Path of Dragons-Chapter 55Book 8: : Splitting Up is Always a Good Idea

“I told you already. Stop askin’.”

Elijah responded, “Come on. It’ll be fun. You’ve never even been to a Primal Realm. Think of all the traps you could deploy.”

“Got plenty of traps here,” Kurik spat, leaning forward, his eyeball only a quarter of an inch away from the contraption he was building. It practically sizzled with potent ethera, telling Elijah that it was a pretty dangerous piece. Part of that probably came from the seven power crystals attached to the wire mesh, but Elijah knew enough to recognize that most of it came from Kurik’s abilities.

“Fine. Don’t come,” Elijah said. “I’ll just have all the fun without you. And I’ll get all the loot, too. Stuff like that key hanging around your neck.”

“Don’t care. Not goin’. I’m needed here.”

“Alright, but you’re missing out,” Elijah stated.

“Ain’t missin’ out on nothin’,” Kurik responded. Finally, he pulled away from the crackling trap. “You’re not goin’ in there alone, are you?”

“What? No. I’m not stupid.”

“You went into a tower alone when you were barely even classed,” Kurik reminded him. “No tellin’ what you’re gonna do.”

“I intend to take an entire team with me. Maybe an army, if I can manage it,” Elijah said. That was his mistake with the Desolate Reach. They might not have been able to bring a bunch of people all at once, but they could have brought them in waves. That, in turn, would have made the whole thing a lot easier, which he reasoned was probably the whole point.

“Good. Leave Ron out of it, though. He’s got responsibilities here.”

“What? He’s the best Healer in the –”

“His little girl needs him here and alive,” Kurik interrupted, leveling a glare at Elijah. “Promise me you won’t guilt him into it.”

“I would never –”

“Promise me, Elijah.”

Elijah sighed again, then ran his hand through his hair. “Fine. I promise I won’t rope Ron into it,” he intoned. “Happy?”

“Not really. Don’t really want you to go, either. Good way to get killed.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“This time, maybe. Next time too. But at some point, you’re gonna bite off more’n you can chew. Mark my words, Elijah – if you keep goin’ like this, you’re gonna end up regrettin’ it.”

“That’s a cheery thought.”

“Take it however you want. Just tryin’ to make sure my friend don’t go gettin’ himself killed,” Kurik replied.

“Aw. You really care.”

“Shut up. Now get outta my shop. I got things to do,” Kurik said.

“Fine, fine,” Elijah said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m going. If I find any cool loot suited for you, I’ll be sure to rub it in your face when I come back.”

Kurik only grunted as he leaned back into his work. Elijah shook his head, then left his friend’s shop, which was situated about a block away from the Hunter’s Lodge. For some reason, the surrounding buildings were empty, which was a rarity in a bustling city like Ironshore.

Pushing that minor mystery aside for the time being, he stepped out into the alley and looked around, wondering what he was meant to do next. His next stop was supposed to be the clinic, but after promising not to invite Ron along, his plans had been dashed.

That very morning, Sadie had set off for Russia to prepare to tackle the Primal Realm, so the prospect of heading back to the grove just didn’t appeal to him. Carmen had already made it clear that she didn’t want to be disturbed – apparently, the Forge of Creation was on the verge of completion, and she needed all hands on deck, including her own, if they wanted it to meet its potential. So, visiting his sister-in-law wasn’t really an option, either.

With that in mind, Elijah just roamed Ironshore for a while. Eventually, he decided to cross off some items from his to-do list, and he completed preparations for his eventual foray into the Primal Realm. Food was the first priority, but he also made certain to stop by Biggle’s laboratory to acquire some potions he could use in emergencies. In addition, he bought some extra clothes, a few odds and ends he thought might end up being useful, and picked up some coffee he’d had one of the local Cooks roast.

After returning to his island, he piled as many grove fruits inside his satchel as he could manage, which left the space entirely full. Not for the first time, he realized that the Ghoul-Hide Satchel was on the verge of outlasting its usefulness. More than anything, he wished he had an item like Kurik’s Key of Twisted Ethera where he could store his things, but he would have settled for something the size of the new bags being produced in Ironshore. The only reason he hadn’t upgraded was because he’d grown attached to the satchel.

After all, he’d earned it as a reward in a tower, and it had been with him for quite some time. Not only was he used to it, but it carried with it a certain sentimental attachment.

Still, the time to hang it up was coming. Just not yet. Perhaps when he got back from his exploration expedition, he’d look into it a little more deeply.

In the meantime, it wasn’t long before Elijah found himself standing in the center of the grove and staring at nothing. That’s where Nerthus found him.

“It feels deserted,” Elijah remarked as the spryggent approached. “You ever feel like that?”

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“I do not.”

“Oh. I guess because you talk to plants.”

“Talk is a very inaccurate way of putting it,” Nerthus corrected. “But essentially, yes. I am never alone in the grove.”

“Must be nice.”

“Do you truly want other people around?” the tree spirit asked, laying a gnarled hand on his shoulder. “If so, you should think recruitment. Already, the Green Warden has begun to lay the groundwork with some of the young in Ironshore. Miss Hope will also join if you extend an invitation. Many people are born with a nature attunement. One of your jobs as the founder of this grove is to find appropriate people to expand its influence.”

Elijah shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to recruit. Indeed, there was only one person he truly wished was there, and by that point, she was on the other side of a very large world.

“Should I have gone with her?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Elijah sighed. “Way to sugarcoat it, man.”

“I did not know you wanted me to spare your feelings,” Nerthus responded.

“I guess I don’t. It doesn’t matter, though. My reasoning is still valid,” he said. “Somebody needs to explore that island and find the entrance to the Primal Realm.”

“If there is one to find.”

“Right. Someone has to do it, and I’m the best option.”

“It sounds like you didn’t want my advice at all.”

Elijah shrugged. “Maybe I just wanted someone to listen to me complain.”

“Ah. Interesting.”

“If you say so,” Elijah muttered. For better or worse, Nerthus just didn’t think like a human being. Part of that stemmed from the fact that, functionally, he had less than a decade of real-world experience to his name. Sure, he’d existed for longer, and he had a lot of knowledge Elijah didn’t, but in a lot of ways, he was only as worldly as a child. That he didn’t understand the frequent contradictions of human emotions should not have been surprising.

Perhaps that would come in time.

Or maybe his species simply wasn’t capable of that kind of understanding. Regardless, Elijah knew he wouldn’t get what he wanted out of his friend. So, he said, “It doesn’t matter. This is how it needs to be. Take care of the island while I’m gone, and if any of those refugees come close…”

“I will flay the skin from their bones and stake them out as warnings for any who dare to encroach upon the sacred grove.”

Elijah gaped in horror. Then, he heard Nerthus’ slight chuckle, which sounded like bark grinding together. “Did you just make a joke?” he asked.

“Perhaps. Miss Hope is teaching me about humor.”

“I see. Not sure I like it. You do know not to kill anybody, right? Not unless it’s necessary.”

“I do.”

“Good,” Elijah said. “I guess there’s not much more reason to delay. I’ll see you in a few days.”

It had been almost a week since Elijah had escorted the survivors back to his island, so Roots of the World Tree had completely come off cooldown. He used the spell, teleporting to the Circle of Storms.

It happened instantly, which left him briefly disconcerted. No matter how many times he did it, he didn’t think he’d ever get used to teleportation. That brief period of nothingness always left him feeling disconnected from everything.

Regardless, it was easy to shake off, and after only a few seconds, he took in his surroundings. The forest was no different than it had been the last time he’d been there, and there was still some evidence of the time he’d spent with the survivors. After all, it had taken quite a while to ferry everyone to the grove, so the evidence of the temporary camp would take some time to fade.

They’d tried to minimize it, but things like fallen branches, flattened grass, and the bare spot where they’d buried their fire pit persisted.

Elijah looked past it, focusing on Soul of the Wild. The wildlife was still just as abundant as ever, and there were quite a few creatures who’d curiously explored the area. They avoided the Circle of Storms, though, which was probably a good thing. He didn’t want to teleport into the circle and frighten some poor beast.

After ensuring the land was on the mend, Elijah shifted into Shape of the Sky and flew to the opening far above, then transformed into the blight dragon and adopted Guise of the Unseen. Once he was hidden from detection, he proceeded into the network of tunnels.

At first, he found nothing of interest, but eventually, he saw more and more evidence that things weren’t quite right. To some degree, that was owed to the presence of monsters – usually malformed and horrifying to behold – but there was also something in the air that fought against the sense of balance he usually felt in natural places.

Eventually, Elijah reached what was left of the settlement, which had already been overrun by juvenile flesh spiders. Thankfully, they hadn’t covered the area in their grotesque webs, so he was able to bypass them with ease. The first avenue he explored was the way he’d come. That cavern had featured two distinct exits, so his idea was to investigate the one he’d not searched during his first trip.

As it turned out, that was a dead end, the tunnel terminating after only a few hundred yards. So, muttering to himself that it couldn’t have been so easy, he began a systematic search of the tunnels. In that endeavor, his artificed tablet proved incredibly valuable. The map it produced wasn’t nearly as large as Mako’s, but even a small map made it infinitely easier to keep track of his progress.

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For almost two days, Elijah continued his exploration. Along the way, he encountered all sorts of monstrous creatures, each one a grotesque hybrid of one or more other beasts. When possible, Elijah killed them, and his instincts told him to scour the tunnels of their loathsome presence. However, he had enough self-control to recognize that that just wasn’t possible. If he tried to fight them all, he would end up overrun.

So, he restrained his impulses and continued his investigation.

Eventually, when he turned down a particular cave, Elijah felt something curious. It was just a slight fluctuation in the local ethera, but even that was enough to spark his interest. He followed it, and just as he’d hoped, he soon found that the density of the ambient ethera had begun to rise. He knew he was on the right track, so he continued on.

Of course, it couldn’t be quite so easy as that, and the next day was characterized by many false turns. However, just as he grew a little fatigued, he found precisely what he was looking for.

Or dreaded.

The cavern wasn’t large, but it was entirely covered in gooey flesh. Strings of mucus stretched across the ceiling like cobwebs, and in the center was a pulsating sphincter that Elijah definitely did not want to investigate.

But he knew he needed to.

So, he approached it cautiously, noting that his footsteps caused no change in the beat of its contractions. Finally, when he was within a foot of the fleshy duct, a notification appeared before his inner eye:

You have reached Chimeric Forge. To challenge this Primal Realm, enter and prove yourself worthy.

Elijah hesitated. He definitely didn’t want to enter the Primal Realm alone. That didn’t seem like what the notification offered, and in fact, it seemed more akin to the shrines that functioned as prerequisites for the Desolate Reach. Still, he decided that caution was the better course.

Intending to return to the island and recruit help in Seattle, Elijah backed away.

Before he could take a single step backward, a tendril of slimy flesh erupted from the sphincter, moving so quickly that Elijah only narrowly managed to dodge it. The same was true of the second and third such tentacle, though the fourth managed to snake around his foreleg. He jerked it free, but that slight delay spelled his doom. Before he knew what was happening, he was encased in a dozen tentacles and being dragged toward the fleshy duct.

Elijah tried to wriggle free of the slimy tendrils, but their grip was inviolable. He even initiated a transformation into Shape of the Master. It was useless though, and within seconds, he tipped over the edge and was yanked through the gooey membrane.