Path of Dragons-Chapter 69Book 8: : Familiarity

Elijah ripped the head free of the harpy, finally ending its life. He’d been hunting the creatures for nearly two weeks, and he’d finally found their lair. Thankfully, there had only been a few dozen there, and he’d spent the following couple of days waiting for them to leave, then pouncing on them as soon as they were isolated.

And at last, he’d finished off the final monster.

Fortunately, they were neither as observant nor as durable as he’d dreaded. Certainly, if he lingered in their presence, they would notice him. However, so long as he acted quickly, he could outpace their perception and attack before they recognized that they were even in danger.

As far as their durability was concerned, Elijah was unimpressed. They died within minutes of being bitten – less if he inflicted Envenom upon them multiple times. That cemented his impression that they were scouts – either Rangers or Explorers in terms of archetype – instead of front-line fighters.

They were strong, though. Elijah wasn’t certain what levels they had attained, but they were obviously ascended and not in the early stages of that grade. So, killing the monsters had given him quite a lot of experience, and he’d finally reached one-sixty-eight. Only two more levels, and he’d get another opportunity to evolve one of his spells or gain a new one.

And he very much looked forward to that. So much so that he wished there were more harpies around, if only so he could continue his hunt and gain more experience. However, he knew just how dangerous that would be. So far, he’d gotten lucky and avoided any real consequences, but he knew better than to expect that to continue.

Besides, he was more than a little tired of being in the Primal Realm – especially with the factory looming so close. Its presence was never out of his mind, largely because the huge building dominated the landscape. He could never escape the sense of wrongness it emanated. And finally, the constant smell and taste of smoke was always with him, reminding him of his ultimate mission.

Idly, he wondered if he was more concerned with conquering the Primal Realm or righting the unnatural aura he felt coming from the factory. Perhaps it was both, and in equal measure.

Regardless, Elijah had a mission, and he wouldn’t be dissuaded by a relatively easy experience. That was why he’d started hunting the harpies in the first place. They were constantly patrolling the skies, and Elijah reasoned that if he was going to infiltrate the factory, he needed to take care of them. So, he’d begun his hunt, thinking it would be over in a day or so. Now, two weeks later, he’d finally completed his task, and he was ready for the next step.

And even as he left the harpy nest behind in the mostly intact building where they roosted, he felt more than a little trepidation. He really wasn’t looking forward to climbing through that toxic duct, and not just because it stood a good chance of killing him. He’d tested it a little, and he’d discovered that Unchecked Growth could mostly counteract the corrosion. However, mostly wasn’t completely, and what’s more, he knew that he would be on a timer. The second Unchecked Growth wore off, he’d be eaten alive by the powerfully corrosive toxin.

It only took a few hours to reach the factory and climb into position. However, Elijah had no intention of going in blind. So, he spent quite a while pushing Soul of the Wild as hard as possible. He only managed to extend its range around ten feet, but even that was invaluable in mapping the system of ducts. Finally, Elijah cast his healing spells, used Blessing of the Grove, and pushed extra ethera into Grove Conduit. It wasn’t much, but he hoped it would help him to mitigate some of the damage.

Then, he shifted into the form of the thorned sentry and dove into the duct. It was a tight fit, but after he’d already removed the damaged grate, he could squeeze through. Not that he was thinking about that. With the corrosion already stripping away his scales and withering his vines, he definitely wasn’t thinking about anything but the pain.

But Elijah was well-versed in enduring pain. So, after shunting it into one facet of his mind, he surged forward with as much speed as he could muster. For the first ten feet, he managed to keep a mostly even keel, but the second he left the range of Blessing of the Grove and his conduit, he started losing ground. When the second stage of Nature’s Bloom hit, some of that damage was reversed, but that only lasted a few seconds before he once again found himself in dire straits.

That’s when he hit the first branch. He chose the left-most direction, continuing to crawl as quickly as possible.

That’s when Wild Resurgence ran its course. He recast it, but that slight delay was enough to put him behind schedule.

Elijah felt his scales dissolve as the corrosive emissions assaulted his tender flesh. The Constitution of Shape of Thorn helped to mitigate its progress, at least to some extent, but he knew he only had a few seconds before he’d need to take the next step.

Still, he delayed for as long as he could, with his muscles turning to slurry amidst the toxic gas. He grunted, pulling himself forward with inextricable stoicism until he felt his body begin to fail.

After the dissipation and reapplication of Wild Resurgence, he’d lasted no more than fifteen seconds before he was forced to activate Unchecked Growth.

Instantly, he stopped losing ground. In fact, he gained a little with every passing second. Unfortunately, it had a limited duration:

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Unchecked Growth

Embrace nature, increasing Regeneration by 1000%. Duration based on Constitution attribute. Current: 66.3 Seconds. Cooldown based on stage of Core Cultivation. Current: 25.1 hours. Only usable while under the effects of Shape of Thorn.

Thankfully, his Constitution’s incredible ascendence was extremely beneficial, and the duration had increased significantly from his recent levels. Still, it wasn’t as if he had time to tarry.

He dragged himself through the ducts, turning when necessary and descending whenever he had the chance. But as the seconds ticked by, he knew he was running out of time. The only bright spot was that having an effective Regeneration of almost six-thousand points was more than enough to overcome the corrosive gas and repair the damage done.

But when there was only ten seconds left in the ability, Elijah started to panic. He couldn’t retreat, and based on what he felt with Soul of the Wild, he also couldn’t reach an exit in time to save himself. That left only one option, and though he’d prepared for the possibility, he certainly didn’t look forward to what was coming.

He stopped, cocked his fist back, then hammered it into the base of the duct. It rang like a gong, but Elijah couldn’t concern himself with drawing attention. Instead, with only nine seconds left, he needed to escape the toxic gas or he’d end up melted into so much goo.

He hit it again.

Seven seconds left.

Again. It dented.

Six seconds.

He roared, activating Savage Strength and smashed his fist into it again. The dent deepened, and the barest hint of a crack appeared. He slammed his fist into it again. And again after that.

Three seconds.

The next blow split the duct, and Elijah hurriedly grabbed hold of the edges and pulled them apart. The combination of the durable metal and his massive strength overwhelmed his defenses, and the jagged edges cut into his hands. He ignored it.

One second.

The sound of wrenching metal and a bellowing cry of pain and desperation filled the air until Unchecked Growth ran its course. Elijah immediately smelled the odor of chemical burns as his body sizzled and his scales melted. He still couldn’t fit, and even as his body was assaulted by the corrosive gas, he felt his Strength giving out. He recast Wild Resurgence, but it wasn’t enough to stop the corrosion, much less reverse its effects.

Five seconds after Unchecked Growth fell away, Elijah came to the detached conclusion that he couldn’t accomplish his goal. The gap in the duct had gone as far as it could go, and with his waning strength, he couldn’t force it wider. But if he couldn’t widen the gap, then he would just have to become smaller.

It took a frighteningly long time for him to come to that obvious conclusion. Seconds wasted, and not without consequence. So, the moment the solution dawned on him, he hesitantly shifted into the only shape that might allow him to fit through.

Fortunately, Shape of the Master didn’t completely negate the Constitution buff he got from Shape of Thorn, which was probably the only reason he didn’t immediately succumb. As it stood, the moment he took on that small shape, he managed to slither through the gap. It scraped him raw, dragging himself through, but he still flopped free just in time to save himself from the nightmarish fate of being dissolved alive.

He hit the ground a full two seconds later.

Elijah knew he was in enemy territory, but he couldn’t force himself to move for a few more seconds. Then, he initiated a transformation back into his human form. He pointedly ignored the state of his flesh. Instead, he focused on casting one heal after another as he fumbled in his satchel for one of the emergency potions he’d gotten from Biggle. The Alchemist called the red-tinted vial a healing potion, and with shaking fingers, Elijah unhesitantly tipped the peppery contents into his mouth. Swallowing was a chore, but when he did, he felt a surge of vitality that felt a little like casting all three of his heals at once. That, along with his constant healing, began the long process of healing his body.

Thankfully, corroded soft tissue was much easier to heal than fractures, largely because it didn’t require him to reset any bones. Or maybe it was because it just naturally healed more quickly. Whatever the case, it still took almost an hour before he could force himself to his feet and visually inspect his surroundings.

He’d chosen the spot as well as he could, and via Soul of the Wild, he’d established that it was deserted before he’d begun his quest to create his own exit from the duct. However, he hadn’t had time to sense much else until he was lying on the dirty floor.

And it was dirty. Filthy, really.

If Elijah felt he needed to worry about infections, he certainly would have been craving some antibiotics at the moment. The floor was a grate of rusty iron, with gaps measuring nearly an inch wide between slats. And it was covered with some unidentifiable goo that Elijah didn’t want to investigate too closely. Certainly, he’d added plenty of his own fluids to that collection.

In any case, he was far more interested in what he saw far below.

It was a factory floor that reminded him a little of a steel plant, complete with giant crucibles full of molten metal. While healing himself, Elijah studied the scene with morbid curiosity. The crucibles weren’t terribly interesting, and he dismissed them without much consideration. The same was true of the massive furnaces spaced throughout the facility. He also ignored the rising heat and the conveyer belts.

Because the bulk of his attention locked onto the abominations he saw working below.

They were clearly vey’thaalian in origin, though most had more mechanical parts than flesh. There were also beasts of burden following that same pattern, and they were used to drag hunks of metal to the furnaces or crucibles. Elijah didn’t much care about where they were going. He was far too interested in what they were.

And how they felt vaguely familiar.

Monstrous, certainly. Corrupted, assuredly. But the familiarity was undeniable. He’d felt something similar only twice before, and fairly recently. Both had come during the Summit.

They felt like Isaiah.

Not as he’d been the first couple of times Elijah had visited Seattle. Rather, they felt like the current version. During the Summit, Elijah had attributed that feeling to the man’s acquisition of multiple artificial parts, including his heart. But now, he saw a parallel he couldn’t even begin to deny, which left him with more questions than answers.

Isaiah clearly didn’t have anything to do with the Primal Realm. Elijah knew that without doubt. However, he knew there was some connection – he just wasn’t seeing it at the moment.

Those thoughts accompanied Elijah’s convalescence until, hours later, he felt well enough to move on. So, he shifted into the Shape of Venom, cloaked himself in Guise of the Unseen, then set off on a quest to find some answers.