash said, beginning to walk again, but his connection to his felt shakier, likely in response to his entire world just being shaken up.
. The voice said, firmly.
“What sort of help?” Vash asked, suspicious.
. The voice said, though it had an air of friendly banter.
“Aura?” Vash asked, confused.
Vash frowned, unsure, but did as the voice instructed. Reversing the method he used to connect with his Core took a few tries, eventually he felt a slight tingle all over his body, similar to gooseflesh but followed by warmth. He could feel his aura drawing in motes of magical energy and incorporating it into the thin field all around his body. The motes would then flow to the meridian lines and then down into his Core. He had often wondered how his Core replenished itself, but he had always been too busy with training how to use his Talents to really study how they worked.
. The voice said.
“It’s going to get very awkward if you keep reading my thoughts.” Vash said.
. The voice said, wearily.
“Fair enough.”
Dungeon Sense
“All right.” Vash said, uncertainly. He focused on his aura, pushing it out slightly, like blowing up a bubble. He was afraid it might burst if he pushed too hard. It was a strange feeling, like fingertips brushing your skin, only from about an inch away from your body. He could sense the connection with the ground, however, and centered his there. No matter how he walked now, he could keep a solid connection with the ground.
Vash began walking faster. His did not waver. Soon, he could shift his focus away and think about other things while he walked.
There, isn’t that better?
“It’s…interesting.” Vash said, still not sure how he felt about sharing his mind with a passenger like this.
. The voice said, her tone more quiet, tired.
“All right.” Vash said. He felt the voice recede, like a part of him falling asleep. “Wait, just a moment!”
The ‘presence’ of the voice returned, like a lantern being turned up for more light.
“This is going to get awkward if I keep having to call you ‘the voice in my head’, do you have a name?”
The voice laughed, a lovely, musical sound.
