Path of Dragons-Chapter 59Book 9: : Traps

Elijah clutched his arms before him, using his thin Mantle of the Chimera as a coat. As he did, he muttered, “I miss my other cloak.”

Indeed, he very much did. He’d habitually worn the Cloak of the Iron Bear for so long that he’d almost forgotten what it felt like to be so cold. It went past discomfort, seeping into his bones and souring his mood.

He glanced down at the shivering Jackson, and he realized that he had no room to complain. So, he knelt beside the dog and said, “I wish I knew how to knit. I’d make you a sweater.”

Back in Hawaii, his ex-girlfriend had used Christmas as an excuse to dress his dog in various holiday-themed sweaters. Fremont had hated them, and he never rested until they were torn to pieces. But at least she’d gotten some good pictures.

Not for the first time, he wondered what had happened to them. He hadn’t been in love with Nina, but he had cared about her – at least enough to occasionally consider her fate in what she probably considered an apocalypse. But to date, he had yet to hear a single rumor about what had happened to Hawaii. For all he knew, it had sunk into the ocean.

Hopefully not, but the fact that he’d not heard anything about the islands didn’t bode well.

He pushed that out of his thoughts and focused on the landscape before him. The closer they’d gotten to the water, the colder the environment had become. Now, only a few hundred yards from the beach, ice covered the rocky terrain, and the sea reminded him of the ice floes he’d seen while hunting the leviathan.

There were monsters about, though none that could truly threaten Elijah or the pack. The worst were the ice leopards, which were decidedly feline in shape but made entirely of ice. They had a habit of pouncing out of nowhere. The first few time they’d attacked, Elijah had been taken by surprise. After that, he’d come to recognize the subtle shifting of ethera that indicated an oncoming assault.

Then, there were the ice mammoths, frozen grizzlies, and snow raptors – all of which bore descriptive names he’d conjured on his own. Thankfully, they were also incredibly vulnerable to Escobar’s summoned flames, and the little chihuahua seemed keen on making up for his lack of usefulness in the Crucible of Fire. He attacked with a ruthlessness and glee that Elijah found somewhat shocking.

But he pointedly did not try to stop the smallest member of the pack from doing his thing. Not only did he sympathize with the dog’s clear issues over how little he could affect the last trial, but he also appreciated the sheer effectiveness of his methods.

It was a relief not to carry so much weight on his own shoulders.

“I can taste the humidity,” Oscar said, standing tall against the brisk and biting wind. He kept both of his hatchets at the ready and showed no signs of succumbing to the cold.

In truth, Elijah didn’t either. Even significantly more frigid temperatures wouldn’t have been detrimental to his health. It was uncomfortable, though.

“It’s supposed to be a water challenge. Makes sense it’d be humid,” Elijah said, pushing himself back to his feet.

“I don’t like it.”

“You’re not the only one,” Elijah agreed.

With that, they continued on toward the beach, which was mostly iced over. For a while, they followed the coast, taking their cues from the map, until at last, they caught sight of their true destination.

It was a temple, and unlike the one that led to the Crucible of Fire. Instead of a chaotic mess of crystal, this structure looked man-made, with towering columns and a still-intact roof. It was mostly submerged, though, and surrounded by open water as well.

“Looks neo-classical,” Elijah remarked.

“More like true classical,” Oscar pointed out.

Elijah glanced at the man. “You’re into architecture?”

He shrugged. “I took a class. It’s interesting.”

Elijah couldn’t help but grin as he reached out to grip the other man’s shoulder. “I knew I liked you,” he said, feeling the tension in Oscar’s muscles. He was not used to being touched. “But yeah – you’re right. Roman inspired?”

“Maybe. Though I don’t think there were giants in Rome.”

“Do you think they take cues from our world, then? When the Primal Realms are created, I mean. The towers do.”

“I don’t know.”

It was clear that Oscar didn’t want to talk about it, so Elijah dropped that subject. Instead, he focused on the practical issues. “What do we do? Can you survive underwater?”

“I have a skill.”

“Seems like you have one for everything,” Elijah pointed out. “Must have a good class.”

Oscar nodded. “As a Tactician, my original abilities were limited to helping the pack,” he said. “As I grew, my skills became broader in focus. The trade-off is that, alone, I am not very effective.”

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“Even after your evolution?”

“It has gotten better.”

Elijah knew that was pretty much all he was going to get out of Oscar. He didn’t really blame the man. After all, Elijah wasn’t exactly open about the details of his class. Most people probably didn’t even know he was a Druid. Assuredly, they suspected as much, but he didn’t talk about it. Oscar clearly clung to a similar mindset.

“So, you’re good underwater? Because I think we’re going to need to take a swim,” Elijah said.

Oscar nodded in agreement and ethera briefly swirled. A second later, he said, “We’re ready.”

Elijah led them forward, keeping an eye out for any threats. Thankfully, nothing attacked as they approached the beach. The water wasn’t completely frozen along the shore, and instead, had turned to icy slush. Elijah stepped into it, then immediately yanked his foot out with a curse.

“Fuck that’s cold!”

Even with that short exposure, the sole of his foot had turned bright pink. It was immediately clear that, just like had been the case with the Crucible of Fire, he would need to constantly heal himself and his companions just to endure the environment. The only difference was the element fueling the damage.

“Nothin’ to it but to do it,” he muttered to himself. He took a few deep breaths, shaking out his hands and stomping his feet before abandoning further hesitation and forging ahead. As he did, he let out a string of curses.

He wished he could have said that it wasn’t as bad as that first contact suggested, but that would have been an absolute lie. It got worse. Much, much worse. At first, he was hoping for numbness, but the fact that staving off frostbite required constant healing meant that he never got to that point. Instead, the cold was like being repeatedly stabbed by pins and needles.

It didn’t stop when he reached the ice, either, and when he climbed atop it, things just got worse. Because of that, he only stopped long enough to ensure that Oscar and the dogs made it before he practically sprinted toward the temple.

Or that was his intention.

Because his body was half-numb from cold, it turned into something closer to a stagger. Finally, he found the edge of the ice, then dove headfirst into the water. The dogs followed, with Oscar picking up the rear.

However bad it had been in the beginning, it just got worse as he was fully submerged. Elijah struggled to keep up with the damage on the dogs and Oscar, but he managed it. Still, he wished he could have just used Shape of the Sea. That just wasn’t possible with the healing load, though.

He gritted his teeth against it, and dove deep, searching for the entrance. The temple was enormous – at least the size of the U.S. Capital building – but the layout made it fairly easy to find the entry point a couple hundred feet underwater. Elijah swam inside and quickly found his way to a dry portion. He climbed out of the water, followed by Oscar and the dogs.

Without stopping healing, he retrieved some extra clothes from his ring, then undressed. After drying off, he donned the new clothes. In the meantime, Escobar erupted into flame, warming the area just enough to banish the biting cold.

Elijah flipped over, gasping for breath.

“That sucked hard. Really, really hard,” he muttered. “Everyone okay? Sound off.”

A series of barks preceded Oscar’s response. “It was…unpleasant.”

“I really miss my other cloak.”

“You mentioned that before.”

“Well…I do.”

Thankfully, Escobar was capable of keeping his flames going almost indefinitely, and he was more than happy to do so. In fact, he seemed extremely proud of himself, strutting around like he was the hero of the day.

Maybe he was.

In any case, it wasn’t long before Elijah had warmed up enough to give the environment a proper look. The interior of the temple was far larger and more ornate than he’d first expected. The exterior might have had a classical bend to the architecture, but the interior was wholly alien. The dome was familiar enough, though it was decorated with a mosaic that depicted what could only be a sea giant. Elijah recognized the kelp and the blue skin tone, even if the color had faded.

Fortunately, there were no enemies around.

The place was mostly dry as well, though Elijah suspected that if they proceeded to some of the lower levels below the water line, that would change. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

“Is it warmer in here?” he asked suddenly.

“I think so,” Oscar answered, clutching his knees to his chest with a large, multi-colored blanket draped over his shoulders. The dogs had snuggled close as well. Apparently, he had a storage item on him, though it was much smaller than Elijah’s. Maybe the size of a backpack, and he used it for survival necessities – which included a big, fluffy blanket that wasn’t big enough to share.

Instead, Elijah was stuck using his damaged Cloak of the Iron Bear, which just wasn’t up to the task at hand.

He pushed himself to his feet, then looked around. “There’s a hall over there,” he said, pointing across the space. The only other major feature within the temple was a large pedestal, above which floated an enormous, lazily spinning globe. If it wasn’t for the ethera swirling around it, Elijah would have wondered how it stayed aloft.

“Magic,” he muttered. More loudly, he announced, “I’m going to check it out. You okay here?”

Oscar nodded, and Elijah strapped his still-damp armor back into place. Once he was protected, he summoned his scythe from his ring, then set off toward the hall on the other side of the expansive room. It was only fifty yards way, but he took his time crossing the space.

As it turned out, that was a good thing because it soon became clear that the entire room was covered in traps. If it hadn’t been for Soul of the Wild and his experiences back in the Chimeric Forge, Elijah never would have felt the subtle shift in ethera. But as it was, he couldn’t fail to notice the shivering threads of energy beneath certain floor tiles. Only a little inspection later, and he discovered a pattern.

He called back to Oscar, who joined him a moment later. Pointing to one set of tiles that bore a glyph that looked like a circle with horns, he said, “If you step on those, you’re going to set off some sort of trap.”

“What will it do?”

“No idea. Maybe it floods the place. Or it might release some sort of monster. Could be we’ll be chased out of the temple by a giant boulder only to find ourselves facing off against a bunch of indigenous people armed with bows.”

“That is…oddly specific.”

“Seriously? You’ve never seen Raiders of the Lost Ark?” Elijah asked incredulously.

Oscar shook his head.

“Man. How is that even possible? It’s official – as soon as I get back to the grove, I’m having a movie theater built, and we’re going to watch it. You’ll love it,” Elijah said. Then, he looked around. “After we finish this Primal Realm, I guess. But once we’re done, you’re coming to my island. Not taking no for an answer.”

The dogs barked in agreement, though Oscar didn’t respond. Instead, he looked away and studied their surroundings.

“And on that note, let’s get to it,” Elijah said, stepping forward. As he did so, two thoughts crossed his mind. The first was that he hoped he was right about the pattern, but the second settled onto Oscar. The man was clearly uncomfortable with friendship, and Elijah was determined to change that.

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