Chapter 256: Hole_Millennial Mage

Chapter 256: Hole

 T followed Paun and Thron through the broken hallways and rooms of the House of Bloods hold.

 Just before they went out into the city, Paun pointed towards her, and she almost felt magics wrap around her.

 Thron jumped slightly, his eyes sliding off of her when he tried to look her way. Invisibility?

 Paun quirked a smile. Nothing so crude. You can consider it a perception filter. No one will see her.

 The dwarf looked skeptical. Is it a perception filter, though?

 No. The Eskau turned and walked away, T and Thron following without a word.

 I could try to make a run for it, but Id be insane if I thought Id get away from Paun.

 With nothing else she could really do, she stayed with the other two.

 The walk through the city passed quickly, with Paun ensuring that she stayed a good distance from everyone they passed.

 Yeah, lets not let the dasgannach gain sovereignty over anything else. She still didnt know what to think about its iming of the iron in the band of restriction. This creature seems like it is modified far from a standard specimen of the species.

 She almostughed at that. What did she really know about them? Very, very little.

 It wasnt long before the Eskau of the House of Blood and the two former members arrived at a building that resembled nothing so much as a hexagonal gazebo, made entirely of obsidian, with solid sides.

 It was situated near the center of arge park, and to Ts surprise, she thought shed been to this park before, though she couldnt remember exactly when.

 Stupid broken brain, not able to remember such simple things

 Paun ced his hand on one side, and the volcanic ss folded away from him, revealing a doorway.

 It was odd, seeing the man touch something so close to his own skin-tone. His hand almost seemed to vanish for a moment.

 Or, he used magic that caused that effect. She was incredibly irritated that she didnt actually know which it was.

 The wall closed behind them, once they were all inside, and Throns slight jerking let her know that the magics around her were gone.

 Right this way. Paun led them into the center of the open space to where a disk of the material was raised above the floor.

 Thron examined it. This is what it takes to go between Zeme and the Doman-Imithe?

 No.

 The dwarf paused, clearly expecting more. When it didnte, he huffed. Just No?

 Yes.

 Thron quirked a smile, but then, the smile faded. Thats a very small tform.

 It is.

 So well have to stand close together?

 Paun shrugged. No. There will be a hole.

 Thron visibly rxed, then stiffened. We have to jump in?

 It will be a horizontal hole.

 So a tunnel?

 No, there will be no depth.

 Thron opened his mouth to argue further, then paused. A momentter, he closed his mouth and frowned. Huh.

 The Eskau turned to T, his expression unreadable. Tali?

 She lifted her gaze from the ck disk to the man addressing her. You know, its pretty hard to focus on you, when youre the exact same color as the stuff behind you.

 He grinned at that, his perfectly white teeth standing out in an incredibly creepy way.

 Wait were his teeth always white? She had no idea. But what other color would they have been?

 Good to see you arent utterly broken.

 That soured her mood. Yes, it is good to be whole before I die.

 He nodded. There is wisdom in that, yes. Had I known youd be wiser as you closed in on death, Id have pushed you harder.

 She chuckled lightly, but it faded to silence when his expression didnt change. In the end, T just grimaced.

 When shed stopped making noise, he continued, But I wanted to say something, before you depart.

 T waited.

 What Be-thric did to you you wont understand this, but I want you to know, if we had known what he was going to try, we would have stopped him.

 Who is we? And what would you have stopped? She had to be careful, here. She couldnt let her curiosity reveal her not-Tali-ness. Yeah, thats a good descriptor. Right?

 She hitched at theck of response from t.

 Tali?

 T jerked her focus back to Paun. My apologies my mind Im not thinking correctly.

 He sighed. I was afraid there might be degradation now that Be-thric is dead, but that is no matter. I have said my piece, and I wont be answering any questions. You will go through first, immediately, and Thron will follow after.

 The dwarf raised an eyebrow, likely at the use of his real name.

 Paun smiled. Youre no longer a member of the House of Blood. You dont need to keep the fiercer name.

 Thron huffed. I suppose thats true enough. Thron will do just fine for me, once again. His eyes narrowed. That doesnt invalidate my contract.

 Of course not. It was keyed to your magic and concept, nothing as transitory as a name.

 Good, I thought not.

 Palluan and Thron sped hands. I will reopen this hole in three days time.

 The dwarf hesitated. Wait. If she dies too soon, her sanctum wont hold out until then. Itll break apart, and I wont be able to fulfill my part of the deal.

 Paun waved that away. The Doman-Imithe has already solved that issue. Simply bring the gear back, and all will be well.

 But

 Paun raised a hand. No. I will not teach you on this subject; you can use your own eyes and mind. The big man tossed a pack to Thron.

 T hadnt seen where it hade from, and that was surprising given its size. He had it in his own sanctum? Does he have his sanctum on him somewhere?

 Food, water, and diversion for both of you for a few days. No need for her to go hungry before the end.

 T found the sentiment oddly affecting and swallowed back some tears. Thank you, Paun.

 He waved that off.

 Wait why would we need that? I have my sanctum.

 Paun pped his hands together and magic swirled.

 T could just barely feel and see the edges of the power.

 The world broke and opened.

 There was no other description of it.

 There was suddenly a hole in the world, just as Paun had stated, through which T could see wrongness.

 Yes, great description, T. Wrongness. She grimaced at her ownck of descriptive ability.

 The edges of the hole danced with what might have been void magics, but she couldnt perceive well enough to tell.

 The most prominent feature through the hole was a simple, ck obsidian wall, looking almost identical to what actuallyy on the other side of the space the hole upied.

 There was, however, something wrong with the space through that hole.

 T took a step back. What the rust?

 Paun shook his head. You go through, or I have to kill you and throw your body through. Please dont make me do that.

 She nced to his face and had no doubt, whatsoever, that he was serious.

 She swallowed, hesitating only a moment longer, and stepped through.

 That first footfall felt off.

 Like going down the stairs and finding one step just a bit closer or further than expected.

 She didnt stumble, but it felt ufortable.

 As she moved through the hole in the world fully, she began to feel every wrinkle and crease in her perfectly fitted clothes, every ke of iron paint, every fleck of sweat and dirt that shed acquired through the day''s battle.

 That was all today? It felt like at least two weeks ago that the other Houses had invaded the hold of the House of Blood.

 The smooth volcanic ss beneath her bare feet had a thousand, thousand variations, undtions, and miniscule ridges.

 Even with her enhanced senses, she wouldnt have been able to feel all of it, and yet, even without those senses, she somehow did feel every little bit.

 The heaviness of her body, and herck of active magical enhancement to her strength, hit her like a ton of bricks, and she gritted her teeth as that physical strain came to the forefront of her thoughts.

 Strangest of all, however, was her gate.

 The throughput was still the same, dumping an ufortable amount of power into her body with nothing for it to be used on, but it felt like it wasing from a greater distance, like someone had added length to the faucet of power.

 She had no idea how she could feel that, but she could.

 A shiver ran through her, and she felt her skin contract to form goosebumps, the little hairs all over her body shifting in a cavalcade of senses that would have been overwhelming to her even before she lost her mental augmentations.

 She stumbled then, catching herself on the obsidian wall with one hand.

 She jerked that hand back as her palm began to burn, while her fingers almost stuck to the frozen material.

 Hot and cold at the same time? Just in slightly different locations? How havent they equalized?

 She just felt grateful that the ground seemed to be a uniform, slightly ufortable cold. And now that Ive noticed that, it wont go away

 She turned back towards the hole, doing her best to force down the seemingly infinite, slightly-off sensations.

 First, she noticed that on this side of the hole there was only the raised round tform and the one wall of obsidian that seemed like the Zeme side. The rest of the space was open to the outside, but she didnt really look that way, yet.

 Next, she saw Thron stepping through and grimacing, presumably feeling simr disjointment to T.

 The hole vanished as soon as the dwarf was through, and T was confronted with whaty beyond.

 Or, more urately, she was confronted with what didnty beyond, and whaty within that gap.

 That makes no sense.

 Some five feet beyond where the hole had been, the ground fell away.

 Only once shed taken that in, did she look up.

 Her blood ran cold.

 Whatever chunk of ground they were standing on seemed to be spinning slowly because the vista beyond was falling away in an odd, slow sort of dance.

 She could see uncountable fragments of rock and earth scattered around in a kaleidoscope of spinning, twirling, ever-moving, utterly silent madness.

 Some were just in material: crags of granite, mounds of dirt, spheres of water, but others were more.

 One, briefly visible through the maelstrom, had trees growing out of every side of it, their roots intertwining to form attice-like cage.

 In that small nce before it was hidden from view, T thought she saw that cage packed with skeletons, all looking in her direction.

 Another seemed to have two fountains that were spraying outside of their own basin, the water arching oddly tond in the other, presumably in an endless cycle, which defied reason.

 There were too many, and too varied, for her toprehend, especially with her mundane mind.

 Rusting gold eating slime.

 Thergest pieces she could see were only a few hundred feet in any dimension save one that was almost fully fallen out of sight.

 That one seemed to be nearly a thousand feet long, and had a oddly familiar shape, though she couldnt ce it.

 It called to her, but she resisted the urge to take a running leap to reach it.

 Even so, T found herself carefully walking to the edge, her every step sending oddly echoing resonant sounds through the space.

 Feet on stone do not make that sound Though, she couldnt ce what the sound actually should be from.

 Leaning out, over the sheer drop, she examined therge mass once more.

 When it was almost out of sight once again, she felt something stir, and a great eye opened upon its surface.

 T jerked back before it could focus and orient on her.

 She stumbled away from the edge, tripping over her own feet and falling tond on the raised obsidian. She kept herself from calling out in surprise, but just barely.

 Thron was beside her in an instant, though he kept out of reach. What is it? What did you see?

 She swallowed. Something massive.

 The dwarf looked incredibly ufortable. Were spinning fairly quickly. Id rather we not still be here, when ites around again.

 Agreed. T instantly understood what he meant. We can discuss things in my Sanctum.

 Even so, she was shaking as she pulled at Kit on her belt.

 The pouchs strap didnt dissolve as she was expecting. What?

 She tried to open Kit, but the pouch remained sealed. What?

 Thron had been watching. Thats probably why Paun gave us this.

 He lifted the pack that he had slung onto his back before letting it fall back into ce

 It seems that dimensional storage items dont work here.

 In a panic, T ced her hand on Kit, and found stability? What is going on?

 She couldnt properly feel what was happening, but she could sense enough to feel that Kit was fine and in an odd way, dormant, at least with rtionship to her.

 T felt sure that the inside was untouched, and somehow stable, but Kit was using almost no power.

 She didnt understand why, but there it was.

 Im d that Kit still has capacity for all the power Im dumping into it.

 That wouldntst forever, though.

 A voice of an oft forgotten passenger piped up in the momentary, awkward silence.

 What have you done to me? Robs voice cracked out into the silence, seeming to shatter something.

 T winced, but then, she was suddenly able to hear the distance chucks bumping or sloshing into one another, the grinding of stone on stone, the skittering of ws.

 She looked around in a panic, but the sound seemed to be as nonsensical as everything else, changing without ever really revealing its source.

 Thron had pped his hand down over his pocket. Were in the Doman-Imithe, Rob. Shhh.

 The broken world? The orbs voice dropped to a whisper. What madness brought us here?

 I thought you paid attention to what happened around you?

 I was bored, so I was pretending to sleep. It seems that I did too good a job.

 Thron grumbled. I wish youd continue.

 T felt a small smile tug at her lips, but it faded as her own internal voice remained silent.

 Ill get you back, t.

 So, do we stay here, or?

 The dwarf grimaced. Im supposed to be here, at this location, to bring out your gear after you die.he gave her a searching lookCare to share why that hasnt happened yet?

 She shrugged. I created a bonding spellform inside my finger, using my blood as a medium. The dasgannach doesnt want to bond me, so it wont eat the working, but it also doesnt want to leave any iron unimed, so it wont leave. Were at an impasse.

 Thron blinked at her for a long moment, then barked augh before quickly covering his own mouth.

 Yeah, its a pretty odd turn of events.

 The dwarf grunted. Id say so, yeah. I wont im to know much about bonding workings, but I didnt think you could create them within yourself. Orhe frownedIsnt it just a bad idea? I confess, Ive likely no idea what Im talking about.

 Youre not supposed to? I think it has something to do with creating a protian weapon though, at least those for the House of Blood, but thats just a guess.

 He grunted. So, youre not going to die?

 Probably not in the short term? Its a problem Im working on. She decided not to tell him that she was on a clock. No need to put the idea that my death is inevitable into his head.

 That puts a damper on my ns.

 I noticed that. I cant say Im sorry.

 He quirked a smile. Id imagine you wouldnt be, no.

 You want the concept sword, right? Thats what youre hoping to im?

 Thron jerked his head to the side, ncing towards where the hole had been. Quiet, girl. If they learn thats on the table, theyll kill me before the contract can bepleted.

 She arched an eyebrow. The contract that requires me to die?

 He hesitated. Well yes.

 I cant say Im too worked up over it, then.

 He glowered at her. Its not like I want you to die. But if I can get that item? I cant say Ill be sad about that part.

 You know, you could just kill me now and be done with it.

 What, and be alone in here for three days? That seems like a poor choice.

 She snorted. The conversation was helping her keep her mind off the wrongness of well everything.

 Unfortunately, just realizing that that reminded her, and she nced up.

 A momentter, she frowned. Thron?

 Yes, Tali?

 She hesitated. No, no reason to correct him on my name. Not now, if ever. How fast do you think were spinning?

 No idea. I have no idea how big this fragment is, so

 No, no. Look up. Tell me how fast you think we should do a full circuit.

 He looked up hesitantly, clearly not liking the oddity of their surroundings any more than she did. After a moment, he frowned. Fast. As in, I would assume that were doing a full rotation every few minutes.

 Thats what I thought, but weve been here more than a few minutes, and I havent seen any repetition.

 He nodded. Ive been trying not to look too closely, but some things definitely stood out, and I havent seen those again.

 Without really deciding to, they both stood, staring upward.

 Neither really tracked the time, but it wasnt short.

 There was an odd lulling and pulling at their minds, like a nightmare that didnt want to let them wake up.

 The horrifyingly off scenery never repeated itself, and there was no indication that their chuck was moving rtive to the rest, aside from their spin.

 Thats disconcerting.

 Throns voice broke Ts almost hypnotized focus, and she jerked her eyes off the world above. Yeah.

 They both lowered their gazes, shuddering and shaking themselves.

 So,he scratched at his eyebrowwhats your n? I have to believe you have one.

 She huffed a quietugh. That would be wonderful, wouldnt it?

 She shook her head.

 I I need to do something. I have this thing imbedded all through me.

 The reminder seemed to make Thron take a step back, though he hadnt been close to begin with.

 Yeah. I need to think.

 Thron grunted. Very well. Ill see what we have in the pack.

 With a smile, she sat down off to one side, closing her eyes and trying to shut out the oddities of the Doman-Imithe.

 Alright, T. I need a n.

MillionNovel

Chapter 256: Hole