Book 3: Chapter 62
A/N: HI!! I did make a long note, but it was too long. I got sick, and I scrapped… so much material, but it was missing that UMPH I was going for.
This place is fucking **awful.** You’ve been warned.
Tiffany
I could see a clear, blue lake with a boulder in the middle… that had to be it.
“Hey, I can see a barrier.” I yelled.
“Dispel it.” Said Eskaal. “I know you can.”
I braced myself while my mate started to slow his speed. He was getting ready to land. I closed my eyes and I could mentally see how enormous that lab was….. I could also tell something was moving within that barrier.
“Land in the trees. The water’s enchanted too.” Said Eskaal… I could see maybe a dull glow from the deceptively ‘safe’ lake, but with a finger, he zapped about 3 water-mine traps, disabling electricity magic. There were landmines too, however I think those were planted for anyone trying to find this place on foot.
“Release!” I said summoning my magic as Yellow’s leader… This was the first time I got to pop someone else’s magic with my authority. As the Coven Matron of this land, seeing it disappear was a little satisfying.
It slowly faded away, though it was almost sluggish with its response…
I could hear the clank of gears below. Dropping the barrier activated the lab underneath the ‘rock’ in the middle of the lake. That was a good illusion too… I almost didn’t notice it.
Zayde was careful when he landed, but he still managed to smish a few trees. He lowered his hand sheepishly, and we hopped out, smelling the stench of chemicals… A strange ammonia, bleach, and tar, accompanied by a sharp stench that hurt the nose wafted around. I believe that stinging gas was the scent of all the cleaners and chemicals mixing.
….No… that smell was the water. The lake was toxic. Whatever coolant system he had down there must have failed, as there were no fish in the clear, vegetation free water…. Or rather some sort of alkaline base… He didn’t use acid.
That boulder sat there on a mound of dirt. The only other thing I noticed was a blue wood door…another trap for sure.
“Something lives behind that rock.” Pointed Eskaal, since we were still on the shore. “That bolder is actually a door rigged with wood spikes.” He waved his hands, and the rock was indeed a giant trap with multiple rows of wood spiked inside. I could see it fire from this side of the lake the moment the entrance part of it had been activated….
“How did I not see the mechanism?” I asked. “I know we’re at least 200 yards away, but that thing was pretty much firing logs!”
Eskaal looked around, and found a lever he had to repair with magic, and then he pulled it. A mud bridge appeared…
“Because you weren’t paying attention.” He pointed at something… I didn’t notice what Eskaal was talking about though. “It’s good because he wove tells in. When you add something that doesn’t make sense, you can weave an illusion that’s 100% perfect *except* for that One spot. But he hid those spots incredibly well… I’d say he tinkered at least half a millennia, tweaking this design.” He tapped his feet. “Some part of him slithers around undead… Great…. A failed necromancer. They always stink.”
“What…?” I blinked.
“Yeah, I should have let that be a surprise, but necromancy is too much for either of your incarnated bodies. You need to at least be a hundred if I’d have to guess on how long it’ll take for your bodies to catch up with your former abilities.” Said Eskaal. “When we go inside, do Not leave my side. There’s no telling how long; I sense so much explosive material.”
“What image did he pick so I can spot them?” Asked Zayde. “I don’t see anything out of place….”
Eskaal picked up a bright red feather that vanished.
“Your bodies haven’t caught up with your former abilities… The false feathers of your pargeese litter every trap. When you see a red feather, a deception is nearby, however I suspect at least one or two of them will be a ruse meant to slip up any trespassers like us.” Said Eskaal. “Oh, and take off your shoes.”
He summoned a chair for himself, however his feet are not normal… The bottoms are like a bear’s. He has toe pads, and is…… *very* sensitive about people knowing about them.
“Ironically enough, to be born with beast-elf feet is a high honor, only purebloods have these….” He sighed “Like… the beans are great for sneaking and leaving cryptid pawprints, but ... I don’t know… *maybe* I wanted *normal* feet?” He complained. “I mean look at them! I have fucking rat feet!”
“They’re not rat’s feet.” I said shaking my head.
He stood a foot taller, now that his paws were oriented right…. I’m sure regular shoes must be hard to hide those in…
But they really weren’t gross… They were hybrid bear paws ….I’d say about as wide as the average foot, but only the toes and front of the foot touched the ground. But walking for him must be uncomfortable in normal shoes…. How does he hide that? I’m sure he has some kind of wacky solution.
“Why do we need to take off shoes?” Asked Zayde, who only had shorts anyway!
“What do your toes feel?”
“Cold. Wet.” Zayde complained. We walked across the mud bridge.
“Traps here must be kept dry, or the jungle will rot them with the humidity.” He kicked a clump of dirt, and it blew up over the lake. “The water on them is usually an illusion.” Eskaal smiled. “OH! This doorway has a little rhyme you chant to open it. I’m not doing that.” He pushed the door open, breaking the spell as if it were child’s play.
“Your feet should be dry about… now.” Said Eskaal.
They were, but the modern place only lit up… this facility was well lit, dry, sterile…, and clean… once you got past the initial entrance… It looked like something you’d find at a prestigious university…. The only thing missing were people in lab coats.
Zayde growled.
Something growled back.
“Remember. We aren’t here to kill Elkteer.” Said Eskaal. “You’re here to help me catch him… and I’m here to document and save any soldiers I can.”
“Understood.” I said holding Zayde’s hand.
“Yes sir.” Said my mate, shimmying on pants that were summoned for him. This place was quiet… the occasional computer beep here or there, but it was deserted… And humid like Eskaal said… It was more humid than outside… and indeed, there was a slight wetness to the tile floors….
This place looked Out Of Place… It doesn’t belong in such a dense jungle…
But that’s its own trick… There’s life here… I can sense it.
I can smell the uncanny stench of necromancy too. However, we can’t stop. I needed to see my brother… I needed to know what became of him.
He wasn’t like this… The memories are a little distorted… but …. But back then I remember that Elkteer always had a smile, or was excited about his projects…
The family hid what he was doing from me. I realize that now. I don’t know how to feel about it, since now we search for him… so the Realm King can kill him for this.
And he deserves to die for it. So many suffered by our hands, but this was forbidden for a reason.
We went into what looked like a series of cubicles…. So the entire coven had to know… Nothing was out of place, since the humans never found this place. However, there was no dust… no debris from being sealed for at Least a thousand years…
They picked and sticked and poked our own people…
Some slimy little monster cooed in fear behind a desk…and I instantly kind of felt sorry for it. It was no bigger than maybe a border collie, admittedly my favorite dog breed.
“Don’t you dare.” I hissed. My mate was about to blast it with fire breath.
“I don’t trust it.” Said Zayde glaring at it.
The poor thing was absolutely *disgusting*… but I could tell it wasn’t the creature that did the growling. It was like a strange combination of dragon and frog…. And it crawled on his belly, using its arms and legs to gain traction.
This little malformed dragon made me hold my hands to my lips. Its wings held no webbing, and it seemed to be blind from whatever Elkteer did to it…. It was slimy, and green… there were no scales on its wet amphibious skin, but it cooed when I petted it…. I almost wanted to cry. It looked so afraid. It’s gulping wide mouth had no teeth, and it kind of squeaked…
“Oh my gods… There’s a fuzzy one…Come ‘ere little rabbit-drake.” I said extending my arms out as little fearful critters hopped, slithered, or skittered to me….. all of them were once drakes….
They should be hundreds of feet tall, flying thousands of feet in the air… not … not *this.*
Eskaal grabbed them by the scruff, tossed them in the air with magic, and blew them up, careful not to touch them…. The fuzzy one I beckoned just exploded before it got to me….
“Let’s move.” The Beast Prince said coldly.
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