"Over here." Jason's voice echoed from the other side of the room, causing Nolvi to let out a fearful squeak.
"A little warning next time!" Nolvi scolded, her hands shaking slightly. "My soul almost left my body!"
"I am sorry." Jason said sincerely, though he felt more proud than anything.
He'd gotten Voice Throw down fairly easily, it had taken hours of work but now that he could do this, distractions would be far easier to pull off. Again he couldn't help but wonder what Orion would be able to do with spells like this, but he didn't think on that long. He noticed that Lance had been giving Lithia the most evil of all eyes.
"I can handle this." Lance told her in a low growl, "If this is all Kazon can do, then I will be fine."
Lithia clapped her gnarled hands together in delight, "Excellent, you're all done now deary. Now then, I've had just about enough of you three, it's time for me to kick you out of the nest."
Lance sighed as Lithia released her, rubbing hands down her face as she began to collect herself.
"I still want to learn to fly." Jason told Lithia, "Can't we wait a bit longer?"
Lithia shook her head, "Unfortunately no. While I would like to advance you further beyond your current capabilities, you need to catch up to Theopalu and the others. I cannot risk him coming into possession of my amulet, he may try to destroy it if it falls into his hands. Though that is assuming that they can slay Kazon without you three with them."
"I see." Jason told her, using monotone to mask his disappointment, "First tell me what I need to imagine to create water, then I need intel on where castle Blackgaze is relative to where you intend to send us. Also, will Kazon be able to lock my armor as you have before?"
The Long Lords and Lithia had been able to do so, after all, he had to assume that Kazon would be capable of the same thing.
"Water cannot be created, what you do is condense the moisture in the air around you to form it. Channel through Dandenlona and imagine wrapping a wet piece of paper in your hand until you cannot fold it any longer. In regards to if Kazon can lock that little bone-suit of yours, the answer is easily, but worry not, I will maintain a spell on your armor that will prevent that from happening." Lithia assured him.
"What if he counters the spell?" Jason asked, "What then?"
Lithia scoffed, "He cannot undo my work, the spells I cast are far too intricate for that brute to comprehend, he would need at least an hour to remove this spell from you. It would be like trying to untangle a chaotic pile of yarn, so unless you intend to sit there and allow him to do so, you will be fine. Now, to find Castle Blackgaze, all you need to do is find the Rotting Ilum and head southwest of it. You need not try to find the tree, for you'll be able to spot it from leagues away."
Jason nodded, just like the Ilum tree from the Faewood, the Rotting Ilum must have been massive. He approached Lithia, demagnetizing his helmet from his hip before sliding it back over his head.
"I am ready." Jason said.
He had no delusions about Kazon, Jason wouldn't be able to counter the Lord of Hate's spells on his own, Lithia's assistance was a requirement to attain victory. Despite that reasoning he still felt wary of her, what if she cast something besides the defensive spell? Not likely, she already had a mark on him that would ruin his life if he dared go against their agreement, there was no insurance she needed to add on top of that.
Well, in a way he supposed that this was insurance, Lithia had every reason to want Jason to succeed in killing Kazon. Perhaps he should ask for more spells to be cast on him, just in case.
"Can you put more defensive spells on me?" He asked as she put a leathery hand on his breastplate.
"Several, the problem is that you would be too far away for me to maintain those particular spells. This one I put on you now is not too different from an illusion, meaning that I can still be leagues from you and it would still be in place. Spells such as Deflection or Diamond Flesh are different though, you would need to be within my sight for me to maintain them on you." She explained, removing her hand, "Besides, with that Dragon-Bone armor, there is nothing he has that can penetrate it. Dragon-Bone is indestructible, it would require an Artifact to even leave a scratch."
"Indestructible?" Jason asked, "It's strong, but no material is absolutely immune to damage."
"Indestructible means indestructible." Lithia insisted.
Jason shook his head, "That doesn't make sense, if it were really so strong it couldn't have been shaped into being armor."
"That is where Artifacts come in, boy." Lithia told him firmly, "Artifacts are magical objects that cannot be destroyed, except by other Artifacts, Dragon-Bone itself is an Artifact. I bet you've never broken a bone in your life, have you? No matter what strain they may have suffered."
Jason blinked. She was right, he really had never broken a bone before in his life, never had he even experienced a fracture. Once when he was a child, he'd fallen from the top of a tree, landed on his left arm palm first, and had gotten up as if nothing had happened.
"That is why Dragon-Bone is so valuable here in our world, not that cheap imitation wyrm-bone folk try to pedal as 'Dragon-Bone'. Back when I was free, I've seen several such creations from the corpses of your uncles, swords, arrow tips, plate armor and the like, yet to forge Dragon-Bone, you must be in possession of Artifacts needed to break it down."
"Are you saying that my armor could be destroyed by itself, or my knife?" Jason asked.
The blade itself was made from Adium- or rather, Dragon-Bone as well. If he were to stab at the Phalanx suit, would he puncture it? This intel also made him wonder how it was possible that the Phalanx suit was even created, if Artifacts were needed to shape Dragon-Bone into armor, then that meant that Terna was also in possession of Artifacts, right?
"Unless you plan on battering your armor to pieces, I wouldn't worry about it, and that knife of yours would likely break if you tried to stab your armor. Both being Artifacts means that they would behave as normal armor and blade, what happens if you try to stab a slab of thick steel with a knife?"
Jason nodded, "I see. Is there a way to distinguish Artifacts from other magical items?"
"Not easily I'm afraid, you see, Artifacts originally were mundane magical items, but have been around so long that they've evolved beyond what they used to be. Lance's chains there are mere magical items, but given time they may become Artifacts themselves." She said, pointing to Lance, "But when it happens or what triggers this evolution is beyond my knowledge, as surprising as it is to say."
"I'm guessing that Artifacts aren't exactly common." Jason remarked, "Is Kazon in possession of any?"
"My amulet is an Artifact, but unless he's come to possess more, that is all he has." Lithia said, eyes growing distant again, "All this talk of Artifacts reminds me of that wretched creature that prowls the tunnels outside of New Romai, the vampire that brought you to the dwarves."
"You know about him?" Jason asked, curious.
Lithia nodded, "Pure dwarves are both blessed and cursed, constantly pursued by creation Fae."
Lance's head shot up immediately, "Creation Fae? I thought they were a myth." She said, eyes wide.
Lithia shook her head, "They linger around only pure-blooded dwarves, just as Life Fae live among your kind, so do Creation Fae live among dwarves. Though they are aloof and cold, unlike the spirits you are used to."
"Do they inhabit rocks, or mushrooms?" Lance asked, sounding excited, "Do they name themselves or do they bond with a particular dwarf?"
Lithia shook her head, "Creation Fae are cruel beings, they don't bond with the dwarves they choose, they possess them."
"For what purpose?" Jason furrowed his brow.
"Artifacts can be created from scratch, without having to evolve from being a mere magical item, but only the dwarves can do such a thing, provided they are possessed by a Creation Fae. They drive their victims to collect everything that they need to create the desired Artifact, refusing to leave the host body until it's done… if that doesn't happen, the possessed dwarf invariably goes mad. That is what happened to the vampire stalking the tunnels, the Fourth Long Lord Barilun, the youngest brother."
That made sense, that vampire, Barilun, had clearly been insane, and disheveled as if he'd been wandering those tunnels for years.
"He was possessed shortly after the Romai fled here and began building their new city, but he could not find the final item he needed for his Artifact, meaning the Fae never left his body. As I recall, in his final lucid moments, he permanently bound himself to the will of his brothers, not wanting to be useless to them even as a mad husk. You would think that vampires couldn't weep or mourn, much less the Long Lords, but they spent centuries bawling about it, pathetic!" Lithia laughed, strangely delighting in the memory.
"What if Barilun were to get the final piece he needed for his Artifact?" Jason questioned, "Would the Fae leave him then?"
"It would, but the dwarves have been down here for eons, and no matter what they present him, the Fae is left unsatisfied. Have no fear, Barilun will not return to any throne, he is content with wandering the dark for all eternity."
What if… what if the reason the Romai were plotting to invade the surface wasn't purely to conquer it? Certainly that was what they desired to do, but what if they also sought to find the final material that Barilun needed? What if what the Fae wanted was something only attainable on the surface, not below ground? The Long Lords may be able to restore their brother to sanity if they storm the surface, adding a fourth Long Lord to their forces.
That was unacceptable. Yet what was Jason to do, return to the tunnels and face off with a vampire on par with the other Long Lords? It wasn't worth diverging from their current objective. His head hung slightly as he anticipated what would happen in the future, heavily armed vampiric dwarves invading the overground, could any civilization on Ahkoolis be able to stop them? Even if he did resolve the Pillar-Born issue, the Romai could prove to be their own world-ending threat.
"Jason?" Lance asked, stepping into his field of view, "It's alright. Lithia's right, we won't have to worry about that one. Kazon comes first, we can figure out what to do after he's dead."
"You're right." Jason agreed, "Are you ready to go?" He asked her.
"I'll go with you anywhere." Lance told him with a small smile.
Lithia's awful cackle assailed his ears after Lance said that, both of them turning to glare at the corpse, "Such dreadful stares! Go get whatever you need from that little nest you made outside, I won't be able to bring you all back if you forget something. Nolvi, you have my Grimoire, yes?"
"I do, grandmother." She smiled, "I'll keep it safe."
"Very good, if anything goes wrong, channel some Foundation into it. I'll be able to feel that and know that I need to pull you back." She said, "You've gotten so strong, go and humiliate Kazon for me, yes deary?"
"Happily, grandmother." Nolvi replied, a devious smile on her face.
Jason stepped out of the chamber, magnetizing all his gear to himself before grabbing one of the massive blankets, turning it into a makeshift bindle before piling in more blankets and food. When that was done, he threw the barrel of water over his shoulder, the liquid sloshing heavily within-
Why was this barrel made of wood? There weren't any trees below grou-
He shut his eyes, don't overthink it. Clearly it was constructed from the mushroom trees in the caverns beneath New Romai. Satisfied with that brief answer, he went back into the chamber, him, Nolvi, and Lance standing before her throne.
"All of you need to hold onto the same object, so grab Jason and I will send him, and therefore you two, along with him." Lithia said.
Nolvi put a hand on Jason's elbow plate, but Lance, surprisingly, wrapped both arms around his forearm, hugging it tightly. She likely thought that the spell would need as much contact as possible, but since Lithia wasn't correcting Nolvi that couldn't be the case. Better safe than sorry though, he couldn't fault Lance for that.
Lithia shot them one final grin before saying, "Good luck again, both in battle, and in love."
Lance's grip tightened on his arm, frowning as she glared daggers at Lithia. What did she mean by good luck in love? Was Lithia once again implying that Jason would be part of her harem in some way? He would never bow to Lithia and be her pet. In an instant, they were gone, standing in a field of pure white snow.
Thick flakes fell gently from a pure white sky, the cold a stark contrast to the heat of the Faewood. On his rear camera, Jason could spot what had to be the Rotting Ilum in the distance… it left him speechless. Its dark branches split the sky, making it look like shattered glass, it towered over everything, twice as tall as the first Ilum Tree he'd seen and ten times thicker. Lithia was right, there truly was no missing such a gargantuan landmark. It hung over the horizon, the bottom half out of sight.
If they wanted to reach the tree, it could take them several days worth of marching. Lance's eyes were completely captivated by it, frozen in wonder as she stared with open awe. Nolvi did much the same, slack-jawed as her spiraling eyes locked onto it.
"We need to head south west of where the tree is, follow me." He said in an attempt to shake them from their awe.
Nolvi blinked, removing her hand from his elbow, "Right, I apologize, I just had no idea it would be so-"
"So magnificent." Lance finished, her tone melancholic, "To see an Ilum in such a cursed land breaks my heart. Knowing I'll never see it in all it's former splendor is just-" Her breath caught.
"You'll get to see the Faewood's Ilum reach that potential." Jason assured her, "Even if it takes a thousand years, it will get there."
"Will you be there to see it with me?" Lance asked after she gathered herself.
Jason nodded, "Of course I will."
This seemed to be the right thing to say, for she smiled, wiping away budding tears after releasing him, "Right then, let's be off, we have a job to do."
"Hold on," Nolvi raised a hand, "If I may, I would prefer to lead, is that a problem, cousin?"
"Why would you want to do that?" He asked.
"Look at the snow at our feet." She said, indicating the ground.
"It's up to my knees." Lance noted, "Not much to be done about it, but with all due respect, I would rather Jason lead. His boots would clear a nice path for us through the snow."
Nolvi shook her head, "Watch this." She smirked, her eyes turning to the southwest, particularly at the ground running that direction.
Lance gasped as the snow was pulverized, the veins in Nolvi's temples bulging slightly as her eyes began carving a path through the snow. Perhaps pulverize wasn't the right word, the snow was more displaced than anything, piling up beside a growing trail.
"I can clear the path the whole way, I won't be strained by doing this, compared to what grandmother put me through, this is like ripping paper." Nolvi said, stepping forward and clearing more snow.
"Amazing." Lance smiled, "Shall I be rear guard?"
"Negative, I'll take the rear, Nolvi will lead, and you will be in the center. If something comes up behind us I want to be ready to intercept." He explained, "I would prefer to carry you both, but I need to hold our supplies, so Nolvi needs to lead to clear the path."
"Alright then… By the way, have you three noticed?" Lance asked, "I barely even feel anything, perhaps just a twinge of annoyance."
Nolvi nodded, "Compared to what grandmother put us through, Kazon's hatred is as irritating as a fly."
Jason blinked, he himself hadn't even noticed the budding anger until Lance pointed it out. Like she said, compared to what Lithia could output, this was nothing. At most, Jason felt slightly annoyed, like there was a gnat flying around in his helmet. It was easy to ignore, practically not there as long as he didn't pay it any attention.
"Let us go bring down that puff-chest once and for all." Nolvi smiled.
With that, all three of them began on their journey, making their way toward Castle Blackgaze. An hour after they left, a massive, hulking figure found the trail in the snow. Perplexed, this creature began following the path, running to catch up with whatever created it.