Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 7

Chapter 7

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 10:04

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Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 10:04

"Tin, are you sure you can hold this abomination?" In the voice of the eternally pompous and refined child of House Asterium, there was a nervousness that could hardly be concealed.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 17:22

My comrade asked a good and necessary question, especially given where his gaze was directed, now running and prickly, like a hedgehog fat on steroids. His eyes followed the more than two hundred vile and eternally hungry creatures summoned to reality by the will of a terrorist and murderer who had lost his mind. By me, in case you haven't figured it out yet.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:15

"Yes, Losius," I answer calmly and indifferently, though not out of confidence or fearlessness, but out of fear of relinquishing control of my creation for even a second. "The tension is tolerable enough, even if it goes beyond my recovery."

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:16

This thing, as it is now, and not in drafts that exist only in my sick imagination, was suggested by Hestia. For which her turbulent army background is to be thanked. Actually, a sacrificial planar citadel based on summoned immaterial entities should not be created alone, but by a whole star of mages of the right specialty and planar leanings, plus a couple or three stars of ordinary mages acting as amplifiers of the ritual. The resulting barrier, which looks more like a temporary enclosed field, usually covers a fairly large area and is static. I have no sacrifices, and even if I did, I wouldn't use such crap, nor would I have a shadow mage star, unless you count my own "star sickness" as a star. But I liked the idea from the first words.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:18

"It seems to me that this one... and this one, and that one, and those things over there are looking at me strangely." The nobleman, whose connection to Heaven automatically made any interaction with such "dark" planes an extremely unpleasant experience, couldn't stop getting on my nerves. "And it doesn't seem to me at all."

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:19

A static citadel, obviously, did not satisfy my requirements, but where there was no clear description of the ritual and no verified contracts with the Elder Shadows, my class, and my Right came into play, allowing me to give the Shadows quite clear orders, which they could either execute, execute quickly, or die in agony. Oddly enough, they chose the first two.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:21

"'Losius, I give you my word, they're all staring at you, and not weirdly, but greedily, with the goal of eating your soul. A slight irritation erupted in his voice but was immediately suppressed by an effort of will. "They're Shadows, not kittens! If they'd been quiet and didn't even try to get off the chain, then I'd be worried.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:22

To be fair, only a small number of the more elite species of shadow creatures made any attempt to not even throw off my control, but simply to try it out. The main mass, the inferior or weak planar creatures, were figuratively afraid to fart without my will. Since my last summons, I've grown both in level and in overall coolness, especially in terms of summoning all manner of bad things for the purposes of the evil ones.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:24

There was nothing for me to do at the camp, so I had to develop and practice my abilities in those areas I had wisely neglected before. Shadow calling fell into that category, so I had a knack for it. And after I had succeeded in summoning and even subduing - intimidating, torturing, and nearly disembodied - the summoned shit, a full-fledged High Shadow, my authority with the creature had risen to a far higher level than I'd ever imagined possible. The feeling of toxic anger, mixed with the sticky fear the creatures felt toward me, did not add to my mood, but it did guarantee some sort of obedience.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:26

"Look, if you don't hold them back, can you drive them out?" It looks like Losius's nerves are acting up... Or am I just underestimating the impact of having so many evil entities around and on the heaven-soaked Losius, too. "And what happens to control when we start fighting?"

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:27

I sighed and cursed in my head while I continued to calm the suddenly panicked Duelist. I understand him in many ways because even without the conflict of forces, such a crowd of abomination can not leave indifferent any sane person. More than two hundred and more creatures, against the thinning line between Shadow and Reality, would make even the bravest individual ponder the eternal.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:29

The creation I created was unique in many ways, even if it didn't give me any class upgrades yet. I just hadn't done it before, but that didn't mean I couldn't do it - the strain on my head wasn't even too great. My fighting style doesn't involve standing still and hurling all sorts of evil spells at my opponent, and I've used summons on a residual basis.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:32

Now we, that is, our whole group, were sheltered by a thing that could be compared to a miniature fortress and a mobile one at that. My "citadel" covers a relatively small area, and its longevity depends more on me than on the ritual circuit, but its power is such that we can sit in it for a few strategic siege attacks. Then, of course, we'll be wiped out, but we'll be able to withstand a couple of hits without a problem.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:33

Two dozen full-fledged Shadows formed the core of the citadel, supervised by five Elders. All of their skills were sharpened into fairly rare branches of controlling small planar creatures, allowing them to increase the effectiveness of single weak (relatively) creatures to the level of a shoal of piranhas on steroids. The second branch of their skills was the creation of very peculiar barriers. Not the usual direct manipulation of shadow matter that such entities usually use, but something in between spatial disruption and a very clever twist on Creation and Manifestation.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:34

When performed by a single Shadow-even an Elder Shadow-such protection would never be on par with a more familiar shadow barrier. But allowing the Shadows to work together, forcing them to weave their efforts into a coherent system... Let's just say that I could still do that on my own, without the aid of summonses, even if it wasn't easy. But it would be hard to keep that shit up in combat, distracted by the battle, not to mention the strain on the reserves, which would be much worse.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 15:31

I now use only the most basic Manifestation, thinning the line between realm and reality, which wastes almost no personal energy. Keeping stable contracts with the Elder Shadows, despite my vision fading to monochrome and my heart aching with piercing cold, strains my mind, not my reserves. And the normal summonses, which are controlled by contracted Shadows, require nothing at all but my presence - all the perks of being an Overlord. Their sticky fear and hatred of that which is stronger than themselves presses on my brain with annoyance and headache but does not threaten to devour my humanity in the near future.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 15:33

Outwardly, at first glance, no manifestation of our protection is visible - all the creatures, for the time being, are hidden in the native realm, even if they float on the very edge of incarnation in reality. Thanks to the thinning of the fringe, such incarnation requires neither time nor expense from them. Only reaction and Shadow's reaction are magnificent. If there were any sensors around us, it would sense something bad going on around us, like a dark cloud obscuring the sun and following us. Someone with a hundred and fifty Perception would have noticed how the shadows darken and sharpen with our every step, would have realized that the throwing shadows from the light of the alchemical lamps (just a long flask with a glowing liquid) was somewhat wrong that the movements of these shadows were not at all subject to the reflections of light and that the shadows themselves seemed almost alive. But, besides us, there was no one here but the distorted ones trapped in the labyrinth, and we would be forced to go out on them anyways.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 15:35

But as soon as something tries to attack, that attack, whether physical or magical, collides with an instantly manifested segment of the shadow body, which will simply swallow it up. Not as an ultimatum as a rift, true, but much more stable and generally safer. Well, as far as shadow techniques can be safe for the user at all.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 20:31

I have long noticed that truly powerful attacks and shields if I wish to create them quickly or even instantly, require either a great deal of concentration or the implantation of a few Shadows into the technique, which will take over the control and aiming. Even during a battle with the guardians of a forgotten megalith, I noticed when I was able to throw a huge block of stone stuffed with captive souls and ancient magic into a Shadow with a single blow.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 04:47

It's a pretty simple tactic for me-I can easily command the Shadows with just a fraction of my reserve or for nothing at all. They will obey, even if they try to free themselves from the chains of my Call, especially if I use them as a kind of brander. Or rather, the pilot of said brander. A sort of kamikaze of planar spawn.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 04:49

I wasn't too lazy to ask how other shadow mages dealt with this crap. The first thing I discovered was that, for the majority of those mages, such techniques are not available at all. And the rest considered them as analogs of strategic and tactical charms and ritual strikes, and with good reason. Those who came out both in level, reserve, and balls can be a bit tricky.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 04:51

Someone ties the Shadow with ritual chains, preparing a quasi-life projectile for his cannon in advance; someone manages to trick the Shadow; someone, like me, can push the Shadow through with his bare will, albeit at a much higher cost. There are even those who make contracts with very special Shadows - ranked no lower than Elder - who possess the ability to create small Shadows from their flesh and the soul fragments of the sacrifice they've made. The dirtiest but also the most reliable method because such disposable Shadows are controlled directly by the "creator". That is, the mage performs the blow, infusing it with power and structuring it into the desired form, and the Shadow, sitting in the depths of the realm, controls his creations, directing the already prepared blow.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 04:54

Such creatures are very rare, for very few of them have the stamina to work regularly with the humans that any Shadow wishes to devour. However, the victims are always plentiful - such contracts are rare, useful, profitable, and sometimes supported by entire guilds. The tactical charms of the Shadow School are very powerful compared to simpler ones in control realms.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 04:56

I'm not even talking about such options as full-fledged cults serving Shadow creatures. Yes, such badasses are very rare, if only because the Shadows, unlike the Devils, rarely bother with such a cult. But those who do... I can tell you that, for the most part, these organizations do not serve the High Shadows but much older and scarier members of that tribe. Ancient Shadow... I wouldn't risk summoning such a thing - exactly summoning it, not shoving it out to be eaten by another creature like that creep from Kraj. And I won't risk it for a long, long time. Ideally, I would never risk it at all, but when have I ever had an ideal?

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 04:59

Going back to the current situation, under the protection of the citadel, we were closed to any normal threat, but we remember how abnormal the Spawn of the Trails is, don't we? That's why I went to all the trouble of active Manifestation: to create a section of reality that is more Shadow than reality. And when that damn anomaly tries to claim that piece of space, I will be able to contest those rights. At the very least, I'm sure we can all get away fast. The impact of the Labyrinth is very massive but not concentrated enough to push me through too quickly. Ideally, it wouldn't be able to push me through at all, but still, I wouldn't risk assuming that - a Legend, even if you think you're as cool as Chuck himself, is still a Legend, even if it's very unusual.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 05:51

We walked quietly, even Losius, who managed to pull himself together. But even though I was sure we weren't making any noise, I couldn't shake the intrusive feeling that you were being watched from all sides at the same time. Even if it was the rock of the narrow gut of another tunnel. I had already read about this effect in the literature I had gathered before the raid, so I was not surprised at this turn. Neither was I happy, though - there was a shaky hope that the citadel would also protect me from detection.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 05:54

Alas, we are now literally inside our enemy, even at the very edge of its existence zone, and therefore it cannot physically miss us. It doesn't sense human souls or sensory field signatures but any influence on the space under its control. Even with my control over the piece of reality, I'd enchanted... it's like ripping out a part of a living body and hoping that the owner of the body itself doesn't notice it. I hope that my creation, on the contrary, will not cause increased rejection and subsequent attacks. Though, that would be even better - the sooner we damage the living anchor holding the anomaly in place, the sooner we can begin the exorcism process.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 05:56

If I wanted to sneak in here unnoticed, a much better option would be to try to crawl through the deeper layers of Shadow. Though, then I might not find the right spot in the mush that the catacomb space looks like because of the influence of the anomaly. I might as well walk while I had the chance. Through the Shadow, if necessary, I could escape, dragging the group with me when I decided that the task was beyond us.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 05:58

It was our ladies, Taria and Hestia, that worried me the most. Losius could, like myself, burn his way out with a planar stream, and Hans looked pretty good in this feast of life, but the girls were much less secure. Taria clutched the dagger tightly in one hand and clutched at Valerium with the other. Her face was focused, without a trace of her usual slyness, and her eyes were searching around for a target to shoot in the head.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 05:59

Hestia has taken a partly misty form, for her human form still makes her rather vulnerable. She now appears as a misty figure of a beautiful maiden, with a misty shawl falling from her shoulders. That shawl stretches along the ground following her, then rises and stretches upward toward the ceiling, covering the group with a kind of hood. Not even a shred of it touches us, but it easily suffocates someone else in its weightless embrace. The essence of her gifted talent, as well as some personally earned, allows her to work with space as well, but it is too limited. Moreover, her talent takes time to take root, and in this place, no one lets it take root.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 06:02

According to Hestia herself, if it weren't for my dome, even being on the edge of the anomaly would cause her quite tangible damage - space here is constantly twitching, like an image on an old tube TV set, though not tearing the mist cloud, but peeling from it piece by piece. She could have prevented this by unleashing her full power and coming into contact with the Mist simply by removing the familiar constant of space from the equation. There is nothing in the Mist but the Mist itself, and Hestia could partially mimic the conditions of this plan. But in order to do so, she needs to stop moving and start rooting, stopping the progression. And it is too early to stop it.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 06:05

Since Hestia would not be able to participate in the battle in such a state, she assumed the duties of our grenadier. Most of the alchemical grenades were given to her, with orders to use them for their intended purpose. I left for myself only the most fierce compounds, which I feared to give into the other's hands.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 07:01

The fourth level of the catacombs was passed, and we were descending into the realm of the anomaly, where no one goes, and those who go - do not return. There is no map, and there can be no map, no clear plan of action, no support, and no brains, it seems.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 07:06

"I bet my sword that this place was originally not a catacomb, but a laboratory or even a research complex." Losius, assessing the surrounding scenery, was not shy about making his own assumptions.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 07:07

Personally, I would have thought he'd lost his sword because there's still not much room here for the medieval equivalent of a research institute. Yes, the halls and aqueducts here are much larger than the minimum required for catacombs, but not enough to accommodate something so large. I personally bet on the industrial complex, especially since the archives mentioned that in the south the catacombs move into old and long-collapsed mines. Time has not spared them, unlike the catacombs. By the way, many speculated - and not unreasonably - that it was the collapse of the miners' drifts, which resulted in the partial destruction of half the commercial quarter and the complete destruction of the old market square, that caused the origin of the anomaly. The first disappearances beneath the city began just a couple of years later, and that's if you don't count those who went missing during the collapse.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 07:09

And since there were mines here, there must also have been some kind of infrastructure for ore processing. According to the chronicles, and public knowledge, the former inhabitants of this territory were very advanced artisans, competing not only with humans but also with the Dwarven clans. The only question is what the ancient miners could have gotten their hands on that hole in the Trail. The mines had fallen and been covered over long ago, even before that cataclysm, and it was just then that they finally collapsed. And there was some reason why they left the city. Although the latter could easily have nothing to do with the anomaly at all - the whole civilization was in a severe decline back when the Empire of the Ages was just getting back on its feet.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 07:11

"I'm not sure about the labs." Whispered Hestia, whose whitewashed tentacles probed every scrap of space. "The spaces are too narrow, and then there's the lack of auxiliary rooms... I used to work in the Stone, so I know exactly what laboratories look like. What was here before couldn't be, if only because normal research can't be done in such cramped conditions."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 07:13

"I see." Taria intervenes, having managed to calm her wobbly nerves a little but still not putting the Valerium down. "Then I'll take your pickaxe since you've lost the bet."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 08:40

"Let's not get bigoted." I interrupt the incipient scandal before the already nervous comrades-in-arms start shitting on a random topic. "It may well be that there was not a laboratory here but some semblance of one. Evaluation of ore quality, search for impurities, and other joys of miners' work. The premises are indeed large, suitable for the arrangement of, say, machine tools."

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 08:41

Not that I was that interested, but the light, non-stressful conversation was a great relief to the heated atmosphere. Everyone was so tense that they looked like tight guitar strings. If you yank them, they will tear you and knock your eye out! Of course, we're not a bunch of hysterical ladies, and we're all used to almost any spectrum of danger, but still, this place, its emptiness, and silence were quite nerve-wracking.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 08:43

As luck would have it, even the unstoppable stomping of wrought iron boots went silent, too. We had entered the dungeon on a clear day, but they were marching at night. Logic dictates that they're taking a break... if logic and common sense can be applied to the Trail-distorted entities that once were human but have become something else entirely. Just like in a fairy tale - and Ivan-Tsarevich turned into a wonderful bird. The fairy tale, alas, is a terrible one, and the further it goes, the bigger it gets.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 08:44

I hope I can end this tale on a major note.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:48

Or at least some.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 08:48

The sixth level of the catacombs. Now I'm not joking, laughing, or talking to the guys anymore. Hans has stopped poking fun at Taria, too. The shadow sphere is going crazy, giving me a headache. The data it transmits doesn't stand up to scrutiny and is constantly changing, completely unnoticed by me. It would seem that I should be able to keep control over the space that the shadows groped, but if I distracted myself for even a second when I returned to my surroundings, I would see an entirely new picture. Or the same one. Or it wouldn't open at all, giving me a lot of distractions and swirls in which there weren't even any shadows.

Camrad_RIP 22.05.23 в 08:48

It can't be explained normally, but I was used to never letting anything out of my attention span, and now I couldn't do it. It wasn't even a lack of concentration with perception, though a hundred points in each stat would have been nice. It was the fact that the damn Spiral was literally chewing, stirring, smearing the pictures shown by the sphere, breaking the usual framework of understanding and replacing them with something of its own. No wonder the sensors in this place were rapidly going crazy. If it weren't for my habit of ignoring the far scarier abomination, I might have... not gone crazy, but I would have had a much worse headache.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:46

What was also unpleasant was the fact that this anomaly was not as aggressive as the watching of Deep Shadow, for example. It was just there, not intentionally threatening, which made it harder for me to filter out what it showed me. The Price of Humanity didn't activate at all because the creep wasn't trying to take it away from me. Fun, though.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:48

Hans and my clairvoyance helped us find our way, not wander in circles, unerringly pointing us straight down to the center of the Spiral, the heart of the Labyrinth, where the story began. And my clairvoyance sensed evil attention on us, gradually converging on our paths, which was bound to lead to conflict.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:44

It was not the detached, indifferent presence of an anomaly but the reaction of its symbiotes. Those who had gone astray and who hated with the remnants of their souls those who had not yet shared their fate. How much of this was the very hatred of man, and how much of it was invested with distorted anger only they know, but hardly the lost want to share this mystery with us.

Camrad_RIP 21.05.23 в 12:43