New Mines of Pruzonia 4: Deus Ex

Teri stood a few short feet from the water filled cavern. The crystal serpent was just as Aeolia and Kiera had described, a long and impossibly limber thing that gleamed in the blue lights of the gems that littered the walls and ceiling. The small lake, however, was vastly different from what the pair had told her. Given how they had escaped the serpent, that was to be expected.

The fallen rocks formed uneven and unsteady islands across the half of the lake closest to them, some of them riddled with jagged crystals. The serpent rose from the water just beyond them, waiting like a statue for them to enter its lair.

“You sure you have a plan?” Gryit asked as she looked into the cave. “Cus that looks like way too much for the five of us to deal with.”

“We’ve got something to even the odds,” Teri told her nervous friend. ‘Hopefully.’

Teri’s grip on her staff grew tighter. She didn’t want to believe this gamble wouldn’t pay off, but it was a gamble. Pushing her magic to the limit to invoke as much of Verida’s power as possible was perhaps a simple plan, but it was the best play they could make. Verida’s domain may have been the forest, but she still was the Kingdom’s only goddess and her essence was seeped into everything. With enough of a connection, she could command more than just plantlife.

“Um, I-I’m ready,” Kiera said. “T-thanks for letting me rest a bit.”

Teri smiled at Kiera. “We’re about to push our magic to the limit. Wasn’t going to let you do that without having a breather.”

Kiera flushed as she smiled shyly at Teri and she had to fight her urge to wrap the bluenette in a hug. The last thing Teri needed was the elders finding out about her feelings and relationship with everyone. She still needed time to figure out how to deal with that revelation.

“So, you two draw up as much of Verida’s juice as you can, use that to attack the snake and we rush through while whatever you whip up has it distracted, right?” Aeolia asked as she stretched. “Didn’t think I’d be the taxi service today.”

“S-sorry,” Kiera uttered, dipping her head in shame. “If I w-was…”

Aeolia clapped her hand on Kiera’s shoulder. “If you’re about to bash yourself over not being able to fly, something you only sort of found out about like twenty minutes ago, stop it. Besides, you’re helping Teri pull this off. Setting up our escape is a lot more important than doing the wingwork right now.”

Teri smiled as Kiera’s tense emotions quieted down into something with more confidence. She even felt her own doubts fading after Aeolia’s little speech.

“Looks like you got your head on right now,” Aeolia concluded, moving her hand to Kiera’s head and ruffling her hair affectionately. “We ready to do this?”

“I’m ready,” Teri answered, holding out her staff. Kiera hesitated for a second before she nodded and grabbed the staff, her hand just above Teri’s. Kiera moved to stand besides Teri and closed her eyes. Teri glanced back at Gryit and Lelib. “We’re going to cast. Be ready for Aeolia to shrink you down and hold on tight to her.”

The pair of goblins gave tight nods and Teri closed her eyes and tuned out the tense emotions around her. She focused on the staff in her hand, the rough texture rubbing comfortingly against her palm. Under the physical touch, the power of Verida slumbered, waiting for her to call it forth.

Even now as she centered herself for the spellcasting, she could feel that power quiver as if sensing her intent. Or it could have been because of Kiera’s connection to Verida spurring it to life. Even with her focus more on the power of the staff, she could easily feel Verida’s touch on Kiera.

Their live connection was being disrupted, much in the way she imagined a radio signal was scrambled by bad weather, some **** making it impossible for the signal to reach either sender or receiver. But Verida’s essence had mingled with Kiera’s in some fundamental way, spurred on by Kiera’s innate ability. Even if something were to sever her link to Verida, that power would remain.

And it was that permanent mark on Kiera’s being that Teri began to reach for in time with the power in the staff. She felt Kiera quiver as she began to run her mana through Verida’s influence on her. Teri cycled that goddess touched mana into the staff as Kiera began to add her mana to the spell. In theory, Kiera’s magic could bolster the effect of Verida’s invocation due to its connection to her. At worst, it would just be raw power to aid the spell.

As mana flowed into the staff, Teri began to mold it. She tried to reach out to the world around them, assuming they were still in Pruzonia based on what Aeolia had said, and spur the stones of the Kingdom to respond to Verida’s essence. It was fundamentally the same as using it to command plants, but vastly harder. It was only because of the extra power and extra connection to Verida from Kiera that Teri thought this move was possible.

But the growing charge of power refused to budge. Shaping it like she did to command plants failed even as the magic continued to build up. Teri should have stopped trying once it failed, or turned the charge into another spell, but something in the back of her mind told her to keep fueling the spell. That there was something they could achieve with this, something new.

And something powerful that would take all their efforts to manifest.

Beside her, Teri could hear Kiera’s emotions. They started off as nervous and anxious, though the notes of hope kept playing underneath it all, showing her faith in the plan. Now, as the magic swelled, her doubts and fear faded, as if she knew somehow things would be fine.

And as the magic began to take shape, Teri could hear the faint stirring of emotions.

“Just what are they doing?” Fortuna complained as the three goddesses watched Teri and Kiera standing still.

Gaia shot the pink haired goddess a grin. “You really don’t see their play, hmm? I think you need to practice your foresight a bit more.”

“Where’s the fun in knowing the outcome of stuff?” Fortuna asked in a huff. “Prophecy always mucks things up. Best to live in the moment and take things as they come.”

Gaia smiled slyly. “Be careful to not focus on one thing too hard and miss what’s happening right next to you.”

Fortuna caught on to Gaia’s implication and her head whipped around to look at Verida. The dragon goddess watched the screen with half-lidded eyes, as if she was falling asleep.

“Oh, come on!” Fortuna whined in a loud voice. “I took her out of the game for a reason!”

“Yet you included her herald and shaman and put them in close proximity,” Gaia smugly said. “Aren’t you always going on about players finding interesting solutions?”

Fortuna folded her arms over her chest and pouted. “Fuck you for turning my words against me.”

“Don’t blame me for missing an exploit,” Gaia teased. “At least it’ll be a show. And they won’t be able to hold it for too long, so whatever you’ve got set up for the boss won’t be ruined.”

“I suppose,” Fortuna grumbled before looking at the zoned out Verida. “Hey! Don’t go giving out any spoilers now!”

“I don’t think she can hear you,” Gaia commented. “Suppose she’s not used to doing something like this. And you really haven’t divulged anything worth noting.”

“Whatever,” Fortuna sighed as she . “Let’s just see how this round pans out.”

A flash of green and purple light heralded Verida’s arrival, the collective mana Teri and Kiera poured into the staff coalescing into an avatar of the goddess. But she looked far removed from her usual countenance. Gone was the outdoor wear she had elected to don for the day’s adventure and instead she was garbed in wooden armor that appeared to have been woven around her, thin strips criss-crossing over her chest, arms and legs.

In the gaps between armor segments, a dark green bodysuit was visible, which looked less like fabric and more like tightly packed moss. Her hands were uncovered as green scales coated her skin, her fingers elongated into claws. Trails of faint green and purple light coiled around her digits, like mist in the early morning.

Her red eyes were focused on the serpent in the cave before her, any warmth replaced with righteous fury.

“Verida?” Aeolia asked in a stunned voice.

“You’re going to want to help Kiera and Teri,” Verida spoke. “Summoning me took a lot out of them.”

She didn’t need to look back to see her herald and shaman were holding themselves up by the sheer amount of adrenaline and the residual touch of her mana running through them. Both would fade shortly and she thought they could collapse from the strain of calling her forth.

She did look back to her friends, her expression lightening. “I don’t have much time, and I don’t think you’re going to be able to pull this off again. I’m proud of you and will clear this obstacle from your path. And know that this situation is still operating under Gaia’s supervision, even if Fortuna is the one who set up the scenario. And everyone’s still safe as far as I know.”

As much as she wanted to wait for Kiera or Teri to respond, Verida knew she couldn’t. Already, she could feel her power diminishing, slipping away from her conjured form like water through her fingers. This body was made using barely understood magic, formed more from raw instinct rather than understanding. And she was going to make the most of the effort they put in.

With a flare of mana, Verida dashed into the cave, her body pitched low to the ground. A small tempest of green mana around her feet pushed against the surface of the water, keeping her from sinking as she ran. The instant she crossed the threshold, the serpent surged forward, heedless of the rocks in its path. Verida raced towards this wave of water and stone without fear, her claws growing brighter as mana condensed around them. Without much, if any, plantlife around, direct combat was the only option she had.

Verida leapt over the wave and lifted her arms high over her head. The gathered mana finalized into lengthened claws and she slashed at the serpent with all her strength as she descended upon it.

In a flash of green, her claws tore into the snake’s crystal body, large shards spraying off into the water below. Verida felt as the serpent tried to turn her mana against her as its body began to glow.

“I am not someone you can fool so easily,” she growled. “I’ve had enough of that today.”

The serpent’s efforts bashed against her mind but found no purchase. Whether that was because of her sheer willpower or divine nature wasn’t something Verida gave thought to as she danced around the serpent as it tried to bite her, her claws tearing long furrows in its side. Catching movement out of the corner of her eye, Verida jumped back, avoiding a swipe from the snake’s tail.

The tail whipped around with speed that didn’t seem possible from something both so large and made of crystals and slammed into Verida, throwing her into the cavern’s wall. The goddess was keenly aware of the cries of concern from Aeolia and Teri.

‘Kiera must have fallen asleep. She has done a fair amount in a short time,’ Verida thought as she extricated herself from the wall and ran back into the fray. The attack and crash landing had burned away far too much of her mana for that to be a repeated thing. Her armor, something she was dimly aware was an inherited memory from Yerda, was cracked, motes of green and purple energy flowing out of it.

‘Don’t have a lot of time left,’ she continued as she got closer to the snake. ‘I can’t leave this thing on its last legs for them to fight. It could react unpredictably and Kiera and Teri aren’t in any condition to fight.’

Driven by the desire to leave her friends a clear way forward, Verida concentrated on the fraying pieces of her armor. While only a conjured facsimile of the Amarlian practice, it had the same properties of the real thing. Meaning the armor was alive and she could repair or repurpose the damaged pieces. And since her presence was already on a timer, she was turning the ruined armor into something new to finish off this fight.

The fragments of armor grew as her mana stimulated them, her will controlling their growth. Like seeds, they spouted and weaved together, growing into a sword not too dissimilar from John’s preferred weapon, only in the spaces where the various pieces of wood overlapped purple light gleamed and trailed off like smoke. Weapon in hand, Verida closed in on the thrashing serpent, seemingly resorting to unrefined tactics since its mental trick had failed.

With deft steps, Verida evaded the tail and brought the sword down, a flash of purple and green illuminating the cavern as she cleaved into the snake’s flank, tearing a large chunk of crystal off the monster and sending it to the depths below. The blow did little to slow the serpent and it swung its whole upper body at her.

Verida jumped high to avoid the strike, shifting her hold on the sword so it was now pointed straight down. With a pulse of green mana, she propelled herself down at speed, her sword glowing bright with purple energy.

Verida landed point first on the serpent’s back, the reinforced sword driven by a flight enhanced fall piercing deep into the crystal. Verida landed hard on her feet but remained unshaken, her hands wrapped tightly around the sword’s handle. With a cry, Verida let most of her mana flow into the sword, spurring on its growth at a rapid pace.

In a flash of purple, the sword had grown into a gnarly tree, its twisting limbs shooting out of the serpent's body. Cracks raced across the crystal as the tree’s growth stopped, spreading nearly the whole length of the serpent.

Then the snake snapped in half and fell into the water. Verida let herself float for a moment above the splash zone before landing on one of the large rocks sticking out of the water. She was about to call out to her companions when she felt her avatar begin to unravel. And it was failing fast.

“I’m out of time,” she said, her body fading as motes of purple and green peeled off her. “Stick together and try to find everyone else. I don't know what else Fortuna has in…”

“...store,” Verida finished, no longer in the cave clad in battle attire but back in Fortuna’s media room.

“Welcome back,” Fortuna said in a sickly sweet voice. “Enjoy wrecking my snake hazard?”

“I question your ability to balance encounters,” Verida coldly replied. “I don’t see how Aeolia and the goblins could deal with it.”

“Sometimes you need to outsmart not out fight something,” Fortuna defended her design. “Your shaman, for instance, could have used her magic on it to not only break its hold on someone, but turn it around and lock the snake up for a time.”

“Then I suppose the intended path was still followed, since Teri summoned me,” Verida remarked in a clipped tone, not keen on Fortuna’s idea of how they were supposed to defeat or escape the serpent. It relied a lot on someone finding an exploit and even with the faith she had in her friends, she did not like how much it depended on one person finding the right solution in time.

“Suppose that’s one way to look at it,” Fortuna admitted before a sly smile made its way to her face. “Have to admit, you’re pretty handy in a fight. As a trump card, you’d probably beat the final boss I’ve got set up. Pity Teri had to use that spell slot early.”

“I’m sure once she and Kiera recover, they’ll find some other way to impress you,” Verida said coolly.

“Well, we’ll see that somewhere down the line,” Gaia interjected. “For now, let’s see what the rest of the party is up to. And how they’re going to break Fortuna’s game design.”

“Oi!”

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