Unfortunately from the way the Yeti was blinking it was not dead but Randidly couldn’t really care As he felt his mana wither and still inside of him cut off by the after effects of using Inspire he only felt profoundly tired It was time to go home He turned back towards Shal who was standing next to the portal and felt a pang in his chest
To Randidly home was Donnyton But it was not yet time to return there There was more to do here on this world for Shal
Teliph shook his head What was that strange thing
A diversion Shal said coolly He waited until Randidly walked over and then beckoned to them all Grab each other’s hands It is the only way for us all to cross at once Do not be shy Come it is time to break out of here
As the alarm began to sound Helen looked sharply up Holy fucking shit They actually are doing it
Do not speak so quickly Perhaps it is just another training exercise Divveltian said wryly but he was standing too from the first time since they had come here a few days ago his expression a mixture of wonder and worry
The male spear attendant walked out of their small bedding area yawning scratching his ass Helen restrained the part of her that wanted to rip him to pieces and settled on a scathing glare That seemed to get the message across because the fool jumped up and then ran back into his sleeping quarters quickly putting on his armor
An explosion sounded from the prison portal area and there were shouts in addition to the ringing alarm Divveltian’s face fell
They seem a bit more spirited than I would have expected We must go He ran and leapt off the roof on which they were staying Helen waved her hand and gathered all of their things into her interspatial ring revealing a partially dressed male spear attendant and then leapt after him A split second later the other spear attendant followed mostly out of necessity Helen suspected
The coward didn’t want to be left behind
They raced along the ground towards the high walls Luckily most of the guards were distracted by what was happening within the fortification and didn’t notice their approach and ascent They quickly knocked the nearby guards out careful to inflict no lasting harm It wouldn’t do to earn the ire of the First Spear of Tomkat
Well at least anymore than they already would by doing this Helen thought with a gleeful little smile on her face Then they waited as the commotion slowly made its way towards their position by the gate Only a minute later Shal ripped around the corner followed by the Ghosthound and 2 men and a woman They all had grim faces and the Ghosthound’s spear was covered in blood
As soon as they appeared Divveltian gestured wildly and Helen and the male spear attendant began to heave on the wheels of the gate slowly opening it After a few moments of exertion they stopped because all they needed were those few inches The escapees ran forward their speed filling Helen with a sense of awe She couldn’t help but notice how the Ghosthound had somehow seemed to become more dense That was the only word that she could think of to describe it He seemed not more compact but more self contained and controlled
But there was a strange volatile energy to his movements she didn’t remember And to be honest it made her eyes linger and something primal in the back of her mind have a very certain kind of hunger
Still now wasn’t the time and she tore her eyes away from the lines of his lean muscle to scan the sky Which was convenient for she saw a middle aged man appear looking down at them all as if he were regarding ants
Impudent The word echoed out and it seemed as if the sky had suddenly filled with thousands of glistening spears pointing down towards them hanging over them like a death sentence But as soon as that image appeared there was a snort and that image was battered by the image of the apparition of death standing over them all cloaked and stooped Then that figure turned and gazed at the middle aged man its bony face locked into a crazed grin
Shal sailed upwards shooting to meet the middle aged man while the rest continued to rush towards the gate
The middle aged man chuckled Heh your image is as formidable as promised Shal of the Spear Phantom Style But as you are not yet an Adept
A strand of music filled the air strangely beautiful and melancholy like a lost child Beside her Divveltian flexed his fingers The middle aged man was smashed to the side with a grunt knocking him out of the sky and towards the ground
Although the blow was unexpected he managed to regain his footing so he landed softly on the ground rather than crashing into it He gazed at Divveltian with a complicated expression You That is not a style that belongs to the Spearman School Sir Adept who grkk
Once more the middle aged man was interrupted as a spear pierced through his body He looked on aghast at the apparition of death that stood mockingly before him grinning Shal floated downward his arms crossed
The middle aged man’s face tightened If you were an Adept this whole time why would you allow yourself to be imprisoned
I had my reasons Shal said coolly Behind him the Ghosthound and the other escapees passed through the gate and continued running Divveltian gave Helen a meaningful glance and she grabbed the male spear attendant and leaped after them
Shal regarded the man in front of him carefully He was still the First Spear of Tomkat a very experienced Adept If he truly wanted to turn this into a fight
But from the tightly controlled fury in the man’s eyes he was still willing to back down from all of this Inwardly Shal felt some of his own fury begin to disperse
We will leave now Do not follow us Shal said calmly and the fury in that man’s eyes sparked
But who will pay the debt that is owed for the lives of my men The First Spear said spitting out the words Two adepts are powerful in tandem but if you think I cannot
In 6 months if I yet live I will return Shal said calmly At that time you may hold my life in your hands a week for every guard that has died
The First Spear seemed to wilt closing his eyes True this was a proud man but this was also a man that had a deep abiding loyalty for those beneath him Tomkat was a proud town a polished strong town Shal and his student had done much to unravel that strength It would be difficult to recover from
Still the temptation of having another Adept beneath him was too much The First Spear nodded Which was for the best For as Shal turned and began to lope away the dizziness started his vision swimming He gritted his teeth and made it through the gate He had heard the rumors sure but it was quite another thing entirely to feel the effects of Aether Starvation It made Shal wonder whether he would be recovered in time to exact revenge if he ever had the chance to do so
Divveltian fell in beside him giving him a knowing glance Shal grinned as best he could You finally have seen the path Congratulations on becoming an Adept If I had known I wouldn’t have barged onto your boat
I wasn’t Divveltian said calmly Not until that student of yours produced that strange energy It helped me see my image more clearly than anything I have ever encountered
Shal fell into brooding silence for the rest of their run even as they passed the others and gathered into a larger group They continued running for several hours until they were at a small clearing halfway between Tomkat and Qtal They likely would not be disturbed here
So shoulders heaving Shal walked up to Randidly Why did you kill the guard
His disciple’s face tightened and he just shrugged helplessly Shal chopped down with his hand faster than his disciple could react to shattering the fool’s collarbone To his credit Randidly didn’t make a sound and barely trembled from the blow simply enduring it passively Which somehow made the punishment unsatisfying
The rest of the group stood around looking at the ground The new spear attendant and the female one seemed to be having a gaze standoff as they attempted to determine their relative status underneath Randidly As Shal struggled to control his anger he tried to clarify his issue