NOVEL NEXT Chapter 102: Scrying
The mouldy embrace of underground air felt heavenly to Jay's tortured lungs. His underwater detonation had even introduced some moisture to the cave's once parched air.
Jay sat up and scuttled over to a nearby stalagmite, resting against it and gazing over the lake that had almost become his coffin. The water was crystal clear once more, and the relic's cold glow lit the cave up from underneath the rippling surface.
"Don't suppose you fancy another swim?" Jay said to Ping.
The shield was spinning back and forth, shaking off the lake water like a wet dog.
She stopped the instant Jay spoke.
Jay couldn't make out any emotions across the curved ridges that made up Ping's surface. But if he could, he was certain he'd see disgust.
"Alright fine," said Jay, holding in a laugh. "I'll go and get it, let me get my breath back first though."
Jay held up his left arm, slowly twitching each finger and assessing the damage. He could just about move them all, although they hurt whenever he fully stretched or curled them.
Jay winced as he balled his hand into a fist. He instantly released the tension and let his hand rest.
Not great.
For some reason, the explosion this time was far stronger than when he'd used the dagger to escape the grapple with Fox.
Is it more attuned to me now? Or is it something else?
The bracer was in better shape than Jay's left hand, at least. The thin steel plates on both sides had a few more dents courtesy of the jaguar's fangs, but Jay still heard the clockwork ticking when he held it up to his ear. The clasp still moved the dagger according to his will, although it was noticeably slower than before.
Jay pulled the spent explosive dagger out and uncuffed the bracer. He twirled his now-free wrist in a figure of eight. It clicked every time.
He massaged it with his right hand, before reaching down to his waist and fishing out a roll of tape he'd tied to the Orivian Silk undershirt.
Although he'd used two of the rolls Thane had given him immediately, he'd saved the third for a rainy day. The past few minutes had been more of a thunderstorm.
He still needed to collect the relic though, so Jay put off bandaging his wrist for a moment.
The quivering lake beckoned Jay to join it as he stood up and walked to its edge. Jay looked up at the now-unbeating heart of the jaguar lashed to the wall and down to the motionless vines deep beneath the surface.
Jay knew the plant was dead but he still had to psych himself up to dive back into the lake.
Fuck it.
No time to waste.
He took one last breath and swam towards the relic.
Shockingly, this journey was a lot easier than his last. Jay descended towards the relic, neck swivelling, searching for any movement. He grasped the orb underneath his right arm and swam back to the surface, still wary of his surroundings.
Jay emerged from the water without the thrashing, gasping, or screams of relief from the last time. He gently placed the relic on the rocks before drying his left arm off and wrapping Thane's regenerative bandages around his aching hand.
While he did, a golden screen popped up above the glowing orb.
The Oracle's Unblinking Eye – Relic 2/3
Harnessing powers beyond the veil of reality, this orb extends the user's perception beyond their eyes and ears. Name a person, object, or location, and the orb will grant you vision over them for up to an hour.
Uses remaining 2/2
After this relic's uses have been depleted, it will not count towards your relic count for leaving via the exit hub.
Now that could be useful.
Perhaps I don't need to wait for Karis' crows anymore.
Jay laced the final loop of tape around his wrist, having already covered his entire hand and each of his fingers. He felt his arm begin to regenerate, but didn't strain it too much yet.
He strapped the Clockwork bracer back on and reached down to his ankle to grab the Berserker's Bite. Jay tied Davad's spent explosive dagger to his calf to keep it out of the way and clasped the Berserker's Bite to his bracer. He wasn't sure whether he even wanted to use the dagger, but he'd rather it be on hand if he did.
The loose scrap of Orivian silk brushed against Jay's arm as he reached down. He wondered if pulling it could have helped him against the vines. Sure, it could have kept him alive for an hour, but what then?
Jay brushed past the issue, eager to move beyond his underwater ordeal, and picked up the orb.
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If seeing through the orb meant discarding his own senses, down here was a pretty good place to try it. Even if it was still risky. Jay weighed up his options, it was pretty unlikely that someone could even find this cave, so he felt somewhat safe using the orb. Plus, it would hopefully give him a big clue to his friends' location, He was sick and tired of being outnumbered.
Even though he felt relatively safe, Jay still hid behind a stalagmite far from the tunnel before sitting down with the Oracle's Unblinking Eye.
"How do I use this thing then?" Jay muttered to himself.
He slapped his non-bandaged palm against the orb's smooth surface. Wrinkled fingertips resting on the Oracle's Unblinking Eye.
"Do I just say someone's name?
"Lyra Twinstrike."
Lyra deflected her opponent's spear above her shoulder. She fired back, but her rapier slipped off her opponent, bouncing to the side instead of piercing the man's gut.
From his viewpoint behind her shoulder blades, Jay recognised her opponent, an unaffiliated gladiator called Curtis who was one of the last to be drafted. In all his old fights, Curtis' opponents seemed more frustrated than afraid. His Harmony revolved around the essence of deflection, or avoidance. Jay hadn't seen anybody land a clean shot on him in all the footage he'd watched.
Lyra obviously had, since the man had a bloodied nose and half his ear sliced off, but she was struggling to land the killshot.
A ruby-eyed crow dove at Curtis' face from the canopy. He abandoned his attack and dove right. Lyra's axe caught the gladiator's leg as he rolled aside but its blade slid harmlessly off Curtis' slick, frictionless skin.
Lyra paused, eyes flicking between her opponent and the crow.
She swung at her opponent's legs again before he got to his feet. An ethereal axe trailed inches behind her original.
They didn't slide over his skin. Lyra wasn't aiming to cut.
Steel met bone as Lyra hooked her axe around Curtis' ankle. Her ethereal second snagged his knee. Lyra yanked both arms back and Curtis collapsed to the dirt.
Jay watched Lyra drop her rapier onto Curtis' neck, dropping her axe to wrap her left hand around its blade. She pinned the sword down, both arms applying pressure to either side.
No slipping out of this one.
An ethereal grey rapier flickered atop its physical twin. As Lyra pushed down, it pulsated with a deep orange glow.
After a second of pressure, Lyra broke through Curtis' skin. A column of blood spouted from his neck, a fraction of it evaporating into a red mist.
Over the past week, Lyra had shown glimpses of Vega's explosive powers. Not only imitating her sister's style but her Harmony too. Both Jay and Akira wanted to ask about it, but talking about Vega was still a sore spot for Lyra and neither of them wanted to pry any more than necessary.
Behind Lyra, Akira fought another swordsman, although he didn't seem in much trouble.
Lyra turned around and made a split second of eye contact.
The samurai shifted gears.
Sparks careened off both Jiki and Juryoku as they deflected his opponent's single sword.
Lyra ran closer, raising her rapier and circling behind Akira's opponent.
Akira nodded.
He held both his swords in a cross and screamed at his opponent. He unleashed a mighty shove, pushing the swordsman backwards.
Driving his neck directly into Lyra's rapier.
Lyra cast the corpse off her blade and looked over at the third member of their team fighting their last opponent.
It was Jay's first time seeing Karis in action, other than watching his old fights. He analysed the Frontiersman's style, wondering how they'd fit together once reunited.
For someone who didn't claim to be a fighter, Karis moved well. He deftly avoided each swipe of his opponent's axe, blocking the ones he couldn't with a hardy looking machete. Occasionally, crows would descend from the treetops, distracting his opponent and buying their master an extra split second to react. Jay could tell that he was subtly shifting the fight sideways, tilting his opponent's back towards Lyra and Akira.
However, Karis' inexperience betrayed him at times, poking out from behind his clean technique. Jay couldn't fault the man's foot placement, agility, or foresight. He was athletic too, and completed evasive manoeuvres that even Jay might've struggled with.
But he didn't commit.
He didn't trust his body enough to use its full potential. Jay knew, based on Karis' movements, what should have been possible. Yet when the time came, the Frontiersman always chose a safer option. In each moment, he wasn't making a mistake. But he wasn't finding the best solution either.
To be fair to him, right now he didn't need to find the best solutions. The battle was as good as won. His crows hounded his opponent's face and arms, denying him the chance for a clean hit while Karis slowly shifted the battlefield with each dodge.
Once Karis had fully turned, he glanced over his opponents shoulder towards his teammates.
Akira ran forward, piercing Jiki through the axe-wielder's chest as Karis rolled beneath the man's final swing.
With the battle over, Jay switched his attention to Lyra's surroundings. If he could make out a landmark, something to aim for, then he could try and make his way towards his team. Even better, if he recognised something in their area, he'd have confirmation they were near, and could backtrack towards them.
Unfortunately, Lyra was inside the densest jungle Jay had ever seen. Her surroundings were trees, trees, and even more trees. They matched up with the trees Jay had seen, but that didn't exactly help much.
Past Lyra's shoulder, before his perception became a murky smear of green and brown, Jay saw a trail of trampled undergrowth stretching into the distance.
The dinosaur's aftermath?
It gave him hope, but based on how fast the giant lizard was running, his friends could still be anywhere.
"Found one!" said Akira. Lyra's head flicked towards him.
Akira held up an emerald-inlayed gold ring. His eyes flashed gold for a second before a screen appeared above the ring.
The Coiled Chameleon – Relic 5/3
This ring's wearer can become invisible against the forest while they remain unmoving. Animals, plants, and gladiators alike will not be able to notice you for up to five hours after activation, provided you stay still.
Uses remaining 1/1
After this relic has been used, it will not count towards your relic count for leaving via the exit hub.
"Could be useful for an ambush," said Akira, tossing the ring in the air before catching it with Juryoku's tip. "Either of you two want it?"
"I'll take it," said Karis, holding out his hand.
Akira glanced at Lyra, who shook her head, before flicking the ring off his sword and directly into Karis' palm.
Karis put on the ring. A crow swooped down from the canopy and landed on his hand.
It walked along his arm, up towards his ear.
Karis' eyes shot wide open.
"I've found him."
Akira ran towards Karis. "Where is he?"
"He's in a cave a few minutes south of here," he replied, already turning and beginning to run.
"I think he's in danger. He's not moving and staring lifelessly into a strange glowing orb."
Karis and Akira's outlines flickered as a burst of mental laughter nearly broke Jay's scry.
To an outside observer, it must have looked quite disturbing, especially with the dead and decaying animals lining the cave's entrance.
Lyra joined in step with Karis, matching his pace through the rainforest.
"How do you know it's dangerous? What if he's just using a relic."
Clever as always…
"I'm not worried about the orb," said Karis, picking up the pace as he wiped a bead of sweat from his temple. "I'm worried about the three gladiators that were standing outside the cave and about to go inside."
Wait, what?