Chapter 24: Riventread

Subject: Caim Location: Riventread

Gravel crunched underneath Caim’s boots as he sprinted around the corner of a large rocky outcrop. The carapaser chased after him, locked on his trail.

I only need to delay for about 45 seconds, he reminded himself.

He had hoped this would serve as encouragement for his aching muscles, but his wheezing shallow breaths were a sign that he was pushed to the limit. Caim just wasn’t used to exerting himself like this.

Moving about regularly, the new armor didn’t feel all that heavy, but constantly dodging and running made the difference in weight from Caim’s usual attire more noticeable.

The slug-like creature rounded the corner in pursuit. It had a sand-yellow shell, mingled with sedimentary patterned splotches of red.

The way the carapaser slithered forward, like a snake swimming through sand and gravel, was unnerving. It shouldn’t be able to move that fast.

Yet, watching the creature now, a distant observer could be led to believe it was docile and harmless.

Small, circular suction-bite wounds covering Caim’s body told a different story. Because of these injuries, he couldn’t separate himself from the moment.

No, this carapaser definitely wasn’t harmless.

These blightbeasts are monsters. Each and every one of them.

The mouth of the slug bore many rows of small teeth. The bestiary in the seeker guidebook had mentioned the teeth, but they looked tiny and harmless in the sketch. When lunging for his neck, they seemed less so.

“Scion, I need you now!” Caim called out, hastily conjuring his metal guardian.

Scion dispatched the threat, having fired only three shots. Carapasers were weak, but that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that Caim could only summon the metal ally once every six minutes. He could try all he wanted, as was the case during the Initiation Ritual, but the spell simply would not activate if it had been recently used.

That seems to be the price. Actually... No, that doesn’t sound right. Other magic works differently. Alice said it “drains” the caster, whatever that means.

When wounded, the carapasers would retreat to their spawning cavities to hide. They would rest in these small depressions in the ground. The camouflage coloration of their shells helped them blend in with the environment.

Riventread was an arid region full of rock and sand. Boulders and tall pillars of sedimentary rock littered the flatland.

Carapaser shells were similar to insect exoskeletons but segmented for flexibility.

After the blightbeast dematerialized, Caim saw a tiny gray blightseed where the corpse lay a moment ago. He pocketed it with a slight feeling of satisfaction.

His heart pounded against the tightly fitted underlayer of his armor. The badge on his chest shone bright white briefly to signify that a registered kill had contributed to his progress on a contract.

Three down.

After having used the spell this many times, Caim now had a better understanding of it. He didn’t need to use the black card in his pocket to tell him about the magic. Instead, he “felt” his command over Scion wax and wane. When Scion dematerialized, it actually “left” him in a way he couldn’t put into words.

The guidebook described carapasers as unintelligent. They would only attack when approached, or when they were otherwise provoked. The simple blightbeasts couldn’t understand why the camouflage coloration of their shells helped them to blend with their environment. They didn’t need to know why. The purpose of a carapaser was just to slow seekers down.

These things only understand how to attack and how to retreat to their spawning cavities. They are incredibly predictable. Easy to manage… I thought...

Riventread was a Clarion festerfont to the Northeast of Maliscade. The temperature here was noticeably higher than elsewhere in the valley, despite its relatively short distance from the city.

Just then, a scraping sound made Caim jump.

Another carapaser was surfacing from its spawning cavity. Caim sighted it and began to run in the opposite direction.

It took chase, slivering after him.

Caim was defenseless like this. Without Scion, he could do nothing. The feeling was terrifying, but terror was not useful right now. At least, that’s what he tried to tell himself.

I need to pace myself. These things don’t move that fast, and they slow down on the dense ground. If I slow down and pick an optimal path, I can make it until Scion is available again.

He navigated the rocky terrain, following the plan, and it seemed to be working.

About 4 minutes, now.

This was it. Caim’s muscles still ached, but he felt better when he wasn’t just running haphazardly.

His thoughts scattered when the boulder he was using for cover began to reverberate.

Trying to run away from one carapaser, he’d stumbled upon a cluster of spawning cavities.

“I just can’t catch a break,” he muttered.

Subject: Caim Location: Riventread

The Mage’s Carapace really was something. It protected Caim’s body like nothing he’d ever worn. The bruises forming underneath were another matter, but the pain was still manageable.

The slug-beetle-leeches coiling their tails and launching themselves teeth-first at his face were the real issue.

A carapaser slammed into Caim’s back. It coiled its tail around his torso and attempted to gain purchase with its mouth, sucking on the cloak’s fabric.

Too many! Way too many!

Caim reached back and tore the creature off his body. Throwing it down, he tried to stomp it to death.

The first impact of his boot failed to do any real damage, and he was interrupted by a flurry of leaping carapasers. Caim was knocked to the ground.

Carapasers swarmed him, and he did his best to roll away.

Scion… please… he begged, feeling his ethereal friend return.

Who is enemy? It asked in the broken, voiceless language that was now familiar.

Caim tried to mentally mark the targets, but it was too hard to concentrate while enduring such an onslaught. When he was finally able to convey to Scion which three enemies he wanted it to target, it took off.

Enemy gone, it reported gleefully.

It didn’t seem to be able to tell that there were still six carapasers left. Caim almost envied that blissful ignorance.

But it does seem to be learning from our “time together”. Do I have to admit to being insane if I think of it as a friend?

To be fair, anyone who had been through what Caim had would be lucky to escape with their sanity intact.

He swept low and picked up a small rock, tossing it at the closest foe.

A miss.

Caim tried again, clutching a handful of rocks. These were his only weapons for the better part of the next six minutes.

This was going to hurt.