“I have to get across.” Vash said, scanning the riverbank. His Dungeon Sense could search upriver for a considerable distance. There were no crossings that he could find within range. “Maybe I can swim it. The current doesn’t seem too bad. Using I could…”
Cass cut him off.
Vash thought of the Hammerworms, and the feeling he had of something deep in those pitch-black waters. “All right, you have a point. But I can’t wait any longer. Corwin and Jabez are trapped between the Scalebacks and the Shadow Temple. There’s no reason for the Scalebacks to wait any longer. They’re going to want to attack before reaching the temple.”
Cass agreed.
“With Jabez hurt, I don’t like their chances.” Vash said.
Cass said.
Vash knew what she was talking about. He mentally blocked much of the pain from the slashes on his back, but he could still feel them back there. In the past day, the wounds had begun to burn and itch irritably. The healing magic from his Wayfarer medallion would soothe the pain temporarily, but it would always surge back when he least expected it.
“I’m fine.” Vash said.
Cass prodded.
“Fine enough to help.” Vash countered. He considered the stone arch. The thin span of dull gray stone stretched to a peak of about twenty feet above the rushing waters below. “I know you said it was too brittle for me to cross, but there must be a way to strengthen it, or move so that it doesn’t collapse with me on it.”
Cass said, dryly.
“Very helpful.” Vash said, irritated.
“Then think of a way to help me, because I’m going to cross.” Vash said, stubbornly.
Cass said, bitterly. Dungeon Sense.
Vash hesitated for a moment, then relented. His perception swam only slightly this time, and he was better prepared for the change in perspective and the wave of vertigo. Once he recovered, he approached the stone arch. It rose like a jagged pile of stone blocks above the river. In most place it was only as wide as his palm, though it widened in a few places higher on the arch. The weight higher up likely contributed to the instability and weakness of the lower, thinner parts of the arch.
Cass instructed, her tone no nonsense, but Vash could tell she was worried.
With a slight effort of will, Vash could push his aura far enough to encompass the part of the stone arch directly in front of his body.
Enhance Senses She asked.
Vash nodded and summoned the framework to mind. A trickle of mana and the Talent snapped into place. Immediately, Vash could tell the difference. Through his aura, Vash could feel the structure of the stone in greater detail. He could sense which places were weak and prone to collapse, and which were stronger.
Cass let out a mental sigh.
“Everything else I’ve got deals with stabbing or hiding.” Vash said, carefully placing his foot on the first section of the arch.
Cass said.
Vash didn’t reply, just started his climb.
It was slow, tedious work. Although the arch’s angle allowed Vash to walk upright, he crouched and held on with his hands. let him know how fragile the structure really was as he shuffled along. The hand width of space became mere finger widths of support. A quarter of the way up the arch, Vash felt part of the stone give way beneath his boot. Stone crumbled into pebbles and shards, splashing into the dark water below. He quickly called up to steady himself and give him greater balance as he climbed.
Vash steadied and continued forwards, more rock crumbling as he moved. By the time he reached the top of the arch, he could feel a spider-web of cracks and weaknesses growing within the stone structure.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Cass said gently, like speaking to a spooked horse.
“I know.” Vash said through gritted teeth.
“I know!” Vash snapped.
A series of splashes behind him made his blood run cold. Vash glanced over his shoulder and could see parts of the arch falling away into the water below. The larger, more fragile sections of stone were flaking away, leaving behind the thin webs of stronger stone. He could feel those thin webs weakening.
Cass shouted, startling Vash into action.
Vash moved swiftly, but with all possible precision. All the while, he could hear the sharp crack of stone breaking away and the splash of falling rock hitting the water. He started to look back over his shoulder and see how bad the damage was.
Cass said, sharply.
Scrambling ahead, Vash followed her advice. He was three-quarters of the way across the arch when he felt the whole structure tremble.
Cass shouted, making his skull ring with the volume of her alarm.
Vash looked over his shoulder and saw that the half of the arch he had just traversed had collapsed into the river. The rock beneath his feet shuddered again and Vash wobbled, struggling to regain his balance.
Cass almost screamed. Vash felt the mental equivalent of a shove, and he darted forward. Rock crumbled beneath his feet, falling away as he stepped. More than once he lost his balance, leaping forward and pumping mana into Enhance Ability to keep himself from plummeting into the waters below.
The far side of the river was now in sight. The riverbank was a sheer rock face that fell straight down to the river. This side of the arch was even thinner than where Vash had started. Trusting to his Talents and luck, Vash barreled to the other side. Instinct guided his foot placement, and mostly, he found stable sections of stone. But this was short-lived, a few steps from the end of the arch, and the stone fell away completely. The arch had lost all strength and collapsed in a thunderous crash into the river.
Vash fell, pinwheeling his arms, panicking and reaching for something, anything, to grab onto.
The water below rushed up to meet him. He could see long, ropey tentacles gliding right at the surface. Something was waiting below.
Terrified, Vash recalled the first Talent formula that came to mind, the first one he had ever been taught.
A sudden cold suffused Vash’s body as the shadows wrapped around him. He pushed more mana into the Talent than he ever had before in a blind panic. The surrounding color winked out, and a hazy monochrome replaced it. Vash reached out with his aura, expanding it on instinct. He felt his aura onto something, like fingertips snagging a ledge. Vash pushed as much mana as possible into both and his aura.
Just below him, a yellow eye the size of a dinner plate, with a strange horizontal pupil, breached the water, staring at him with undisguised hunger.
On instinct, Vash’s Core on his aura. He felt a rushing sensation of movement, the whispering touch of shadows fluttering past.
Suddenly, color, sound, and warmth flooded back into Vash’s world as the collapsed. Vash stumbled forward, his feet striking the ground and slipping out from under him. He fell forward, trying to roll, but failing, his body hit the ground hard and he skidded across sharp gravel.
For a moment, Vash lay there, not sure what had just happened.
Cass asked, softly.
“I think so,” Vash whispered. “What was that?”
Cass said, laughing. Her voice had a giddy, manic quality.
Vash groaned, pushing himself up onto his knees. He looked around. The stone ground dropped off about ten feet behind him. Broken rocks marked the remnants of the collapsed arch. Splashing and a creaking groan came from the river.
Vash jumped and crab-walked backwards when a black tentacle, thick as his leg, slapped onto the edge of the cliff. The flared, leaf-shaped grasping end of the tentacle felt around the top of the cliff for several moments. Then there was an irritated growl, and the tentacle sank back down to the river.
“What was that?” Vash whispered, horrified.
Cass said in the same tone.
A pulse of mana from Vash’s pouch drew him out of his shocked reverie. Vash reached in, unsurprised when his fingers found the battered pages of his . He pulled out the book and let it fall open. The book opened to the page opposite the definition of his .
Shadowalk
RankPre-Requisite: Aura Use (Iron 1)
Mana Cost: Variable, base cost of 15 motes, increases with range. Each range band increases cost by double the previous.
Range: Variable. Initial range of 10 feet, increasing mana use can expand the range in bands of 10 feet.
Description: A powerful ability in the Rogue’s arsenal, but dangerous to use too often. As the user gains experience working with the shadow, and their Core becomes more attuned to shadows, both natural and Drae-influenced, the user may begin to physically use the Shadow Plane for more than just obscuring themselves. Shadowalk allows the user to latch onto nearby shadows with Aura Use. Then, with sufficient mana, the user pulls themselves through the Shadow Plane to the shadow’s location on the Material Plane. This transport is nearly instantaneous and does not seem to cause the same level of discomfort and disorientation as arcane spells that produce the same results.
Note:
“So I just teleported?” Vash said, incredulous.
. Cass said.
Vash put the away and staggered to his feet. He would have to look into his new Talent further once he could rest.
If he got a chance, to rest.
Fatigue washed over him. Vash felt a hollowness in his Core. He was running low on mana. The was over a distance of thirty feet, Vash guessed. That means he had burned around sixty motes of mana. Coupled with the other Talents he’d used in the crossing, he was very close to being completely out of mana.
“Time to get moving.” Vash said, shaking his head. He called up his again, willing to spend the small amount of mana to get information about his surroundings. When the Talent snapped into place, images and impressions bombarded him.
The huge, tentacled creature in the river was keeping close to the bank. Tentacles running along the rock, searching for the meal it had lost. A nearby colony of Hammerworms thrashed in the shallows, then dove into the water and headed upriver toward the recently lit beacon in the shadow. The Scalebacks, somewhere to the northeast from Vash, were packing up their camp hurriedly. The large, scarred bull that was their leader giving orders. Half set off in Vash’s direction, the other half, under the bull’s command, headed towards Jabez and Corwin’s camp.
To the north, the looming darkness of the Shadow Temple buzzed with activity. Vash’s actions had woken something up, and it felt like a hive of angry hornets.
Cass asked, concerned.
Vash began jogging to the north, not bothering to be careful, trusting his connection to his Dungeon Sense. “I think I just rang the dinner bell.”