Chapter 24

“There are many milestones up on the Path, each one reflecting a pivotable event or opportunity in one’s growth. The first as we all know is Awakening, the process of intentionally suffusing one’s very soul with enough mana as to empower it and bring it forth from its slumber. Once awake, the soul immediately empowers one’s heart and body, granting the former greatly increased capacity and the latter greatly increased potency. From there we then have the twin stages of Resonance and Attunement of which any Ascendant may breakthrough at either time after Awakening, should they find the inspiration to do so. To achieve Resonance, one must harmonize the energy of the body with the now awakened essence within their spirit, granting it truly unfettered potential. As for Attunement, the secret lies within one’s Heart, to use the bounty that that awakened soul has granted to find one’s Talent, one’s anchor for future growth. It is only one both these two milestones have been conquered that one can progress onwards into Enkindling…”

—The Path of Ascension, Janis Wayne, The Golden Age, 4982

“So, what can we count on ya being able to handle once things start to cook?”

The question came out blunt and direct, unlike those Vincent had ever heard in his new life before today, carrying not so much as drop of the typical hesitance or caution he’d grown accustomed to hearing when others like Theo or Ayre asked him something. 

And for good reason too, seeing as Borin wasn’t a Dormant like they were, but rather as Vincent had discovered an Enkindled, the stage of Ascension just below Tempered.

“Whatever you need me to,” Vincent stated, sparing the man a glance as he and all of the other Stonecloaks all strode forward in a group along the abandoned and dark street. Around them were nothing but sprawling and imposing warehouses, the odd shipbuilding yard, and an overlarge marina for boat storage. “I mean so long as it’s not standing up against a Tempered. That…that is still beyond me.”

“It’s beyond all of us,” the magma haired dwarf immediately stated as he returned Vincent’s gaze, the living earth and fire mana that coursed through it making it look as if it were actively molten. “Includin meself.”

Borin went on to shake his head sharply before continuing, “nay, if there’s a Tempered there, then we dip and look to the others to step in. Though I’m not expectin that ta be a problem. Not tonight.”

“And…why is that?” Vincent dared to ask, not needing more context to know that the ‘others’ referred to the various under realm gangs and guilds that made up Everness dark side. Not that he’d been offered any, let alone meaningful insight as to how it all worked. No, in fact it had been the complete opposite, with Borin simply telling Vincent that they were headed to Dockside in search of the Shadowed Hand, the district that as its name suggested bordered Lake Everness and absolutely nothing else.

“Cause once a ‘sendant reaches a certain point in our realm, they become worth keepin tabs on. Matter of survival ya see,” Borin explained. “And the Hand only had one to their name. Thorn. No other came even close.”

“Also there was no new Tempered with the group that attacked the clinic,” Norin added after a pair of quick snaps caused Vincent’s attention to shift that way. “If they are truly as desperate as they act. They would have been there. They would have had to be.”

“Then that’s one less thing to worry about then,” Vincent said, even if he wasn’t completely sure he believed it. While he had come out tonight prepared for violence, he still very much knew his limits, of what he could and couldn’t do. As it was right now, those limits happened to be rather small. For based on what he’d seen just in passing, Vincent was almost completely certain that even an Enkindled such as Borin was out of his ability to handle. By that point any decent Ascendant had multiple, if not all their soulmelds fully established, which depending on what they had chosen could make their physical prowess literally impossible for Vincent to compete with.

It doesn’t matter how strong my Will or ability to wield mana is if they are strong and fast enough to simply throw a rock through my head before I can even react, Vincent thought as he went on to weigh the virtues and mana that he had at his disposal. Dormants, I’m certain I can handle, and likely the same with Awakened, that is if those boys I saw before were any indication. But as for Resonants or Attuned…I’m not certain. Maybe the latter, but likely not the former. At least not until I awaken myself. Maybe not even then.

It was train of thought that Vincent promptly let fade away when he saw a shadowed figure appear in the distance ahead of them, it’s shape rapidly gaining definition until it resolved itself into the familiar form of a dwarf.

“Gettin almost there,” the woman said as she fell in alongside them, her voice pitched just above a whisper. “Eyes saw them come this way to a lakeside warehouse at the end of the way.”

“Hrm, lakeside, eh?” Borin mused, an unhappy click of the tongue leaving his mouth a second later. “I’m not liking the sound of that.”

Nor did the rest of the Stonecloaks sound happy either as several muttered curses echoed out at the news, everyone’s pace then picking up with a notable amount of urgency.

“Shroud us please, Teta,” Borin commanded as they moved, his words barely leaving his mouth before a veil of shadow fell over them, causing what dim light there was from the surrounding city to darken even further.

Something that caused a surge of knowledge to shake itself loose from somewhere with Vincent’s mind.

Oh, I remember how to do this now, he realized suddenly while looking up at the thin, almost invisible layer of shadow mana flowing above him, which combined with ambient darkness around them he knew would make them almost impossible to see from the outside. At least to basic, mundane methods of detection. Just fold the mana like that, and then wrap it around me this way…

Quickly assimilating the newfound spell, it served to distract Vincent long enough for them to arrive at their destination, which was punctuated by the sound of several collective curses.

“Feckers are ditching the city,” he heard one of the dwarves announce in a particularly spiteful tone, the source of which he didn’t need to search particularly hard to discover.

Having traveled with speed and purpose in their short jaunt with the shroud over them, they had all followed the dockside street to its end, which culminated in a large, sprawling warehouse that dominated the cul-de-sac, bordered by the lake on every side. But it wasn’t the warehouse itself that set off the dwarves, rather it was the bobbing mast of a ship visible from behind it.

“Looks like,” Borin growled as they all came to a stop directly in between two other buildings that bordered the street, the shadows they cast making it a perfect place to observe from.

And, as they soon discovered, there was certainly plenty to observe.

Filled with the distant sounds of moving people and the light to aid in their work, it was clear at a just a glance that the warehouse was occupied despite the exceptionally late hour. However while the activity could potentially be explained away by virtue of an urgent late night contract, what couldn’t be were the several lookouts that Vincent soon picked out watching the street, his Insight painting them a crimson red in his vision.

“I see four sentries,” Vincent announced softly. “Two half hidden on the scaffolding on the left, one walking a patrol in front, and another in the right most open window on the second floor. Can’t tell if any of them are using light mana to pierce through the dark, but given that none of them are running straight at us, I doubt it.”

The assessment immediately caused the lingering muttering amongst the dwarfs to stop, with all of them turning to look in Vincent’s direction, faint notes of surprise on each of their faces.

“Well.” Borin said after a short pause, his golden eyes blinking twice as he looked at Vincent. “I suppose that lays the land right out for us, don’t it?”

A murmured grumble of ascent sounded out from the dwarves, which included a faint grunt from Norin.

“Cutter in the waters is gonna have ta be our first strike,” Borin continued as his attention shifted back towards the warehouse. “Can’t risk it castin off and them making a break. Though…that’ll likely be needing almost all of us.”

He turned back to look at Vincent as he said that, the implication clear as to what he meant.

“Gonna need ya to cover the warehouse in case any try to make a break from there,” he stated. “That and to warn us if there’s somethin waitin in there we can’t handle.”

“I’ll go with him,” Norin quickly signed before Vincent could say anything in response. “Deep waters and me don’t agree anymore. I’d be best helping with ground under my feet.”

“Fine with me,” Borin replied, his attention shifting over to Norin then back towards Vincent, eyebrow raised inquisitively. “Sound like a plan?”

“It does,” Vincent agreed, whatever hesitation he might have had up until now fading away instantly with the words. He’d come out here for a reason this night, the first being to avenge Theo’s injury which still stood out starkly in his mind, needing only to close his eyes to see the young mender’s burnt and bruised body. As for the second, it was the chance to take back what was stolen from him, the opportunity to get one of his melds or a chunk of memories back. Something that he couldn’t live with if he passed up.

“Good, then there’s no time ta waste,” Borin continued glancing between Vincent and Norin as he spoke. “Get close as ya can, but wait til we make our move. If things look bad and a fade is needed, you’ll hear a shrill seabird cry tellin ya so. Think ya can do the same?”

“Of course,” Vincent replied, having just heard of the birds earlier in the day during his runs through the park, it would easy for him to mimic its call thanks to his insight’s perfect recall.

“Then that leaves one last thing, captives. We’ll need a few to piece the story together. But not at the risk of life. Tonight is more about sendin a message and hopefully finding what they pinched from you lot than anythin else.”

“I understand,” Vincent said, meeting Borin’s golden eyes as he spoke and giving him a sharp, confident nod in return. 

Then just like that, they were off, whatever other pleasantries or prebattle rituals that Vincent might have otherwise expected being reduced to a series of grunts between the dwarves before they departed, leaving him standing in the shadows with Norin.

“So, got a plan, or do you need me to run this?” Norin asked as they retreated deeper into the alleyway between the two buildings, needing the thicker shadows for cover now that the shroud that had concealed them had left. 

“I’ve got a plan,” Vincent whispered back, a part of him feeling surprised to admit that it was not only actually true, but that he felt particularly confident in it. “We’ll enter through the second floor, right through the window with the lookout. We’ll take them and the patrol out on the way in under a shroud.”

“Sounds simple enough to me,” Norin said with a nod of approval before canting his head in the direction of the warehouse. “But we need to get close enough to do that first. Not enough shadows between here and there for even a perfect shroud to get us into the yard unseen.”

“That’s why we’re going to go up first,” Vincent said, motioning for the dwarf to follow him deeper into the alleyway where he had spotted an access ladder leading up to one of the building’s rooftop at its furthest end. Climbing it quickly, the two of them found themselves on top of the warehouse in short order, whereupon Vincent then began to pull out a stream of shadow mana out from his Soul Well, shaping it into a thick cloud around him. While miles away from true invisibility, the Shroud of Shadow as his memories told him the spell was called was one that made any surrounding darkness all the deeper while simultaneously masking tell tale signs of movement from within that would otherwise attract a watching eye.

Movement such as both Vincent and Norin rushing across the next three of roof tops while carefully leaping the gaps that separated them, using the gentle curve of the cul-de-sac and the tightly packed buildings to approach the hideout from the side, rather than directly.

“Time to go back down,” Vincent signed to Norin once they’d reached the final building in their journey which happened to overlook the yard surrounding the Shadowed Hand warehouse, only a flimsy privacy fence separating the pair. But no sooner did Vincent finish his message did a crimson hued silhouette appear just below him, revealing the sole patrol he’d seen earlier as they made their round surrounding the building.

Realizing that he only had a split moment to take advantage of the situation that their timing had given them, Vincent then promptly leapt off from the building, surprising himself as he did it. However, while he was initially shocked at his actions, it only lasted for an instant before instinct took over, his Will reaching into his Soul Well to draw out a stream of Air Mana and wrapping it around himself. As it did, he felt his descent become immediately more controlled, turning what would have otherwise been a hard fifteen foot fall into a gentle and near silent landing directly behind the red silhouette.

Upon whom he immediately placed his open hand, a surge of Will racing through it a heartbeat later. 

Oh, he didn’t even have a Heart formed, Vincent noted as the man collapsed soundlessly a second later, as if he’d been a puppet with his strings cut. Why…why is he even here then?

 easily picking out the window that Nessa had pointed out and not wasting so much as a second in making his way towards it. First channeling a surge of essence, he then leapt to the remains of a pillar before him, whatever decoration that it might have been a part of from the yard below having long since fallen. From there he sprung forward to the side of church itself, his feet landing on a thick vine that had wrapped itself around the building, giving him a straight path to the window above. 

A short climb later, he was climbing inside through the open portal, discovering that he needed to direct a stream of essence towards his eyes so he could see through the darkness within. Vision brightening quickly, he made use of his ability to find foot and hand holds among the rough stone walls beyond, taking heed of Nessa’s warning to avoid touching the little wood he saw nearby. To help him in his efforts he enforced his hands, allowing hid fingers to carve small furrows in the ancient and porous stone to better aid his efforts. Shortly after he was settled, it was Nessa’s turn to come through the window, the dryad climbing through with an eerie grace. 

“We have to go down if we want to see them,” she whispered to him as she swung her legs inwards. But instead of reaching out to the same hand holds that he had, the vines that were coiled around her arms and body began to unravel, going out to wrap themselves around protruding bits of stone and the window frame itself, allowing her to lower herself effortlessly. “Come on, quickly, but quietly.” 

And then she was gone, leaving Vincent staring first at the top of her head and then Nyx who poked his head through the window. 

<Nyx come?> He asked with a note of trepidation, the etherling having done much more watching than talking on their journey so far. <Or stay?>

“Stay, I think,” Vincent said, full well sensing the etherling’s reluctance to enter the confined space. “Let us know if something happens outside, or you see something we should know about.”

<Yes, yes,> Nyx replied, the relief in his mental voice evident. <Stay outside. Watch, watch. See soon.> 

And with those words he then vanished, leaving for Vincent to begin his own climb downwards, which he found a mite more difficult than he felt comfortable with. 

Ugh, now that I can use my essence, I really need to start training harder, he thought as he slowly lowered himself. his hands and feet finding holds along the way. Going down right now isn’t all that bad. But I know going back up will be. Hopefully all those herbs I harvested will be dry enough to start using tomorrow. I could use their Virtues sooner than later, that’s for certain.

With his heart starting to beat rapidly from the exertion of his climb it wasn’t long before Vincent reached solid ground in the form of an upper balcony that overlooked the central chamber of the church. Glancing around quickly, he found little of notice, whatever pews, furniture, or other adornments having long since faded to time. In fact, the only item of note that he did see was the large metal bell that Nessa was sitting on as she waited for him, its cracked shell signaling that it had fallen from its mooring above. 

Greeting him with a wave Nessa put her fingers to her lips to signal silence, only rising from her seat after he nodded. From there she then motioned towards the edge of the balcony, crouching down low to hide herself behind the railing, a precaution that Vincent copied as he drew up close beside her. 

And there they are, he thought, peering through a gap in the stone barrier, seeing that there were already three deathless below, each of them standing perfectly still in the dark. Scanning the chamber below Vincent didn’t find anything of note, save for more debris and broken stone that might have once been furniture. 

In fact, it wasn’t until he turned his attention to the far wall that something finally stood out in the form of a wide obsidian altar. Situated directly below a grime covered symbol on the wall behind it, Vincent could tell that it had once been immaculate in its day, the hints of gold trimming still visible to his essence enhanced eyes. But not only had time taken its toll on the once breathtaking altar, but violence had as well, the large slab of black stone bearing a massive crack through its center, splitting it in two. 

I wonder when that happened, Vincent thought as he finished his inspection of the area, finding that nothing else in the church had suffered any intentional damage, the building itself remaining extremely well preserved. Before, or after the civil war? 

A mystery that he discovered would need to wait until later for answer as the two deathless that they had originally been following finally appeared, striding into the church without so much as a break in pace. 

As they did, the two of them made their way to the right of the other four deathless, joining them in a line, the others not showing so much as a twitch or greeting in response. Yet no sooner did the pair arrive so too did a sixth deathless appear, stepping out from beneath the balcony that Vincent and Nessa had hidden themselves on, striding directly towards the ruined altar. 

But unlike the other deathless that Vincent had seen so far, this one below was different, its glowing red bones standing out brightly in his essence enhanced vision. 

For unlike any of the others deathless Vincent had seen so far, it was completely infused with fire mana.