Riley’s head snapped up as the strange otherness and cobwebs filling his mind pulled taut…then snapped.

“Huh, what…?” He looked around, finding himself in the middle of their campgrounds. But the more important question was, which camp was it now?

His memories were hazy ever since they arrived in this underground city. There were Chaos dwellers who followed them inside, and they subsequently fought off. They had also sent out scouting groups to find a way to the surface, but somewhere along the way, they moved camp without waiting for the scout to return.

Why did they move camp? Riley wondered since he was part of the group’s leadership. He fuzzily recalled agreeing to it when Aunt Layla and Captain Brogin suggested moving to a more secure site. They’d all gone along with it and moved closer to the city’s centre. And then…

“How long has it been?” he murmured. And what happened? He…something was in his mind?

Crack!

Brakoom!

Grrrrrkrrrrr!

Riley’s eyes widened as he ran out of the building. He looked up at the source, which was less than half a longstride away, at the ceiling. A bright light, several bright lights, bloomed on the ceiling, going off every few seconds. The sound of the explosion, as well as the concussive blast, followed a moment later, and Riley watched in horror as the ceiling cracked. Crevices and fissures opened, and sand, dirt, and stones fell in.

The fight boulders slammed down at the nearby pillar, which shook as its foundations were struck. A horrifically loud noise drowned out his scream. Everyone stumbled out of the building, looking lost at first, but suddenly snapping to attention at the sight.

Most dove back into the building, and Protective Fields popped into existence, as well as several defensive Animus techniques. Riley stared at the disaster and decided that the best thing to do was to follow suit and hope that the roof and walls held.

The impact of the boulders hitting the roof made the building shudder, and Riley could see the concrete ceiling begin to crack. Animus flooded from the occupants and infused into the stone. Even though only a couple of marines had Animus aspected to earth, simple infusion toughened up the material. Riley sent his Animus up too, but since he was a Knight, his Animus density was a level higher than the others, hence taking a bigger slice of the feedback. He was connected to it, hence connected to the building. He could feel every strike, feel it rattle his bones and blood. He gritted his teeth as his Animus depleted at a steady rate.

The Journeymen level marines’ Animus depleted even faster than his, but he could detect that the other Knights were still holding strong. Aunt Layla pulled out several stone cubes and unleashed the spells woven within. Her lavender-coloured Animus glow, not purple or light purple, but lavender, shot from the cubes and infused into the ceiling, causing the cracks to mend, and for the shudders to stop.

Aidan…where was his elder brother? Riley looked up and down the rectangular building, but didn’t see his brother. His Animus quivered as it absorbed another impact, and he cursed under his breath.

He didn’t know how long it took, but eventually, either the stone fall had stopped or they had been buried under enough rubble that fresh impacts were muffled by the time they reached the interior. But then, they were now buried under MiJins of rock and earth.

“Call in!” someone yelled, the captain, Riley realised after a moment.

The marines responded and Riley listened. Only after they were done did it become apparent that there were nearly twenty missing from the roll call. All marines with scouting capabilities, so Riley assumed they were out. But…

Four scout teams? Aidan still wasn’t anywhere in the building!

“Riley…” Aunt Layla called out in an exhausted voice.

After he made his way to her side, she grunted and pulled herself up using his offered hand. “I…do you feel strange? As if you just woke up from a long sleep, and that everything that happened was a dream?”

Riley blinked and muttered, “Yeah, kinda. “I…what happened?” he repeated, “I feel like I’ve been staring at nothing for days…”

“Yup!” Aunt Layla said brightly. “I think that’s just what we were doing. At least until this happened and the mind trap broke.”

“Mi…mind trap?!” Riley yelped.

“Yes. I recognise the after-effects.” She shivered. “I can’t account for how long we were controlled…but once the scouts return, we can cross-check.”

“Yes, but I think we need to get out of this trap first,” Riley said slowly.

“Hmm, yes, you’re right.”

Layla’s eyes swam around the chamber which was barely enough to contain the nearly one hundred marines and ship’s crew. The windows lacked shutters or glass but had been made proof against the incoming dirt by a layer of solidified Animus. The doors were blocked too, and the debris had penetrated past the defences. It only formed a knee-high pile of dirt and stones, but the outside was completely blocked. “Well, the first order of business is to dig ourselves out. Preferably before we suffocate. So… chop chop!”

It took them a couple of hours to dig their way out. Considerably quick, but almost as soon as they broke through the surface, the accumulated dirt and stones tumbled right back in. It was all they could do to secure the passage and have everyone take their gear and supplies, and flee.

Riley gaped at the cavern’s ceiling, and he shook his head at the strange pressure that was pushing him to stay in the vicinity of the building. He found himself thinking that the scouts and Aidan wouldn't be able to rendezvous with them if they left the place. And then, the group would be split and easier pickings for their foes.

But Aunt Layla practically bullied him and the captain to leave.

“We’re still near a mind trap field!” she groused. “It’s weakened, but enough exposure would have all of us succumb. Now move!”

So they did. Nobody could really resist the tiny and plucky woman. Well, tiny compared to other Davars, anyway.

As they pulled away from the location, he found his mind grew clearer, and when the last bit of influence left his thoughts, he broke out in cold sweat. What in the Abyss was that?

And then, it was at that point that they were confronted with monstrous foes. At least these things could be actively fought against, Riley thought with much relief as he brought his Plasma Caster up and began blasting the metal-armoured creatures.

______________

Heron followed Braden as he led the entire group through the tunnels. He knew that Saki Mishala, Yuriko’s Shadow Guard, was somewhere ahead, making sure that they didn’t walk into an ambush, but he wondered if she didn’t mind having to come back to them every time they came across an intersection or a fork in the path.

Yuriko had been gone for more than a day, and none of them could remain calm. With Braden having a link with his twin brother, it was a simple matter to follow it to their position. They only left their camp when Braden felt Orrin move away from them rather than towards the city of Cerkala. That and Gwendith Sharine had been prodding the rest of them to move ever since Yuriko left.

So they did. They gathered every bit of gear and supply they had and carefully followed Braden’s bump of direction. The Femorants didn’t attack them if they were out of their patrol range, and as long as they didn’t make too much of a ruckus. The regular Femorants didn’t anyway, while the mutated variants were unpredictable.

The variant ants did attack, but with the entire group alerted, nothing untoward happened. Although…Heron mused, the ants seemed somewhat distracted then and left almost as soon as the others fought back.

They’d been travelling through the tunnels for days already, and more than once had to backtrack when the path led in a different direction. Last night, they camped in a small cavern. There had been a stream passing through it, with a small pond bubbling near the wall. The water was warm but was white with sediment. Heron noticed some strange fish swimming within, but thankfully, they were well stocked with supplies so didn’t need to hunt or fish at the moment.

“I’ve never encountered Femorants such as those,” Sheamus said as the older man sat beside Heron while waiting for the food to cook. “I’ve heard of some cases in the guild, after all, Femorants and other anathema beasts are also affected by Chaos, and are changed by them. That they took Orrin and Asami captive instead of killing them immediately…” He shuddered, “That troubles me greatly.”

Sheamus, Heron thought, was a veteran adventurer. They’d shared stories at camp, over the long days and nights of their travel, and most of those were about his Fysalli delves.

He said he fought all manner of Chaos-twisted beasts, all for the Chaos shards and other Chaos treasures.

“And you, young Heron, where do you see yourself in the coming decades?” Sheamus asked idly.

Heron shrugged. “Probably in the legions. Whichever one Yuriko joins, hopefully.”

“You think Lady Yuriko will still join your legions?” Sheamus asked. “I think she’d rather explore on her own. The Chaos Sea, I mean. Or stay home, maybe.”

Heron shrugged. “She always wanted to join the Legion Vagaris.”

“Huh,” Sheamus had said. “Perhaps her dreams have changed.”

They exchanged small talk while they ate. Heron could barely sleep from worry. He saw Gwendith Sharine pacing around her tent, and Braden staring at the cavern walls. Always in the same direction as where he could feel his twin was. And every now and then, he rubbed his forehead. Sometimes, he scratched. Hard enough to draw blood, that was quickly stemmed by a bout of Recovery.

The next day, the earth began to shake. They were trapped in the tunnels, but then again, Heron wasn’t sure if the caverns would be any better. At least, if stones fell, they would fall far and won’t hit hard enough to kill. Now, if it caved in and they got trapped…

Thankfully, nothing happened other than a few cracks and falling dust. But foreboding filled Heron’s heart and he urged Braden to orient himself faster. He asked Saki to scout ahead faster and spend less time going through side branches. The Shadow Guard gave him a lidded stare until he fidgeted in his boots, before snorting and hurrying away.

It didn’t take long before they found themselves in another underground city. And of course, it wasn’t empty. In fact, right outside the tunnels, along the broken walls, he could see armoured creatures, the very same ones that had attacked them in Uaran City, converging upon a small group of men. Imperial Legionnaires!

There were five of the red-coated legionnaires, with their backs to the wall and Plasma Casters blasting away at the creatures. But Heron could see hundreds more coming. Over the rubble behind the walls, or climbing out of the moat. In fact, some of those things had turned towards Heron and the other vanguard.

Snick!

His collapsible spear extended to full range and was coated with his condensed Anima. A hardened air shield coalesced by his side, and he didn’t hesitate. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Braden looking towards the city’s interior, and he knew that Orrin was there. Hopefully Yuriko as well.

The isolated Imperial group was giving all it got. One of them conjured a large plasma orb from a thick gauntlet and used it to bash every cretin within reach. The man spotted Heron even as he charged down the bridge and rammed into an armoured skeleton. His Anima-coated spear cut through the breastplate as though it were made of paper, and he stabbed directly into centre mass. He felt the spearhead catch on something, and with a bit more push, whatever it was broke. Then the creature collapsed into a pile of metal and bone.

Behind and beside him, Sheamus blasted away with conjured Animus bolts. Gwendith flung ice crystal daggers, and Braden used his black lightning. The former guards and Dominic Hurin poured out of the narrow tunnel entrance, took a single look at the monsters, and came out fighting.

If Yuriko was in this city, these things won’t stop them from joining her.