674. The Secret Passage

674. The Secret Passage

A torrential downpour swept through the central regions of Grandis. Runoff from the great mountain ranges flooded rivers to as far as Little Tais. The very land was upheaved by the might of the wuthering storm.

Old trees that have lasted the test of time were uprooted along the earth like a wave. Everything moved away from the eye of the hurricane, which sat above the heights of Mount Saris – the highest mountain in Grandis.

It always stood in the backdrop of the Region much like the pale Nexus, though it did not receive the same reverence outside of small sect of worshipers only ever referred to as the Red Flower or rarely the Red Rose.

Mount Saris once held ritualistic significance in the past due to its peerless heights, but since the dawn of the Nexus and the massacres of the Solemn Paw, its association with the divine became vanishingly rare. The only evidence of its once prosperous past were the ruins and ancient machines that lay scattered beneath its base, hidden within a forest of man-eating plants.

One could spend days within its thickets before ever finding the base of the mountain. If they were unlucky, then they wouldn’t be able to see the skies to tell them where they were, or how much time had passed as there were plants that emitted the same light as the sun and stars.

Autumn and Deiman blazed these trails. An illustrious map of this specific part of Grandis was etched into the back of Autumn’s mind, and magically engraved into the back of her palms which she used as reference.

Her eyes would flash with an occasional glow to see things that were attuned to her vision, although surprisingly, Deiman’s eyes would fall onto the same place. Autumn did not question why and chalked it up to curiosity.

Besides, they had more pressing matters to face.

“Deiman! Go ahead and I’ll keep them from breaking through!” Autumn commanded. Mud slowed them down as they fought the runoff on one side, and the man-eating plants in the other. “Move it! We didn’t travel all the way here for three days just to die to plants!”

Deiman did as said and pushed through the downpour. Hidden behind the runoff resided the entrance of a cavern. It was a shortcut through the mountain ranges, and it ran parallel to the Smuggler’s Pass into the Bellum Empire. Due to its dangers and the many entrances, it had into the Bellum Empire, it was restricted by the Patreons of the Highway.

But Autumn’s ambitions were too great to be bound by honor, or the Scripts like that of her mentor Via.

Petals opened as the stench of rotting corpses poisoned the air. Autumn utilized her telekinetic magic to use claw-like thorns to hack away the plants like a magical dagger. She could control upwards of three objects at once, which was seen as an impressive feat.

Each object required equal amounts of concentration. To split it between those as well as remain situationally aware meant that Autumn was quite used to these situations. Unlike what happened in the Anid Nest, the man-eating plants were but a bump in the road than a wall.

The floating thorns cleaved through the stems with green brilliance. Green goo sprayed onto nearby plants, which inched closer as they crawled on their roots like they were legs. The reason why birds soared so highly in Grandis or thrived in vast plains was because of these plants.

When they inched two steps forward, she took five steps back against the heavy pelting of water. Mud accumulated by her heels, and each step took longer and longer until she backed into solid rock.

“Shit! How much soil did the water remove already!?” She looked up, realizing that the entrance was far higher than just minutes beforehand. “Deiman!”

Thankfully she was not alone. A pair of hands emerged from the waterfall, reaching down towards her. She tried to jump but her feet were far too wedged into the mud. Not only that, but the water had made it near impossible to hold onto his hands.

“Hold onto this! Hold it tight! HOLD IT STEADY!” She cried, but she did not think Deiman could hear her. The plants were steadily approaching now as she brought the thorns and stabbed them into the mud, using them to pry her free.

A third object appeared in Deiman’s hands. It was a long branch, and its thickness did not inspire confidence in Autumn. But she was desperate now, and with the air of her telekinetic slippers, she would be able to at least displace some of her weight.

“YOU NEED TO PULL WHEN YOU FEEL IT TUG AGAINST YOU!” She screamed, her back arching as she felt something prick her back.

It was a needle. And it was not just one. Suddenly, a small barrage of needles was fired in her direction. Each needle was around the size of a toothpick, and she could feel them trace her spine.

Her hands trembled slightly. She had only one chance of escaping now.

“PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULL!” Autumn shouted at the top of her lungs, gargling on rainwater as she clutched onto the branch.

She expected Deiman to have trouble. In fact, she conjured all the mana she had to lift her with her telekinetic slippers. However, she did not expect to be thrown into the cave. An autumn gale entered the cave, and the branch snapped did not snap to her shock.

“Ooof…” She wheezed. “Too close. Way too close. And you wonder why no one takes this path.”

“You should have ran ahead with me.”

“Shut… up. You can reprimand me later. It’s because of me that we didn’t turn into pin cushions.” Autumn growled as she laid atop Deiman, her head buried in his chest. “You could’ve told me you were stronger than you look.”

“You didn’t ask.”

“I don’t need to ask. Put your weight on your foot. Just because I’m capable doesn’t mean you have to let me do all the work on my own.”

“Weren’t you the one who –”

“Aaaaah. Ugh… That’s my fault. They got me good.”

Fifteen needles were stuck to her back. At least seven were blocked by the leather padding beneath her robes, and her tunic. The others had penetrated her flesh, and two were deeply embedded. This was from what she could tell, however.

Her body was quickly numbing.

“Are you going to die?” Deiman’s question caused her to mumble incoherently.

“At least pretend to show some sympathy. No, I’m not going to die. It’s a paralysis. The plants here like to let their prey simmer in despair before they eat them. Help me up. They can still reach us from here.”

Deiman carefully supported her upright. She could still walk normally, although her knees constantly buckled as they pushed deeper into the cave. Various species of glowworms illuminated the cold dark.

Rarely were caves ever completely plunged into total darkness. Even in the depths of the world, creatures would find a way to create their own light in the form of bioluminescence, fire, or magic.

A shivering Autumn cast a [Flare] to lead the way. Her body was ice cold, and her contact with Deiman was the only thing keeping her warm. Her supplies were drenched, rendering her spare clothing useless.

“… I need to take off these clothes soon.” Autumn muttered to herself. “Fuck… I’m glad you’re a Shell, as much as I hate to say it out loud.” She panted.

The crashing waterfall seemed to grow louder the deeper they ventured. Eventually, they reached a place where grass grew and where stone monoliths rose ominously like towers. It was like a hole carved out into the heart of the mountain. Traces of life were left in the form of paintings, sculptures, and etched letters of mysterious origin.

A ray of light shone from the wall on their side as they entered the luscious cavern. It seemed to run along the circumference of the chamber like it was locked in a slow orbit. It never seemed to let them face it directly, always shining from directly behind all observers.

In the center of the cavern sat a pool. Water dripped from a colossal stalagmite, replenishing the pool that was so clear they could see the individual granules of rock at the bottom.

“Put me down… Fuck. My arms… are slipping away…” Autumn grunted. “Not on my back. I can’t believe I have to tell you what’s common sense. Tch… Take them out for me, will you?”

Deiman laid her down on her stomach and began removing the needles.

“Does it hurt?”

“I don’t feel a thing at all, sadly. What terrible luck.” She growled again, facing the other side of the cavern. “… It’s that time of the year, isn’t it? After the Last Solstice. We’re around a week off before that special full moon. This place locks up during that time. I forgot…”

“I think you should focus on recovering.”

“I’m trying to distract myself from the cold with these thoughts.” Autumn said, stripping her upper garbs. “Help me out, will you?”

As ordered, Deiman began to peel away layers of Autumn’s clothes. He himself was oddly unaffected by the bite of hypothermia. It was unclear if he could not express his affliction, or if he was somehow able to resist it.

“… I really am glad it’s you and not the Adventurers we tend to escort through Grandis. And people wonder why it’s so hard to trust others.” Autumn expressed her hatred of how things worked in Grandis. “Go back in time a hundred years ago… even fifteen, or thirty when it was just the Healers being prosecuted, and you’d never have to always watch your back.”

“How do you know that?” Deiman asked, stripping her down to her lower back.

“Read a book, will you?” She growled, until her eyes suddenly mellowed. “… I’m sorry. Not like that. You probably never had a chance to pick one up. If it makes you happy, I guess I never picked one up either. I just parrot what my Teacher and others say. Do as they do. It’s the only way you’re going to get by here.”

He placed his tail onto her neck like a scarf, making her hum slightly in what sounded like displeasure.

But in truth, she enjoyed the fluffiness of it. Touching it was what she was after to begin with, but for it to happen now of all times made her bitter.

“Why do you sound so disappointed?”

“You’re imagining it.”