Chapter 2-50

Our scouts spent the night going over the area around the gray stone monolith, looking for any sign of activity. They found a few signs of people moving about the clearing recently, seemingly disappearing into the blank stone walls.

“We can’t determine how many there are,” Denu noted. “What we found were the signs of them concealing their tracks, not the tracks themselves.”

I was both pleased and frustrated by this news. Now we knew where at least some of the Pure were hiding, but the idea of returning to that place left me soaked in a cold sweat.

“You’re sure we can’t get inside through the doorways they’re using?” Myta asked me, and I shook my head with regret.

“Fairly certain. Those doorways must be held open from the inside, and they come in pairs, with a little room in between. Both doors can’t be open at the same time, and there are windows inside to let people see into the room. It’s the most secure arrangement I’ve ever seen, paranoid even.”

“So even if we tricked them into opening the outer doors for us, there would be plenty of time for them to see through the ruse.” She made a frustrated noise. “If Sati could reach them inside, or we could be certain of an effective disguise, that would make this so much easier.”

“Even entering through the tunnels will be difficult if they’re being careful,” I observed. ”That entrance doesn’t have the two-door setup, and it can be opened from the outside, but it emerges into a large open courtyard without any significant cover. Unless they were foolish enough to clutter the area.”

“Courtyard?” Myta seized on that. “Can we just go over the outside walls then?”

“No, it’s stranger than you think.” I shook my head again. “If you climb the walls you’ll find a roof that’s just like the walls, scarred but impervious stone. But from the inside you can look up and see the sky. Or, a sky, at least.”

Everyone looked askance at my phrasing, but no one questioned my words. Instead, I could practically feel their thoughts buzzing.

“So this entrance room blocks mana like the walls do?” Saoirse finally asked, and I nodded.

“It does, those inside can see in, but spiritual senses are blocked.”

“What are you thinking?” Myta asked cautiously.

“Nothing, until we see someone come out.” The shifter dragged nails across her face in a gesture that looked both habitual and painful. “If we could manage a physical disguise, we could slip in a group, catch them by surprise, then open up the doors for the others to come through. They must be bringing back supplies, right? Hunting and foraging, fetching water. They’d need to do that on the regular.”

“Not water,” I noted. “But everything else, yes. If a group made it through, and they took control of the doors, we could move people in maybe twenty at a time.”

“Which means that, moving supplies, they probably come out in groups of five at most.” Myta was thoughtful. “Can you describe the inside area, around this room?”

We continued in that vein for some time, until forming the outlines of a plan. My memories of the ruin were decades out of date, but the fact that the ruins themselves couldn’t be altered served us in this respect, and my recollections were… vivid. Hati, Siobhan, Saoirse, and even Cathel lent her their knowledge and expertise; but my flame did the actual planning.

“You’re certain you’ll be able to maintain the illusion?” She asked Sati, brow furrowed in concern.

“I’m sure.” The apsara projected an air of utter confidence, though I could feel the sliver of concern working through her. “They will need to be roughly the same size as our targets, to make things easier, but as long as the antechamber doesn’t actively disrupt sorcery I can do it.”

I knew that Sati’s worry didn’t come from a real concern over her ability. Rather, she was unused to feeling this kind of pressure. Not since her friend Rina had been taken from her had she allowed herself to become invested in the wellbeing of others. But now, Myta and I had wormed our way into her heart, and our survival would be in her hands. I pulled her into my lap, feeling her internal blush even as she maintained her outward composure

“It doesn’t,” I said. “Only the inner doorway disrupts the flow of mana. But that effect can be very disorienting. Whoever recovers first will need to act quickly, as soon as they are able.”

“Matching the size of their party means that we won’t know who goes until we see them. And with the plan requiring the three of us, we’ll be even more restricted.” She shook her head. “Hopefully we get lucky, but Tarun taught me never to depend on luck. We’ll divide out our potential companions by their size and build. And if you,” she glanced pointedly at Sati, “think it will be too much of a strain, then we will find another way.”

I squeeze my arms around the apsara’s waist, and we all nodded in acceptance of Myta’s words.

“This period of waiting will be difficult,” I noted. “We can practice and prepare, but not too strenuously, as we’ll need to be ready to act at any time. And while we need to be careful and cautious, every second that passes is another second during which more shifters may be corrupted. We must move with deliberate haste.”

Everyone nodded, except Saoirse, who stalked away while radiating bloodlust and impatience. I looked after with concern, as did nearly everyone else in the meeting.

“Will she be able to keep her head, if she’s in the initial group?” Myta was the one to voice the question we were all considering.

“Aye,” Siobhan sounded less confident than I’d prefer. “She just feels this personally. But she's a good hunter, she knows how to lay an ambush.”

“Alright,“ my flame reluctantly accepted. “I think the only other person as compact as her is Denu, and she will be needed elsewhere. Let’s talk about hunting and supplies.”

The meeting moved on, and I paid only the barest amount of attention as it concerned items outside of my expertise. I petted Sati‘s thigh out of sight of the rest of the group, knowing that taking such casual liberties both calmed and titillated her, but my heart wasn’t really in it. I enjoyed teasing the former princess, but I still couldn’t shake the shadows of my memories.

When the meeting drew to a close I pulled the apsara aside, sending a quick thought to Myta to apprise her of my intentions. I couldn’t afford to spend all of our mana on reforging another section of my spirit, but there was another issue I could address to aid us. One that would hopefully keep my mind occupied for at least a little while.

“I think I know how to solve your rune problem,” I said to Sati, after pulling her off into woods outside of camp. We settled beneath a towering redwood, sitting on a conveniently large and flat boulder that was clutched in its roots.

“Now that we understand our domain better, I think that the rune resides there, in your section of the Radiant Sea,” I continued. “That is why you couldn’t affect it from your inner world, and I couldn’t find it in your spirit body.”

“Then wouldn’t we have seen it as we practiced?” She sounded skeptical, but not adversarial, which I took as a good sign. Ever since discovering how strong the rune’s influence was, I was impressed by her mental fortitude in not reflexively dismissing the opinions of others out of hand.

“Not necessarily,” I replied to her question. “I get the impression that our domain is much larger, or maybe deeper, than we’ve seen. When we practice, we mostly manifest a small portion of it in the physical world. We haven’t tried to explore the domain itself more deeply.”

Sati nodded. “So you want to try that now? Explore the domain?”

“Your portion of it, specifically.” I agreed. “I’m not sure exactly how this will work, as I don’t think we can physically transition there yet, but I have a few ideas.”

It was coming on evening, the day after we had passed the ruin. After we had made camp our investigations and planning had eaten up a large amount of time. Now the sunlight was fading beneath the forest canopy, but an early moonrise somehow painted the space silver. I spared a thought for our security, the ruin wasn’t terribly far after all, but I sensed Ket nearby. I was certain she would warn us if anyone approached.

“Just tell me what to do daddy.” Sati’s words caught me a little off-guard, and I took a moment to search her expression for any sign of sarcasm or mockery. But her tone was completely serious, her face fixed in the small half-smile that she wore at her most focused. I didn’t even think she‘d realized what she had called me.

“To start, we summon our domain, as usual.” We focused our presences to do just that, drawing on Myta as well. Within seconds we had manifested the domain, but rather than simply layering it over us and our surroundings, I attempted to will myself into it. Immediately I felt an immense strain on my spirit, and I aborted my effort. The portions of my spirit that had not yet been reforged shrieked in belated warning, shivering like a struck gong.

*Not like that, clearly.* I laughed in relief at my narrow escape, even as the remaining cracks in my anima spread a little further. It was agonizing, but the sensation settled after only a few moments, leaving me not much worse than before.

*Didn’t you just say that we wouldn’t be able to enter physically?* Sati was channeling Myta’s most unamused tone. I actually felt her mental voice as though it was Myta’s, rather than an imitation of tone.

*I clearly didn’t form my intent properly.* I replied. *I didn’t mean to try transferring my body, but the overlap between the physical, mental, and spiritual, is confusing.*

I focused inward without waiting for a reply. I wasn’t annoyed by the apsara’s criticism, it clearly came from a place of concern, but neither could I allow uncertainty to hold me back when dealing with the unknown. Rather that trying to will myself into our domain this time, I fell into my familiar meditation, entering my inner world, wile also maintaining the domain around me.

This time I succeeded in my aim, or at least seemed to. I found myself in a space that was like and yet distinct from my inner world. Every aspect of my sanctum was on display, even those that I didn’t normally view, and as a result the area was much larger than I would normally perceive it to be.

A thick layer of mist blanketed the area to the height of my knees, and the sky overhead was black and starless, illuminated only by an enormous moon. I could hear Ita and Ina bleating in the distance, and idly wondered if my goat familiars could actually perceive this space.

Sati joined me a moment later, having mentally followed along with the process. Frowning, she looked about in mild confusion, and I waited for her to orient herself.

“I would have thought I’d appear in my own area, rather than here.”

“Perhaps because I hold your bond?” I speculated. “Or because I am your vas, as the spirits say.”

“As likely a reason as any.” She shrugged and began walking, pointing into the distance. “I’m this way.”