Book 3: Chapter 11 : O’ Mother Where Art Thou

  It started with the bugs. One moment, they were a low, background chorus of trills, clicks and cricket song. The next, they fell quiet all at once, like a conductor finishing a performance and silencing the entire symphony.

  It was a sudden shift that everyone noticed. Heads snapped up. Weapons were reached for. No one said anything, yet they didn’t have to. Everyone could feel it, something was coming.

  A deep groan rolled through the night air as the trees themselves seemed to shudder. Not from the wind, there was no wind, but in some sort of warning, a call of panic from the trees to any who might hear it. Something massive was moving far beyond the circle of firelight. Each creak and pop of wood sounded like a bone giving way under immense pressure.

  Alex felt it before he saw or heard any of it. The aether twisted in his senses, slow and steady, like the first ripple of something cold and ancient rising from deep water. His skin prickled along his arms and down his neck. Obby went very, very quiet in his mind.

  Then came the sound, low and drawn out, rocky yet airy, like a tall cliffside taking a breath. A sound that didn’t belong in the living world. No one else seemed certain what they’d heard. But Alex knew. He could feel them, her eyes on the edges of his awareness, even through the darkness of the night and the shadows of the trees.

  “She’s stirring,” he whispered, his voice barely a breath.

  Obby’s voice slid into Alex’s mind, stripped of its usual humor. “Run.” It was strange to hear that from the rock. Obby usually loved violence, finding it entertaining, fun even. Alex had just enough time to think that’s not good before the world around him exploded.

  The treeline abruptly changed as the many pines at the edges changed positions nearly instantly. Once second they stood tall the next second they were...gone, snapped in half and flung aside like matchsticks. The undergrowth shuddered, and then the Basilisk Mother burst into view.

  She was the size of a town house. Her serpentine body rolled low to the ground, the eight thick, squat legs driving her forward in a way that made Alex’s instincts scream. She moved too fast, too powerfully on her many legs. The first two in each quad-set were massive, trunk-like things ending in hooked claws, the second pair smaller but no less menacing, or deadly.

  Moonlight fractured across her scales, each one looking like cracked glass over a polished obsidian body, catching and scattering the light with every ripple of muscle beneath.

  The caravan scrambled, steel flashing in the fading firelight. Once more, the pack lizards screamed. Someone shouted orders, orders that went ignored, as the entire defensive line wavered under the sheer pressure of the thing’s presence. Fear hit everyone present like a physical blow, Alex could see it in the way some of the guards just stopped moving, their bodies remembering they were prey for the slaughter before such a creature.

  Then the basilisk’s gaze swept the line. A casual, predatory pass… and to Alex’s horror, it found Holly.

  Her eyes glazed over in an instant, pupils dilating, breath catching. She didn’t scream. She didn’t turn away, or close her eyes, she just stared, frozen.

  Alex didn’t think, he just moved. One moment he was behind her, the next he was slamming into her side, dragging her out of that invisible line of fire. They hit the ground hard, and Alex was already shouting before he’d rolled to his feet.

  “Don’t meet its eyes!”

  Light detonated against the Basilisk’s face, white-hot bursts from Allie’s light spell, each one searing the night and forcing the monster’s gaze away. The sudden illumination turned the clearing into a world of stark shadows and blinding glares.

  Kate seemed to have found her moment and didn’t hesitate. She was already in motion, blade flashing like a streak of sunlight, a corona flare over the surface of the metallic edge. Ghrukk roared and followed her lead, his halberd wreathed in molten heat that scorched the grass under his boots. They hit together, Kate’s blade carving at the gaps between scales, Ghrukk’s blow crashing down with the kind of force that could split a cart in half.

  The beast barely noticed.

  Fire ran harmlessly across her scales, seeping into cracks only to gutter out like embers drowned in lake water. The metal sang against her hardened hide, sparks spraying, but nothing bit deep enough to matter, no blood was drawn.

  The other mercenary squads surged in next, a ragged wave of desperate steel and shouted battle cries. Arrows thudded against the beast’s sides and fell away like dropped toothpicks. Ice shards shattered on impact. Even a lightning bolt from someone’s staff fizzled harmlessly, as if the beast’s hide simply rejected the idea of injury.

  Her head jerked once, just enough to throw off the rhythm of the attacks, and then her vision cleared. The retaliation was immediate.

  The Basilisk coiled, a ripple of terrible strength running through her body before she struck—not a simple lunge, but a living battering ram—smashing into the front line and sending three men airborne in the same instant. One hit a tree hard enough to crack the trunk. Another vanished into the undergrowth with a scream that cut off far too quickly. The third tumbled along the ground before coming to a stop.

  Then she turned, jaws snapping at Ghrukk. He blocked with his halberd’s haft, the wood splintering under the force, and was still thrown clear like a child’s toy. The basilisk attacked once more right afterward, finding new target to release her rage upon.

  Every strike was a whipcrack of motion, too fast for something her size, too powerful for the defensive line to absorb. And even her misses were catastrophic, tail strikes that shattered branches, body rolls that crushed shrubs and boulders flat, claw swipes that raked the air with buffeting wind gusts.

  Alex’s heart pounded as he watched, assessing, trying to think of a way to approach the fight that could have some chance at victory.

  Henry roared and charged, his halberd already wreathed in a coiling surge of water that burst into a concussive spray mid-swing. The blow landed with enough force to crater the ground. The basilisk didn’t so much as blink.

  Well, she did blink, but only in the casual, “Oh, you’ve thrown a pebble at me” sort of way.

  Snakes back on earth didn’t stagger when threatened or attacked. Apparently, neither did the nightmare versions with legs and magical eye abilities.

  The basislisk mother swiped at Henry, though he blocked most of the power of the strike with his weapon, the impact sent him careening off and away.

  Garret was next on target, shield up, bracing against the thunderclap of teeth meeting steel as she bit at him. The impact rattled him, but he held, boots gouging long, thick lines into the dirt. Then her gaze found him.

  And Garret froze.

  His eyes went glassy, his shoulders sagged, and his mouth hung open as if the effort of being present had just become horribly difficult. He shuddered, not as one does in fear, but like a candle flame nearing the end of its life.

  “Garret!” Alex shouted.

  Allie’s hands flashed white once more, sending a spear of light lancing past Alex’s ear and bursting right in the Basilisk’s face. This time, she did recoil—not hurt, just annoyed—but whatever connection there was, broke between her and Garret.

  Garret blinked, shook his head, and drew in a ragged breath.

  Alex and Allie where already at his side and dragged him back a few yards. “You okay?” she asked, already checking his pupils.

  “Yeah,” Garret said, then hesitated. “I think… it worked.”

  Alex frowned. “Worked?”

  Garret’s brow furrowed, like he was trying to find something in an empty drawer that he knew should be there, but was finding it empty. “I was… thinking about stuff. Before she looked at me. And now… I don’t remember what.”

  The three of them went quiet for a moment, and somehow the battlefield noise around them felt very far away.

  Allie’s eyes met Alex’s, grim recognition passing between them in a heartbeat.

  Somewhere ahead, Holly was still in the fight, having recovered from her own stint against the basilisk’s gaze and was now darting in and out like a phantom, blades flashing, wind magic carrying her just beyond the beast’s snapping jaws. But now every time Alex’s eyes found her, he couldn’t stop wondering what she’d lost when that thing caught her eyes. How’d she might have changed, if she was the same person that he knew.

  And, what he might lose as a result.

  Though he knew that thought was selfish, unimportant in the midst of the battle that still raged around them, it still was a worry he couldn’t shove aside. Further, he was fearful of what Garret just went through, even if he seemed to have been able to control what memory the Basilisk had taken from him. The mere idea that a piece of him had been removed...

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  Could they all do that? Could they pick and choose what parts of themselves to petrify? Which experiences and memories to cut off and toss away? Was it a risk that Alex was willing to take himself?

  “Pierce!” the captain shouted out to him, already dodging away from one of the basilisks powerful claw swipes. “We need you over here.”

  Another bolt of lightning shot from Eric’s hand, splashing against the beast’s scales and arcing away into the ground. Henry was still slamming his halberd against the creature’s backside, the large bladed weapon bouncing away each time. Zach’s shadowy spear shot forward, creating a glancing blow over one of its legs. Still, the thing hadn’t taken any damage.

  Alex’s heightened sixth sense had already pegged down the power level of this basilisk mother at deep into the gaseous-stage of Adept Tier, disturbing close to middle-stage if he trusted his senses fully, which he did.

  But that meant that they were in serious trouble, as it was easily the strongest beast they had encountered so far. The little basilisks, even the Adept ones, were barely crossing into such a tier. The same was with the glassfang jackals. Alex’s power level, even being in the middle stage—and even having higher than standard stats—couldn’t possible overcome the differences between the sentient races, and Arcane Beasts.

  He cast his [Wind Lance] anyway. The resulting condensed spear of aether slammed against the beasts front foreleg, grabbing its attention despite the spell not being able to even crack it scales. By the time she had turned her head in his direction, he was already finishing his second spell, chains of energy wrapping about the front legs of the creature’s body from his [Earth Bind].

  Grass and dirt whipped past in a blur as Alex sprinted low, eyes fixed on the ground. He didn’t dare risk locking eyes with the monster. The basilisk’s petrifying gaze was a priority threat, one either avoided it or ended up as a statue. Blinding himself had crossed his mind, sure, but that seemed like the kind of suicidal logic even he wasn’t ready for.

  “Those chains won’t hold her.” Obby said, already highlighting a path in Alex’s vision.

  I know, I didn’t plan for them to.

  His movement become smooth but quick, transitioning in the [Demon Asura Style] without thought as he took up the First Path – Crimson Fist, his skin being wrapped in the dark azure aura of his martial style.

  Wind whipped at his face as he ducked a large claw-swipe, buffeting his hair with sheer velocity. He closed on his target and threw forward a series of punches. His fists blurred, each strike landing like piledrivers against a wall of concrete. Except punching concrete would’ve been easier, he could break a wall with his current physical stats. The basilisk’s tough scales didn’t crack under the assault, she only twitched under the barrage. His [Burning Strike] sank in, corrosive energy threading into the flesh beneath its scales, only for the energy to be drowned almost instantly by the beast’s potent aether.

  Fuck!

  Dirt erupted as Alex jumped backward, avoiding a tail-slam and peppering him with bits of rock. Then he dashed forward again, [Flare] bursting from his fists in three rapid casts, each timed with a punch along the basilisk’s body. A fourth [Flare] exploded from his foot as he kicked its high shoulder, and gave him the leverage to launch himself away from the counterattack that was the beast’s lightning-fast bite.

  Avoiding her gaze ability was priority, but any bite that landed on him would cripple him at best, turning whatever was touched by it’s venom into stone in short order. He couldn’t let that happen.

  Alex leapt away, just in time to see Sarson rushing forward with a fiery sword thrust, followed by a wind-vortex wrapped arrow from Rynel. Doran closed out the combination of attacks with surprisingly nimble jump strike, landing his rune-covered hammer against the basilisk’s neck. It was an impressive level of coordination, showing how Ghrukk’s team were not amateurs.

  And yet, the basilisk mother took the blows and kept going.

  A revolving carousel of attacks began, each team laying down a burst of spells and blows before tagging out for the next squad to take their shot. Alex and team, then Ghrukk’s squad, the other two mercenary teams coming after, like a rhythm game being played back on earth, they all took turns.

  But the basilisk mother didn’t take the beating without making them pay for it. Selka took a claw-swipe head on, impacting a tree with a frightening speed that took Myrae and Allie’s attention for a minute. The resulting lack of Allie’s blinding spell meant another victim caught the serpent’s gaze ability; Cole.

  He was trapped in the hypnotic state for only a moment before Zach managed to pull him away, but every second under that skill meant something life changing. The distraction meant Garret’s shield caught a tail strike too late, and instead of stopping it, the blow arced overhead and cratered into one of the mercenaries, tossing him across the dirt like a ragdoll.

  Another gaze attack fell on a second mercenary. Then a claw nearly took off Ghrukk’s arm in a massive spray of blood, Myrae rushing to his side to stop the limb from falling off completely. Things quickly spiraled down from there.

  The next gaze hit Devon, forcing Eric to cover him. Shortly after, the first bite landed, the beast managing to just barely clamp a tooth into Doran’s right leg. The Dwarf huffed loudly, stumbling back under short legs in a rapid shuffle.

  Alex glanced at the wound, seeing the bare flesh at the edges turning gray already. It was slower than the other mercenaries, confirming the suspicion in Alex’s mind about dwarves in this world being poison resistant. Or, at least more so than a typical human.

  “Allie, get to Doran!” he shouted, running forward.

  Spells discharged, arrows flew, blades flashed, all while Alex closed the distance. He still couldn’t stop another mercenary from being bitten, nor the claw swipe that followed up which slammed the man into the dirt. Alex wasn’t sure if the venom, or the massive trauma would end up killing the man first.

  He made it to the basilisk mother’s tail and landed a heel kick at the base, where the tail connected to its spine, a [Flare] bursting out on contact. Alex still wasn’t able to crack the thing’s scales, but the impact, along with the spell, still caused some internal damage. The beast hissed and lashed out, but Alex was already gone, sprinting out of reach as its tail smashed down where he’d stood a heartbeat earlier.

  It was still powerful, fast, but moved slightly slower than before. Alex had injured it at the very least.

  Five or six more attacks like that, and he might be able to disable the appendage all-together. But he didn’t have the aether pool to keep casting [Flare] spells at that level, nor did he have the time to slowly pick this beast apart. The number of injured were increasing rapidly as the battle raged around him.

  His eyes swept over the fight: Eric, Kate, Holly, Zach hammering at the serpent in practiced, rhythmic rotation. Garret and Henry double-teamed its hindquarters, shield and fists straining to pin its legs and keep them anchored. Off to the flank, Lance and Peter formed a guard wall around Devon, whose hands busily sketched runes across a long, wicked spike that pulsed faintly in the starlight.

  Obby, what’s he building? Alex asked, narrowing his [Aether Sight]. Glyphs shimmered in his vision, but their full function escaped him.

  “Hmmm, interesting, okay, wow that might work,” The pebble’s voice hummed and hawed for a moment before finally answering Alex’s anxious emotional turmoil. “Alright, the thing looks like a bunker buster of sorts. Stores a large amount of aether, then releases it in a very narrow focus. Rather smart actually.”

  You’re saying Devon is making a shaped-charge aether claymore?

  “Uhh… I am saying that, yes.”

  That was perfect for Alex.

  “Nice work,” Alex said, as he stopped in front Devon, reading the last of the runes with a glance. He lifted the item from Devon’s hands, tapped three glyphs into a primed position, energy thrumming along the weapon’s spine, and hefted it like a javelin. “This thing’s a beauty.” The item glowed faintly in his hands, the runes shimmering under the starlight in a dazzling, yet deadly, display.

  He gave Devon an appreciative smile and a nod. Devon looked at him, slack-jawed a moment, before nodding back.

  “Thanks? Do you know how to use it?”

  “Yeah I got the gist of it,” Alex rolled the long sword-sized weapon in his hand. He really did understand the item’s use, and he was starting to second guess the decision that was forming in his mind. But, before he could back down, he looked to Lance and Peter with a stern gaze. “Aim for the flat side, follow my lead.” He tapped the large flat end of the weapon, opposite the razor sharp point. The two men nodded back before readying their weapons, aura flaring wildly in his [Aether Sight]. Alex grinned.

  “Let’s go,” he turned to the basilisk mother, who was luckily distracted during that time by the mercenary squads.

  Ghrukk was back in the fight, wielding his large weapon by its remaining haft in one massive hand, the other arm bandaged and tied against his torso. Sarson, Rynel and Selka also continued the fight at the Ork’s side, assisted by the remaining fighters of the other two merc teams.

  Doran was still out on the sideline, Myrae doing her best to find some way to slow the spreading poison in his flesh. The look in her eyes let Alex know things were not going as she hoped.

  “Holly, Zach, Kate, Eric!” Alex shouted loudly over the battle as he began a slow jog toward the beast. His aether stirred in his body, running in cycles through the channels he had constructed from his soulgate. Aether slowed at the complex meridian clusters, but even they boosted and strengthened the energy that swam through the channels like blood-veins. His aura’s presence heightened, gathering the attention of the other fighters even if they hadn’t heard his shout.

  “On me!” He burst forward then, the [Demon Asura]’s caustic energy flaring around his skin mid-sprint.

  Even with his eyes still focused downward, Obby’s assistance let Alex dodge a clawswipe, then a tailwhip that followed quickly after. A massively over-charged [Shield] and a swing of his off hand deflected another claw, jarring him slightly, but he grunted through it.

  The following yell ripped itself from his vocal chords as he made it to the serpent’s exposed side and he slammed the large spike into its scales.

  “Aaaarrgh!” His fist hammered into the flat end immediately after, the cycled aether in his body being used to cast a [Flare] upon contact. The weapon ate up every bit of energy, spiraling down it’s shaft faster and faster with every rotation until it erupted from the tip and into the basilisk mother’s fleshy underbelly.

  Finally, after minutes of fighting, the beasts’ scales cracked.

  Lance appeared beside him, large curved-sword slamming into the weapon just as Alex pulled his fist back. Earth attuned aether left Lance’s sword and was funneled through the glyph-spike. Lance rolled away, letting Peter take his place. A spear blade crashed against the flat of the spike next, Peter’s aether adding to the rest.

  It shook in Alex’s grip, but he didn’t let go, refused to let go. He knew he had to hold on, there was more to come after all. More scales cracked as Lance and Peter’s aether shot through Devon’s creation and into the beast. Holly appeared next, her sword ringing the steelspike with a burst of air-aether that shrieked through the runes.

  Kate followed after, her [Flame Blitz] nearly blinding Alex for a moment. Zach’s shadow-tipped spear followed, hissing as it fed darkness into the flood. Eric came last, lightning crackling across his body, both fists slamming down like thunder in an overhead blow.

  Each strike sent compressed waves of aether through the creature’s midsection. Each attack landing in rapid succession so quickly, it didn’t have time to retreat. The scales cracked, then broke, and lastly fell away completely. Eric’s contribution was the first to hit bare flesh underneath, ripping open a large wound that gushed green-tinted blood.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  “Alex, move away.”

  He ignored Obby’s plea. Azure energy flickered over his body as he instead activated his [Vita-Surge Cloak] and once again slammed a fist down on the spike with near instantaneous speed. He didn’t hold back in the slightest, and the solid metal of the spike cracked the bones in his hand, despite the boosted endurance the Adept Tier spell gave him.

  Devon’s glyph-inscribed item was well made, but even it, too, cracked under the blow. An impossibly bright flash of blue aether came after as Alex’s energy flooded the spike’s runes.

  The spike hadn’t been made for handling Adept Tier Spells, and Alex was no normal Mage, not with his [Aether Channels]. Blue fire ripped through the shaft, roaring into the basilisk mother. Scales exploded outward, fragments raining down around him. The spike shattered in Alex’s grip, breaking apart into hundreds of glowing shards.

  The basilisk mother screamed.