The Paths 3: Tactile Unity

Lit by the slightly dimmed glow of the mantle, Teri led John down their chosen corridor. They proceeded in silence for a short time, wary of any creatures waiting to attack them.

“What do you think we’re going to find down here?” Teri asked softly. She had been straining her senses, both biological and mystic, to no avail.

“Not a clue,” John answered. “Beyond the guardian that might be at the end of this, I figured there would be more of the trevolk.”

Teri hummed, her brow creased in thought. “Since the priests went down this path, perhaps the challenge is more one of willpower or faith instead of arms.”

“That’s a fair point,” John replied. “They didn’t have any weapons, but if they had magic, there’d be no need for that. Man, going in blind is a bit of a pain, especially since there’s nothing here to clue us in.”

“Any chance you could peek back again?” the goblin girl asked.

John shook his head. “I need dark mana to do it and the only source I have for that is my knife. Which Senka needed so she could go her own way.”

Teri felt a small wave of concern ripple through John and she chewed her lip as she debated on whether to ask about it. Since splitting up, she had felt a constant worry nagging at him but now it had increased. Deciding to take a cautious approach, she asked, “Is this the first time you’ve sent her on her own?”

“Yeah,” John answered. “It’s not like we’ve had a lot of time before this to do so. She’s only been, I guess contracted would be the right word, for like a day. Still, her being separated feels weird. A bit like when your leg or arm falls asleep. There, but kind of numb.”

“So you can’t feel anything from her?” Teri inquired.

“Nothing,” John said, discomfort radiating from his aura. “Maybe I’m just being overly paranoid, but now that we’re all split up, I can’t stop worrying about what’s happening with everyone.”

“It’s natural to be concerned about your friends,” Teri remarked with a small sad smile. “But let’s not sell them short. They’re going to be fine.”

“I know. They’re awesome,” John admitted. “And we probably would have gotten split up anyway since the archways sealed up behind us. At least we were able to set things up instead of being random teams.”

John let out a sigh. “I think I’d be focused less on my nerves if we had something to do.”

Teri nodded. “It is weird that there’s nothing on this path. I figured a priestly path would have some kind of mystical challenge.”

John let out an amused snort, a ripple of humor washing away some of his nerves. “Maybe that’s the trial. These elves really like using trees for their stuff, so maybe this is a test of patience. You know, like watching grass grow.”

Teri let out a giggle. “That would fit some plant revering culture, but figured that would be some way to put their virtues or skills to the test.”

“There’s still the guardian that may be at the end,” John pointed out. “Which might be the reason there’s nothing here so far. A quiet walk to prepare one's mind.”

“That could be it,” Teri agreed, nodding briefly before adopting a pensive expression, her ears shifting slightly. “Still, after what happened Wednesday, wading in blind is a little daunting.”

“I’m with you there,” John remarked. “The most we know about them is they like using wood for weapons and armor and use living trees and wooden constructs. Not a lot on what the non-military parts of their culture do. I think the mages might grow the trevolk and things like their armor. Observe mentioned something about ‘tree-shapers’.”

“Okay, let’s roll with that idea,” Teri said, ears perking up. “Their mages and priests tend the trees and probably other plants, so what can some path specifically made for them contain?”

“Thorny vines blocking our way,” John deadpanned, as they rounded a corner. True to his words, a few meters past the turn, a number of thick, woody vines grew from both walls, interweaving together into a natural wall.

“So much for a simple, meditative walk,” Teri joked as they approached the blockade, turning her head towards John. “Your skill have anything interesting to say about it?”

Multan Vines

Resilient vines renown for their ability to grow through stone and withstand harsh conditions.

“Not the most informative thing,” John commented as Teri read his display. “Something tells me this will be a pain to burn down.”

“I don’t think fire is the way to go,” Teri mused. “If our line of thought on the mages being the tree tenders is correct, then using methods to just break through them might trigger some kind of defense mechanism.”

“So how do we proceed then?” John asked, curiosity coloring his aura.

Teri’s ears drooped as she considered the issue. “You wouldn’t happen to have any plant related magic?”

John shook his head. “Not unless you count the strength boosting Evocation my sword has, no. But I do have an idea.”

“What?” Teri asked, her ears perking back up.

“I’ve got a skill that can generate an effect based on the magic of the area,” John explained. “That might let me draw out whatever magic the elf mages might have used. I should probably use Arcane Sense first, get a feel for the mana to make sure it's in sync with the vines. Don’t want to repeat the first time I used Arcane Wellspring. And I can recharge a bit while I’m at it.”

A mix of embarrassment, longing and arousal radiated out of John and Teri couldn’t help but wonder about his earlier use of his spell.

“Can’t hurt to try,” Teri managed to say with a calm voice, her mind already dipping into the gutter. As John closed his eyes and began his reading of the mana, Teri tried to quash her erotic imaginations, failing to keep the image of John, Aeolia and Vivian reveling in each other, the experience in some way enhanced by John’s magic.

‘Now is not the time to think about that,’ the goblin chided her treacherous mind. ‘Getting horny over your friends in a monster filled dungeon is not a good idea.’

“You okay?” John suddenly asked, causing Teri to jump in surprise, drawing out an unhappy cry from a sleepy Kitai. “Your aura’s kind of fluctuating.”

“I’m fine,” Teri quickly answered, her ears burning. “Just thinking.”

John didn’t press her for an elaboration, much to her relief, and instead looked to the vine wall.

“So, good news. The ambient mana of this place was flowing into the vines,” John said. “Kind of felt like how I imagine it draws in water. I think that should mean Wellspring’s effect will work in some way. It costs 25 mana, so if you have any other ideas, now’s the time.”

Erotic daydreams quenched under her still thundering heart, Teri shook her head. “Nothing comes to mind. It’s a gamble but I think we have nothing to lose by trying a non-forceful approach.”

John nodded and took a breath. “Here we go then.”

Teri felt John’s mana flow out and weave itself into the mana around them, her eyes widening as the process felt oddly similar to how she had tapped into the power of the mantle draped over her shoulders.

Then a wave of magic pulsed from a point above John and a sense of content washed over Teri, reminding her of peaceful days resting on the hills of her lost home. Another feeling settled over her, one of profound awe, like being surrounded by towering lush trees. Shaking off the magically induced feelings, Teri looked at the vines expectantly, but they did not seem to react to the spell.

Turning her attention to John, she saw him staring intently at a display his powers generated, and she read along with him.

Wellspring Effect: Wisdom is increased by 25% while not using offensive spells or brandishing a weapon. People under this effect gain ‘Blessed by the Forest’ for 2 hours.

“Well, it’s not the immediate solution,” John remarked, tapping the screen to call up another and turning so Teri could more easily read it, “but maybe this will help.”

Blessed by the Forest: The favor of Yav’maia infuses your being, granting you safe passage among her children.

“I suppose that means we’ll be protected from any trevolk, if there are any,” Teri pointed out.

“Still doesn’t help us move forward,” John said, dismissing the screens. “From the way the Wellspring effect goes away if we try to fight, your idea about a peaceful solution sounds like it's the right way to go, but I have no idea how to do that.”

Teri reached out and touched one of the vines, the woody texture rough under her fingers. The power that settled on her earlier quivered and an idea began to take shape.

“I think you opened the door to the solution,” Teri spoke. “I should be able to channel the power the same way I did with the mantle.”

“I thought that spell was like my Evocations,” John said. “Like you need some item to use it.”

Teri nodded. “That is the general case, but the true purpose of the rite is to channel another being’s power. The easiest way was through an item blessed by a god or held by a renowned warrior, but right now, we’ve been infused with power tied to this place. It might be what the elves did to proceed. Prayed to their god for safe passage.”

John frowned as he mulled over her idea, his emotions a shifting collage of worry, curiosity and doubt before they settled into resolution.

“If you’re sure, then let’s do this,” John finally said. “We don’t get anything by just waiting for some other answer to drop into our laps.”

Teri nodded and closed her eyes, reaching out to the power invested in her thanks to John’s spell. She felt the touch of the elvish forest god and tried to push it outward, mold it into some sort of key to get the vines to withdraw, but the power remained steadfastly rooted within her. After a moment more of trying to draw it out, Teri opened her eyes and sighed.

“I can’t draw it out,” she sadly announced. “I can feel the power, but it doesn’t want to move.”

“Do you think there’s a reason the elves broke into pairs?” John asked suddenly, inspiration radiating from him. “What if clearing this blockage is meant to be a two person job?”

“Unless you can get a skill that lets you mimic me, we’re still out of luck,” Teri lamented with a small smile, her ears drooping down.

“What about if you try to draw out power from both of us at the same time?” John inquired. “Like, even if the power comes from the same source, does it being filtered through two different vessels make it different enough that mixing the pair will result in a somewhat different effect?”

Teri blinked and looked at John’s expectant face, her thoughts a whirl as she racked her memory for anything close to what he was suggesting.

“I,” she started before shaking her head and beginning again. “None of my predecessors ever mixed invocations. Not even when we had access to more than one relic. I’m not sure if I could draw out the power from two at once.”

John shrugged, his eyes growing wistful. “Won’t know if we don’t try. If I’ve learned anything over the past week, that’s probably the most important.”

Teri opened her mouth but the words failed to manifest. John’s words and the emotion that colored his aura lifted her spirits and she let out a chuckle.

“Right,” she said with conviction. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained, correct? If this works, it’ll be my unique contribution to the history of Golmerk’s shamans.”

John’s smile widened. “That’s the spirit. Now, how are we going to actually do this?”

“Well, since the invested power is inside of you, I’ll have to touch you to draw it out,” Teri explained, blinking as she realized what she had said. “That came out a bit wrong. I mean, we’ll need to be in contact so I can draw out the power.”

An odd nervousness radiated from John and he doggedly avoided meeting her eyes.

“So, I can just, um,” John’s words tumbled out of his mouth inelegantly and he coughed to salvage his composure. “Just putting my hand on your shoulder would work, yeah?”

Teri nodded and John hesitantly moved to lay his hand down. Kitai, still resting on where John was reaching, let out a displeased growl and shimmied deeper into the mantle’s fabric.

Teri let out a nervous chuckle and extended her arm towards John. “Guess Kitai doesn’t give up her perch. So we’ll have to hold hands to make this work.”

“Y-yeah,” John stuttered out, extending his hand to meet hers. Green and peach skin met and Teri **** herself to be calm and ignore the fluctuating emotions and clammy palm of her partner, and reached for the blessing gifted to the both of them.

There was some struggle as her lack of practice in her ancestral arts made trying to weave the two separate sources of power together difficult, like trying to juggle a set of balls in each hand. Still, she was never one to shy away from a difficult task, especially one a friend had placed on her, full of faith that she could pull it off.

The two powers within them pulsed as she coaxed them into action, the stubborn foreign essences flowing together like two rivers converging, growing more and more potent as they merged. The conjoined energies permeated Teri’s mana and surged out of her, washing over the vines blocking their path.

Her charged mana infused the woody blockade and the vines began to part, creaking as they pulled back towards the walls. Teri let out a sigh as she opened her eyes, a tired but satisfied smile on her lips.

“It worked,” she sighed, drawing out a spike of concern from John.

“You ok?” he asked, his voice soft. “Your mana dropped a good bit really quickly there.”

Teri nodded, ignoring the warmth that began to build in her chest. “I’m fine. Wasn’t expecting it to take that much mana. Calling up the light set the bar a bit too low for how much I’d need for other invocations. I should be fine if we have to do this again.”

It was then Teri realized she still held John’s hand and he followed her gaze to their conjoined extremities. They both let out a nervous chuckle and broke contact, doggedly avoiding each other’s eyes.

“Let’s get a move on, shall we?” John awkwardly said.

Teri nodded, not trusting herself to speak properly.

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