Chapter 197: [Day 211] – “A Test” (1/2)
∼ Day 211 ∼
Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I carefully tore my eyes off the headless corpse as it slid to the ground. Everyone seemed just about as shocked as I was, even the stone-cold woman's demeanor had changed just enough to reveal her underlying emotions.
There was one oddity, however. The lizard lady, the one that reminded me of a dragonewt, seemed to stumble and actually had to right herself.
”You okay?” I asked, wondering if the Fae hadn't been the only one hurt by... whatever that thing was.
She shook her head as if she was bewildered and coming out of a dream. But as she registered my words, she just nodded a curt; I'm fine.
”Odd..” I couldn't help but think, wondering what connection that had to whatever just happened with the woman whose head now was no more than gory paint on the labyrinth walls.
”By the celestials, what was that?!” The rogue gawked, breaking my train of thought.
He paused, looking around warily, shooting glances up and down the tunnel we were walking.
”I- uh, should we be expecting more of... whatever that was?” He asked hesitantly, by default looking to the stoic woman who had already returned to her air of frigidness.
She appeared to take a moment to think but ultimately shook her head.
”I do not believe we're in any imminent danger,” She said.
”No imminent danger?! Say that to the headless bitch over there!” He scoffed, pointing an accusatory finger.
The leonids and the dwarf seemed reluctant to agree with the uncouth rogue but nonetheless nodded their consensus.
”We would not be killed such as that without rime or reason, so we or the Fae must've triggered or done something to elicit this... execution.” She explained. ”Therefore, I do believe that currently, we should be in relative safety - that is of course if we avoid doing something that would trigger this event again.”
The rogue deflated a bit at that, with everyone also returning to create their own theories or hypotheses as to just what actually happened.
”Regardless, I do think it is time that we take this stage more seriously and set aside our caution towards each other.” She proposed.
A few moments of sharing looks between the now seven-strong group showed a clear reluctance to do exactly that. Up until now, we had all acted just about as reserved as we could get away with. Not revealing any of our abilities and trump cards since as far as we knew, we could all be teammates one second, and enemies the next.
Such information of what our capabilities and powers were would most likely be the determining factor whether or not one would emerge from this Trial alive.
But as the woman pointed out, it appeared that we no longer really had any choice about it. If it really meant that any of us could be killed in an instant due to holding back, we couldn't continue going on like this.
”I'll start then,” The apathetic woman said when it was obvious that everyone had come to the same conclusion. ”I am the Lady of Absolution, and in regards to anything magical, I should generally have a solution. Amongst other things, my skill set is one of peculiar proportions.”
Her explanation was short and concise, not giving too much information that could be detrimental to her while making sure that we understand what she brings to the table.
Seeing that no one else was stepping forward, I decided to just nip it in the bud and step forward.
”Sanguine Lord, specializing in the magic of blood and shadow. My abilities are quite versatile so they allow for a wide array of options,” I explained, not really giving away the specifics of my true strengths. ”Name's Xavier by the way - never mentioned yours?”
I directed this question towards the woman.
She just stood there, appearing to gauge me - though I could never know with that stone face of hers.
”We might as well get names out of the way while we're at it,” I added as the moment of silence stretched out for what was a little more than what was comfortable.
”Morgana,” She answered simply.
With that, introductions ran smoothly.
After me, were the two leonids whose names I already knew from the one peak I got at their statuses when they had attacked the dwarf.
On that note, I had already attempted to use Codex on the remaining individuals of our motley group, but when they weren't three uncaring warriors and unguarded to my divination skill, it hadn't been a possibility of me gleaming any of their secrets let alone names before now.
Unsurprisingly, Amos brought a whole lotta strength and destructive power to the table whereas Therod with that insanely high stamina of his could empower his physical form to perform a variety of qualities. Anywhere from increased resistances to increased strength and speed.
The dragonkin-like lady, introduced as Zarzha, was what I could best describe as some kind of shamanic druid as she was in tune with the elements of nature and the spirits.
Whether or not that had anything to do with the kind of shaman that Ursa was, I did not know. But at least I knew that she was some kind of mage that specialized in nature and the soul.
The pessimistic dwarf needed a bit more encouragement to introduce himself, but he eventually did so - begrudgingly.
Bugnumli, Lord of Solitude, was essentially a walking boulder. Bringing a whole lot of force and a whole lot of defense at the cost of needing others to take the fight to him.
He for some reason reminded me a lot like what I thought a lonely mountain would be like.
Lastly, there was the rogue - Jasper.
The Shadowed Lord.
His title was quite a bit more ominous than what his personality and seemingly eccentric disposition would've made me expect, but that didn't stop me from viewing him as a threat. No one here was anything less than one.
As I had expected from his get-up and what I've seen so far, he was an assassin or rogue of some type, and seemingly one of very similar ability to how those of the Order back in Ebongrave operated. Equipped with the power of his shadows, he displayed deadliness through his skill with the blade.
But what truly surprised me the most about Jasper was that he had no mana to speak of.
His control over the shadows was purely based on his title as a lord. How exactly that worked and what possible cost he could be paying to manipulate and control shadows at the level he did, I hadn't the faintest idea.
Introductions done, and after me not-so-discreetly siphoning the dead Fae's blood, we spent a while discussing how we should go about this Labyrinth we've been dumped in. Finding out what we needed to do didn't actually take much time, most of that time spent convincing Jasper and Bugnumli to take the roles best suited for them.
Jasper as a scout and Bugnumli as the frontline should Jasper fail in discovering any danger before we could react.
Zarzha backed up Jasper with her superior presence and sensing capabilities and the two leonids flanked the dwarf to support the stocky man despite their previous... differences.
As for me and Morgana, we simply did what we could to keep our senses peeled and powers ready.