Chapter 262: Discovery (2/2)
The mold created by Elfie’s barrier magic that held the molten metal Terok had heated up. An interesting way to use his abilities. Ilea wondered who of the two had the idea. Ash formed around her, several walls of it both towards the two knights and the hallway as well as towards the door in front of her. Buffs already active surged to their highest power. Ilea sacrificed five hundred of her health to activate her third tier State of Azarinth as she slid in the key through the small opening in her ash.
A dull humming noise resounded when the key reached the end of the opening, fitting perfectly. Metal magic must be a nightmare for locksmiths…, Checking the knights, Ilea found them unmoving as they had been before. Whatever protection their armor granted, it was not the best for their hearing ability. Ilea grinned and turned the key. A dull click could be heard before the key was pushed outwards. A handle slowly extended from the smooth metal sheet. Ilea grabbed it and opened the door.
Checking the inside for movements with her Sphere and waiting for a moment to see if any misshapen experiment lunged at her, she turned back to Terok and let her ash float aside. Bowing a little, she gestured for him to enter. The dwarf appeared next to her a couple seconds later, floating to avoid making any noise. Ilea put the key back into her necklace while Terok set up some enchanted plates of metal in the hallway leading to the two knights standing guard. A sizzling and the magic was in place.
Terok landed on his metal feet, “There you go. Sound canceling activated. Vision should be blurry enough for the one patrolling down not to see us. He doesn’t walk far in to the hall.”
Ilea nodded as he opened the door more widely, checking the inside of it, “Key should work from the other side as well.”
Ilea summoned one of her heavy gauntlets and set it down behind the door, “Let’s just keep it open. Your enchantments will stay active for a while I assume?”
“Couple hours at least. I’ll check on them periodically.” The dwarf reassured, his flood lights streaming into the dark room, illuminating a variety of machines Ilea had no idea where to place. It was a long hall with several doors leading into small rooms.
“Safe to enter from your side?” Ilea asked, the dwarf giving her a thumbs up before she stepped inside. He followed behind closely, his light giving color to the things Ilea saw through her Sphere. The ground and walls were marble, the same as in the hall outside. Metal boxes, bags, books, notes and many other things littered the many work benches, interspersed with machinery that looked like something out of an eighties science fiction work.
Several glass tubes lined the opposite wall. As soon as she was in range, Ilea lifted her eyebrows and motioned for Terok to stop, “There’s a person in one of those tubes. I think she’s alive.”
“Wanna check it out?” He asked. The dwarf didn’t seem too enthused about finding anything alive down here.
Ilea continued walking. A quiet humming could be made out when they walked further down the hall, at its end a dome like machine with several big cords extending into the walls. A glass casing protected something inside but Ilea couldn’t see through it with her Sphere. “One of the cords on the walls is missing.” Terok spoke, his light illuminating the empty socket. The thing was around twenty centimeter in diameter. His light followed the thick cables growing out of the metal half sphere before he found one connecting to the machine incorporating the glass tubes. “Found the culprit.” He said and laughed.
Clothes were laid out on a beautiful chair next to the machine. Terok’s light flashed into the tube and revealed a female human looking to be in her fifties. Gray long hair, eyes closed and a body marred by three scars that looked nasty enough to have killed her. She was thin, malnourished. Ilea knew her heart was beating. “Should we wake her up?”
“Are you nuts?” Terok quickly said, “Identify her at least… let’s first find out what we can and explore the whole place before we tinker with anything.”
[Mage – lvl 262]
“She’s level two sixty two. A mage.” Ilea shared, tapping the glass. The woman didn’t respond in any way, sleeping or frozen. Something swirled in the tube but Ilea was sure it wasn’t water.
Terok chuckled, “Found our energy source. Guess you were right with your necromancer theory.”
Ilea turned to him, the dwarf looking into the glass cover of the dome like machine. Appearing beside him, she looked inside and found a man in his thirties, broad shoulders, long silver beard and hair. His eyes were closed as well, arms folded over his naked chest. Scars marked his body too but he seemed in a much healthier condition than the woman in the glass tube. “His mana is flowing away, somehow the machine gathers it all up and distributes it among the tubes leaving it…,” Terok explained what he was seeing.
Ilea suddenly turned back to the glass tubes, “Something happened. Prepare to fight.” Her perception was diluted near the tubes, something tried to go unnoticed. Terok’s light flashed into the hall, the only thing they found was a thick mist.
“Quite perceptive girl.” A female voice rung out. “Before you attack, I would like to suggest a bargain.”
Ilea looked through the mist and found a portion where it seemed ever so slightly different. Something she would never have noticed without her training with Eve. Looking right at the spot, she replied, “Take down your mist and we’ll talk.” Her own ash started to spread in the room, limbs forming behind her back. Terok took a step away from her, towards the dome like machine.
“Are you enemies of Rhyvor?” The voice ignored Ilea’s request.
Ilea stepped forward, ignoring the burning mist that made its way into her armor. Her healing and resistance took care of it. Someone to level my Mist Resistance…, Grinning at the find, she stepped right in front of the differently swirling mist, “Rhyvor is long dead. You and the guy over there might be the only survivor. Now take it down or I’ll make you.”
The mist washed to the side of the room, evaporating slowly. The woman who had resided in the glass tank stood before her, silver eyes staring at her intensely. Her naked body was veiled in mist. “I feared as much…,” The woman said, “… though I cannot believe you without proof.”
“You want proof? Look around the city, the knights are covered in rust and all of it is buried inside a mountain.” Terok said, shaking his head at the ridiculousness.
“She can’t leave.” Ilea said, “She has no way of getting away from the Kingsguard…,”
How long was she trapped down here?, Ilea thought, the woman still staring into her eyes, unwavering.
“Well then we’re at an advantage. Who are you?” Terok asked.
The woman looked at him with disdain, a grimace forming on her face before she spoke, “I am Elana Invalar, queen and regent of this revered kingdom and you will show me respect dwarf.”
He laughed, “Queen of nothing but undead and ruins.”
The woman’s arm shot out, mist swirling around her arm before Ilea’s hand rushed out to catch it. Mist buried into the marble, leaving behind a deep gash. “He’s here with me. Don’t be stupid. I know the news must be terrible to hear but dying because his idiotic…,” Ilea paused and turned to the dwarf, “… insensitive ass offended you won’t help in the slightest.” She finished and turned back to her. “Alright?” Ilea asked, looking into her eyes.
Closing her eyes for a moment, the woman sighed, “Excuse me. It has been a trying and… frustrating time.” Ilea let go of her arm.
“She nearly killed me! Why would you let her go?” Terok asked, appearing behind Ilea to avoid any further attacks.
“Completely justified. Now shut it. You spoke of a bargain? What do you want? And what do you have to offer?” Ilea asked, ignoring Terok rambling about her being a specist, human loving cunt. He really had a mouth about him.
The supposed queen looked at her, “Do you really need to degrade yourself with such company? We can talk about how I will reward you…,”
Ilea interrupted her with a finger to her mouth, “Bap bap bap. I said he’s with me alright. Now stop weaving your aristocratic bullshit and tell us what you want. Maybe we’ll help, maybe not. That’s exactly why I like His company…,” Ilea sighed the last sentence and shook her head.