The Grand Weave

Pena led us to the camp. You would best describe the landscape as boring. Plain and dull were the words of the day. The ground was white stone with no grass or wildlife. And the sky, when it wasn't a creepy undulating horror, was an unmoving expanse of white flesh.

There was wind, somehow, but that was all. It made me curious as to what this space was. Was it a pocket dimension, as I thought, and if so, was it made to look like this? Or perhaps, the other unwanted theory that we were inside something was why everything here was so lifeless.

The world didn't give an answer, and frankly, it made it all the more annoying. So much was unknown, which meant danger could lurk behind every corner. For all we knew, the cultists would be ready and waiting for the moment we neared the camp.

And as much as I liked to boast about the amount of mana I had, there wasn't enough in me to set fire to an entire world of monsters.

Thankfully, the journey to the camp was both short and peaceful. If I had to deal with another tentacle trying to force its way into my personal space, I'd have been tempted to leave to find a way out and not deal with the bullshit.

Crouching low, I crawled forward at a snail's pace, keeping my steps silent. Sereza was already ahead of me, so I approached her, moving to position slightly behind her shoulder.

"How are we looking?" I whispered. I quickly glanced back to Pena, who was further back, sitting still. With her unmoving, I focused on the camp in front. "Was Pena telling the truth?"

Sereza tapped my shoulder and pointed to the left to what looked like a tall, pale-white tree. "I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's not a tree."

"I think you're right. Look at the ground, next to the trunk, a little to its left. One larger tentacle coming from the ground, while the thing connects with it from the top."

"What?" She moved forward slightly and leaned in. "Oh, yeah. Fucking weird."

I nodded. "Maybe these creatures recharge through that? If not, and it's some kind of communication thing, they might be on to us already."

"Then, let's hope they're not."

We kept observing from afar for another five minutes. It was exactly as Pena described. Two of the tentacle horrors, reminiscent of the ones we fought the other day, were standing guard on the far ends of the circle. There was a tent to the right behind the ring containing the children, but it was impossible to see its contents.

There were three other monsters in the shape of the pseudo-trees. Each one looked the same, standing tall with their bodies ramrod straight. They held their arms up and bent them slightly outwards, creating the illusion of branches. And connected at their feet where their tentacles met the ground was the larger tentacle, akin to the ones that dragged Sereza and me into the dimensional space.

And the two main reasons we were here were just as I imagined—two large runic circles containing a crowd of miserable-looking people. Most of the adults had defeated looks, the kind that meant they had accepted their fate. Their clothes were ripped and torn, the cloth stained with dirt and blood. In some cases, they had no clothing at all. Whatever their circumstances were to get grabbed in such a state of undress, it was a pathetic sight.

The children weren't much better. Several of the kids were huddled in a crowd, either sleeping or crying. Two children were pressed up against the barrier, their hands not quite touching it but hovering near it. They sat and talked in whispers with a woman who looked like their mother. She had the same eyes, skin tone, and hair.

I looked at where Sereza was and saw that her hands had formed fists. The tension in her knuckles was evident with every movement of her fingers.

"Hey, keep the anger in check. Trust me. We need to do this right, and going crazy won't help us," I said firmly.

She glared but then relaxed her hands. The tension fell away from her shoulders, and she nodded to me after taking a deep breath and exhaling. "You're right, sorry. We need to do this right. We can't afford to be stupid and risk their lives."

I smiled. "Good. So, first things first. It's good that everyone is in one place. Makes it easier to plan around."

"Mhhm. What about the trio that you know? Did you see them?"

Nodding, I glanced to where the three sat in the back of the crowd. Groxl, Yurlox, and Velisanna sat together in a close triangle with their backs to the rest. Out of everyone there, they looked the most well-off.

Yurlox looked worried and on edge, while Velisanna looked angry. Groxl, however, was a bastion of solitude amongst the crying and defeated spirits. His shoulder was relaxed while he sat in an almost meditative pose, his eyes closed as he listened to the smaller beastkin speak.

The more I learn about this guy, the more surprised I am.

"I think he's our best shot. Whatever we do, I think we can rely on them. Just need to break them out first."

"Good. How do you want to do this?"

I responded by summoning a covered crate onto the ground. She nearly jumped back as the thing suddenly appeared. When she saw that it was just a crate, she whacked me on the shoulder with her tail.

"Oww, hey! Damn, that hits harder than I thought."

"A little warning next time!" She huffed. "So, how is this going to help us?"

I continued rubbing my shoulder but smiled. Even Pena was leaning closer, curious as to what I pulled out.

"These are expensive, but this should help."

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I did a last round of checks. On my belt were four vials slotted along my left hip. If I was lucky, I'd only need one, but we couldn't afford to fuck this up. The vials were useless if I was dead, so it was better to use them and waste them than not and die.

I gave one last glance to where Sereza was crouched. She flashed me a smile, fangs in full display. I did the same and then turned back around.

"You ready, Magnus?" I asked.

"Yes!" Magnus roared.

With that, I activated Spirit Lord's Invocation, and we fused. His body broke down into reflective purple motes that sank into my chest.

Fur sprouted from my body, and a crystalline halo formed above my head. My claws grew a crystal coating, and I flexed, watching the light reflect off their surface.

The circles were too far away, so I couldn't sense mana the way Magnus did. Even if I strained myself, I'd have to get closer, but that was fine. I planned on doing exactly that.

I reached down and uncapped a slender vial.

Cheers. If it doesn't work, I'm coming back to haunt your ass Khrem.

I downed the vial and let the liquid slide down my throat. It tasted strange. Like it had the essence of grape infused into the water, but then it turned to mint as it went down. All in all, eight out of ten drink, it was very refreshing.

After the potion settled in my stomach, I waited. Nothing happened for over ten seconds before I felt a tingling cold sensation spread down my limbs. It branched out from the center of my chest and came in waves as it pushed further and further outwards.

The feeling was similar to letting mana flow, the sudden cold, a frigid chill that invaded your veins.

And then I started to sweat. When I went to wipe my forehead, I pulled back in surprise as the tips of my fingers were gone.

No, not gone. As I narrowed my eyes and slowly moved my hand, I saw a distortion in the air, like a vague ghostly outline that only appeared if I was really looking. And before I knew it, the rest of my body was invisible. The liquid coated my clothes entirely, for which I was thankful. If the invisibility required me to get completely naked, I would not be a happy camper.

Exposing myself in front of children, no matter what the reason was, was not a line I was willing to cross.

"Hey, Zharia, how do I look?"

She sent a mental chirp. "Gone, can barely see you."

Good. No haunting sharkmen in my future.

I didn't bother waving goodbye; the others wouldn't have been able to see me. And I was on a very strict timer. Thankfully, I had the foresight to move closer to the camp before we started the operation.

I had less than a minute to get to where Groxl was and warn him before I undid the barrier. If things went as planned, he'll be able to help fend off the monsters guarding the camp, and we can get the people escorted out of there.

I glanced at where I felt Zharia and Áine fly off. Below them, only barely visible in the background, was the green Sereza-cloud gliding to the opposite end of the camp. Her goal was to take out some of the guards the moment I gave the signal.

Carefully but with haste, I half-ran and sneaked past the tent. I desperately wanted to look inside, but I had to ignore it. Instead, I veered for the bigger circle containing the adults and ran along its edge.

I had to stop, and I mentally cursed. One of the robed figures came from behind one of the monster trees. My body froze, and I ducked low, laying flat on the ground while curling up to create a smaller profile.

The figure walked by, and when he got within grabbing distance, I was ready to throw the bombs slotted into my belt and begin the backup plan.

Luckily for me, the cultist kept walking by, not noticing my prone form only a foot away. There was a moment when a stray strip of the tattered cloth nearly brushed my nose, but I held my breath and pulled away just in time.

With nearly silent steps, the cultist walked away and headed for the tent.

I let out the breath I had been holding and got up. With a glare towards the cultist, I got moving. That stop took too long, and I was about to become very visible to a large group of people.

Finally, I neared the spot where the trio was sitting. I could hear Yurlox muttering as Velisanna started to growl.

"We could take them. If we did our standard battle plan and used Grox's new skill, we could take out two and then run," Yurlox whispered.

Velisanna snapped, and she slapped a hand down. "And we can't run. We don't know where to go. And you saw the two giants. There's no way we can escape."

"I disagree. We could use the rift-born as bait. Your movement skill could carry us while Grox can keep up."

"I swear, Yur, I'm goi-"

"Hey! You two cut it out," I whispered.

"What? Who ju-" Yurlox started, but I cut him off.

"Ssssh, don't say anything. Groxl. I've come to collect another favour."

Groxl opened his eyes, and he stared in my direction. For a moment, I thought he could see me, but when I looked down, I was still invisible.

"Felkin... where are you?"

I was about to answer, but the cold, numbing, tingling sensation started to fade.

Damnit! I hope there's not a limit to these things.

I quickly swiped the second potion and uncapped it. Downing it, I slotted the empty vial back onto my belt.

"Potion, Travis, and Khrem made it. Listen, I'm about to disrupt the barrier. I need you guys ready. I don't have time to explain to everyone, but we need to get the noncombatants out of here before the guards attack."

Yurlox swivelled his head rapidly from Groxl to where my voice was coming from. Then he settled on me. "How much time left? I can quickly warn the other adventurers to get ready."

I gritted my teeth and internally sighed. "You got a minute. I'm not sure how long it'll take for the barrier to go down, but that's what I'm willing to spare."

Yurlox stood up but kept his figure hunched. With a flick of his tail, he tapped Velisanna's shoulder and pushed deeper into the crowd of people.

I watched him go, unsure of everything. The stress was getting to me, and not in a fun way. If this were a fight, I'd be smiling like a madman. Even I knew that my new body enjoyed the thrill of combat.

But this? There was so much that could go wrong; at any moment, shit could hit the fan. Still, there was no stopping now. Sereza and my familiars were ready, waiting for the signal.

"What's the plan?" Vellisanna asked.

"Bust you out; friend ambushes the guards. We get everyone out of here while you two distract the big bastards, and I can get the kids' barrier down. From there? Don't really have one. We're on the clock. The people running the sacrifices should already be starting to wonder where their sacrifice is."

"That's... a horrible plan. Wha-" Groxl held out a big, meaty arm to silence his teammate. Vellisanna looked surprised but clamped her mouth shut and frowned.

"Master Travis made more than an invisibility potion. You have the bombs?" Groxl asked calmly.

"Yes. Got two on my belt. Why?"

"Give them to Vellisanna, we'll distribute it better."

I frowned, but if I trusted the trio to watch my back and help win the fight, I'd trust his advice.

I reached down, grabbed the two bombs, and placed them on the ground. As I pulled away, they began appearing slowly as if a haze was pulling away.

Yurlox came sprinting back, and he nodded. Taking that as a sign, I took a deep breath and activated Magnus' skill.

The fur along my body became crystal-covered, and I felt the new weight along my arms. It was time. With the skill ready, I finally opened up my senses and let the mana flow. It felt solid, stable, like hardened air. But then I felt containment, the kind that locked you away and kept you frozen.

That must be why the others aren't using any of their skills. The circle has a nullification field designed into the enchantment.

Placing both hands against the barrier, I felt it harden, and an angry energy tried to push into my fingers to repel me away. Growling, I pushed harder and let my claws sink in. It felt like grabbing a hardened piece of mud.

Yurlox and Velisanna watched in surprise as my limbs started showing, the potion no longer keeping them hidden. Groxl, though, was silent, a deadly calm between the three.

As a low buzz started to sound out, and the barrier began to grow visible with a grey glow, more and more people inside the circle took notice and turned my way.

I ignored them; they weren't important. Not at that moment. With the barrier resisting and my skill absorbing the mana that sought to assault my body, I closed my eyes and let the world fall away.

Magnus was there, in the back of my head, guiding me to channel his skill and let the mana flow inward. The hardest part was learning to let go, to let the energy past the crystal shell and let it soak into the fur along my arms.

I did as he instructed, and I felt the barrier stutter. Then, the energy assaulting me was pulled forcefully into my body. It tried to pull back like it was alive, but I tugged harder.

You're mine!

I mentally grabbed onto the slippery energy. It felt like a tentacle trying to squirm its way out. There was another stutter, and I heard gasps and the beginning of yelling, but I kept my eyes closed.

Finally, the barrier gave, and the energy went limp. I absorbed the power and felt it flow into my chest and up towards my throat. It rested there, mine and fully so.

And then the barrier exploded, and the screaming began.

And only one voice stood out amongst the rest.

"Time to feed," Groxl rumbled. And with that, I opened my eyes and watched as the beastkin became a shadowy missile that impacted the nearest tree monster.