Chapter 1645 (1/2)
The first sign of the change escaped even the notice of all the assembled individuals of power, as each of the three factions began their private preparations for the ordeal that they believed to be coming. Even Randidly overlooked the beginning, fascinated as he was by the endless swirls of significance and connection that the Nether King could deftly shape from nothing and instantly discard to start his work elsewhere.
The kaleidoscope of energy was all-consuming, leading him deeper the longer he looked at it.
Thump.
The noise was what eventually drew all their attention because it was the sound of rain. From the towering edifice of significance and strange symbolism… the hexahedrons were falling. Just the ones at the edges, but they hit the sandy ground at the base of the crater with a dull thump that sounded eerily like heavy raindrops on a roof.
Thump, thump, thump.
For about five seconds, everyone stopped and solemnly watched the slow collapse. Then they returned to their preparations with even more intensity. Randidly spared a glance for the darkening masses of significance that pooled above them without the guidance of the Nether Spires, which served in the role of ominous storm clouds quite proficiently. Then he turned and followed Claudette to join the bulk of the Pinnacle Seeker forces.
Thump, thump, thump, clink!
The quality of the noise changed as the falling hexahedrons started hitting their already fallen brothers, rather than just hitting the sand. The noise was painful and sharp, like an unexpected bone within a meal. After wincing the first time that he had heard it, Randidly wondered whether it was his own Grim Intuition that made him vulnerable to the noise, but the twisted set of Helen’s mouth during the next example of the noise proved to Randidly that it was a universally painful experience.
Thump, clink! Thump, thump, clink!
As more fell, the clink became depressingly common.
Randidly’s group made it back to the Pinnacle Seekers loose circle and settled down to wait. The entire crater could only watch and wait, held hostage by the prestige of the Nether King and the danger of his preparations. Randidly used this time to continue rejuvenating his and Helen’s mental strength and also studying the other factions.
Military High Command was forming up into tight columns in preparation for a direct assault. Apparently, they were amenable to being the guinea pigs that first charged through the breach with the others observed. The Engraving Guild was having the members of its Nether Lattice ritualistically empower several large spikes, twice as tall as a man and as thick as a humanoid’s waist. From this distance, he wasn’t able to tell exactly their role, but the Nether they were mobilizing was seriously potent.
Unfortunately, they seemed to notice Randidly’s gaze and erected some sort of energy screen that kept him from gathering any more information. Snorting, Randidly turned away.
Meanwhile, the Pinnacle Seekers were the most at ease of the groups. They just seemed to be loitering around, waiting for something to change within the central area. At their core, the Frost Matriarch was sitting with her massive legs crossed beneath her. In front of her was a square, silver coin that Randidly had watched her place carefully upon a medium-sized rock.
Thump, clink, clink! Clink! Thump, thump, clink!
As the ground in the crater became increasingly covered in the falling hexahedrons, Randidly turned to Claudette with a small frown on his face. “What is the Frost Matriarch doing?”
Claudette watched her mistress with a solemn expression. “Calling for assistance. From… a very dangerous individual.”
“She… can send messages, even with the space folded like this?” Randidly gestured around. As the air shifted, he hadn’t needed to maintain his Nether Ritual to destroy the spatial walls. They disintegrated on their own under the pressure of the significance. Without the Nether Spires to keep the energy moving, the entire crater was dark and heavy. Beyond the immediate area, the group was still within a place surrounded by tight spatial walls.
“A message won’t be able to pierce through this place…” Claudette said slowly. Then she shrugged. “But a powerful image…? One of the most powerful images in the Nexus?”
Claudette tilted her head in the way she had that made her long hair swing slightly to frame her face. She smiled at Randidly. “I don’t mean to assume, but you aren’t very familiar with the state of the most powerful individuals in the Nexus, are you Mr. Ghosthound? You haven’t been here long. You can definitely say that my Frost Matriarch is one of the best of the best; but she is… part of the lower tier.
“At the top of the Nexus… are nine individuals who are believed to be the closest to reaching the Pinnacle. The nine Speculum, they are called.” Claudette pointed toward that square, silver coin on the rock. “That’s the token of one of the Pinnacle Seeker Speculum, Niermas Pence. The Engraving Guild’s current movements have the scent of their Lathis N’Gick, who is also a Speculum, and Military High Command has three retired Commandants who are Speculum behind them; I’ll bet you anything that one of them is present, or that Commandant Wick is escorting one over as we speak.”
Randidly paused for a minute and processed this information. Since arriving in the Nexus, he had truly felt like he was struggling in a morass of uncertainty when it came to understanding power. He couldn’t help but acknowledge that he was weaker, but there were two problems with that knowledge. He didn’t understand how much weaker he was than figures like Velio Dunn and also that he didn’t know how much power he would need to be respected within this environment.