Chapter 53.2: Farewells
More than coming, Captain Gelwin was nearly upon them when Penny returned her attention to the world beyond her and the two asura. As usual, his sylvari shadow trailed along behind him, doing nothing to mask the scorn in her gaze. Liæthsidhe stared thorns at all three of them, but Penny felt a special stab of contempt aimed her way.
Chapter 52.3: Mounting Exhaustion
Hours passed, and the sun finally peeked its lazy head up over the plateaus that carved out the deep hollow where the Ulta Metamagicals krewe did their work. Penny had inched farther away from the encroaching light as it came up over that too tall horizon, sticking instead to the shadows as long as she had them. After waiting all that time for the night to end, she now realized how much better the darkness had been.
Chapter 52.2: Vigil Order
Hours passed, and the sun finally peeked its lazy head up over the plateaus that carved out the deep hollow where the Ulta Metamagicals krewe did their work. Penny had inched farther away from the encroaching light as it came up over that too tall horizon, sticking instead to the shadows as long as she had them. After waiting all that time for the night to end, she now realized how much better the darkness had been.
Chapter 51.2: That Bandit Jerk
In the norn’s wake, they crossed the eastern half of the courtyard. Somewhere along the western cliff face someone had spotted them and started taking shots. Penny heard the whizz of rifle rounds sailing past them, much closer than she was comfortable with.
Chapter 48.3: Truth of the Matter
Ventyr shook his head, wincing to regain his wits. “Situation report?”
He heard Crusader Jindel fire off another shot from the backside of the wagon barricade, and she whirled back, pressing herself into the wooden bed. “It’s not good, sir.” She opened the gun’s loader and shook out empty casings before tossing the weapon to the ground beside her. “It just got worse. The asura are split between us and the bandits, but we’re pinned down and out of ammu— behind you!”
Chapter 48.2: Air and Fire
Ventyr fell to a knee and gasped, his body seizing as another of the asura struck him from behind with some sort of electrical weapon. His hands uncontrollably clutched at his staff, and his body curled in on itself until the current shut off. The asura pulled back a step and waited, eyes wide at what he’d done. He must not have been a fighter.
Chapter 48.1: Circling the Wagons
Chapter 46.4: Ventyr’s War
After a few turns, Ventyr was all but lost; the way out was longer than he recalled and far more twisted than he’d recognized under the blindfold his captors had used. With each corner Minkus bounded around, Ventyr could all but feel the promise of an imminent exit, but each one was a lie. The halls and doorways continued, one after the next after the next, and though his elemental training insisted that Ventyr temper his deepening impatience, he didn’t. The whirlwind of fire and air storming through him felt too good, too rare. Most importantly it felt too powerful. Alongside Minkus’ rejuvenating magic, that swelling storm inside was the only thing keeping Ventyr’s battered body moving.
Chapter 46.3: Moving Target
Still backing away, Ventyr kept his attention on the golem, staff raised in ready defense. Fjornsson needed time to recover himself, but Ventyr had to reach the jade—he had to. He shot glances toward the landing at the north end of the room, the handful of fighters actively engaged behind him, Crusader Yult, and then back to the golem just on the other side of the wide doorway. Earlier, it had been unable to pass through it, being too tall. Ventyr would have to take advantage of that, even if those projectile arms complicated the matter.
Chapter 46.2: The Search
Ventyr leapt aside as the golem took another sluggish swing at him. Fat, stone fingers gripped shut around empty air, scooping up nothing several feet shy of the sylvari’s wind-aided movement. He spun, looking back at the mechanical monster. It had no eyes, per se, but the glowing slits that represented them seemed to meet his knowingly.
Chapter 46.1: The Value of Field Testing
Chapter 45.4: Inevitable Confrontation
Jindel was the first to find her words. “Sergeant, we— appear to be clear, at least for now.”
Everyone took in their surroundings, processing what had just happened. Penny noticed Minkus in particular, though. He frowned curiously at the ceiling. “Does anyone else hear that, or rather not hear that?”
Chapter 45.3: Bombs Away
Shaking her head clear, Penny tried to process their next steps. If they were all going to get out alive, they needed to get Ventyr’s staff into his hands. Penny had never understood why the thing made him stronger, but the carrot swore by —
Chapter 44.1: Adapting the Plan
“But why did you open them all to begin with?” Ventyr asked, scanning the room. “Simply opening my chamber and Scholar Yissa’s would have been enough.”
Chapter 42.5: Whose Mercy
Falling to a knee and sucking air back into his lungs, Minkus suddenly heard and understood what the man had said. He spun to face the room, rubbing at his scorched chest. Whatever that prod had been designed to subdue, it wasn’t an asura. The shock from it had burned a ragged hole straight through the stolen uniform. If it hadn’t been for Minkus’ magic, first absorbing part of the blast and now streaming into him to heal the burn, he knew he wouldn’t be on his feet, if even conscious.
Chapter 38.4: Vigil Politics
Penny glared at the captain through narrowing eyes, her fire returning. “What’s that supposed to mean: too little too late?”
Gelwin didn’t shy from her attention but glanced around the space, landing on a thick, stonework crate left by the Metamagicals people. He gestured toward it. “May I?” Penny made no reply, but Jinkke did, offering it with a nod.
Chapter 38.3: A Little Chaos
