Chapter Six #2
It wasn’t comfortable walking on the tilted stone, but that didn’t mean it was hard for Vester.
His dexterity and wisdom were so high that he was more than capable of registering the changes to his footing and adjusting before most people would have even grasped they were sliding.
If anything, the rocky, slime-coated teardrops were a great training method for him.
He swore he could feel Kora nodding in approval behind him. That woman really does love when we train, he thought in amusement. “Okay, let’s get going. Li Ra, if you could turn us away from the nearest river, we’ll head somewhere dryer. I think we’d all enjoy some clear air soon.”
The oni waved a hand in salute, then tapped Ripper on the side to turn the golem.
The Party resumed moving, now much faster; the only downside was their stealth.
Dent was not a subtle thing, and with the iron golem starting to gain momentum, the heavy crunch of its footfalls echoed like anvils falling.
The other golems were almost silent in comparison, but Vester still heard dozens of metallic clicks marking their claws punching into the stone. If he closed his eyes, he imagined it sounded like a giant crafting a sword while dozens of metal spiders tap danced around its feet.
But sacrificing stealth for speed had a real benefit: thirty minutes after they’d mounted the golems the Party finally escaped the slimy rocks for more even ground.
The coughing, sneezing, and wet eyes faded about five minutes after that, and none of them had had to use any of their mana to cure it.
They’d also found a much wider path, where the stony teardrops had begun forming slim pillars reaching twenty, sometimes fifty feet into the sky.
Vester could see that the pillars continued to thicken and gain height deeper into the cavern, and after a moment he realized they reminded him of foothills, if he considered those massive columns that reached the ceiling to be the mountains.
He glanced back over his shoulder toward the slimier rocks, wondering if that made the sludge-covered area the equivalent of plains.
Then he turned his attention back to their journey.
The others dismounted the golems, reforming their original marching order.
Krysta resumed her pandali form and came to walk next to Vester. “You okay?” he asked her quietly.
“It was really, really scary seeing you flying through the air like that,” she admitted.
Her fingers gripped her metal staff hard, grinding her palms against the textured metal.
“I couldn’t keep up with how fast you were going, and then there were all those crazy turns!
Reve wouldn’t look in your direction. I think she was terrified she might break your illusions and kill all of you. ”
“Oof,” Vester grunted, “I didn’t even consider that. Her Perception Aura can dispel them if she focuses too hard on seeing through them. I’m glad she thought of it.”
Krysta let out an anxious noise, biting her bottom lip for a second, then exhaled.
“I also struggled because everything I was taught at the Academy about magic insisted there was no way that should have worked. If you had a telekinesis or a matter-manipulation skill, maybe, but simply summoning stone into existence under you in midair should have resulted in you and the rock plummeting to the ground below.”
“Yeah, not gonna lie, I was afraid that would happen too.”
“Then why would you even try it?” Krysta hissed while giving his back a whack with her tail. “Why would you even consider something so reckless and insane? You dove off a cliff with two people and slid down a… a… a slide… made of nothing but your dreams! It was madness!”
Vester hooked an arm around Krysta, dragging her against his chest and hugging her tightly to his side.
“I did it because I had faith. I’ve created solid objects in the air before, and my illusions follow my will.
Fantastic Reality is connected to Freeform Illusion, so I gambled that it meant the reality I create would also follow my will… and I was right.”
“But if you hadn’t been—” Krysta began, only for Vester to cut her off.
“I know it was scary to have to watch,” he interrupted gently, “and I am sorry that it worried you so badly. But we had to get out of that swarm, and Reve couldn’t carry all of us.
It was a gamble, but it worked. It took almost all of my mana, and I’m still pretty spent, but I made it work. Take a few deep breaths, we’re okay.”
Vester wasn’t mad at Krysta—he understood she was stressed because she’d felt helpless. This was the first time she’d ever failed at creating her Sanctuary, and all of them had grown accustomed to her ability to make the temporary Safe Zones. She was shaken, and stress was leaving her rattled.
He hugged her close, guiding her while they walked, and she slowly relaxed in his arms, but Vester didn’t think she really relaxed until Li found a good campsite for them and Krysta’s Sanctuary blossomed into being around them.
To be honest, part of him didn’t relax until that moment either.