Octavius watched through his shadow sense as the stone over one of the smooth circles seemed to melt and flow towards the edges of the circle. The shadows that he saw through were instantly pushed back, and he opened his eyes.

Light escaped from one of the now opened stone circles and illuminated the alcove. He quickly took the shadows that he'd been using to see with and covered himself with them. Concentrating, he willed the shadows to block the light around most of his body, leaving only his eyes with unimpeded lines of sight toward what was now clearly a doorway of some sort.

He watched as a humanoid figure stood silhouetted against the light with its arms raised. As soon as the door finished opening, the figure stepped to the side before Octavius had a chance to use identify on it. In its place, some form of hovercraft exited the doorway.

The hovercraft was exceedingly simple, and it took Octavius a moment to recognize it for what it was. The craft was merely a thin disk of some indeterminate material. It was maybe half as wide as the tunnel that it floated lazily out of. In the moment that its occupants were silhouetted by the tunnel's light, Octavius was able to make out two figures standing on it.

Each of the figures was tall, approaching eight feet in height, and slim. They each wore some type of robe, but he wasn't able to make out what they looked like in the shadow. The only feature that he was able to see on each of them was their long hair, or at least what appeared to be hair.

He tried to use identify on one of them, but before he could, the disk shot out of the mountain alcove with a deceptive silence, and he lost track of it. His eyes instantly focused on the circular doorway. The robed figure once more stood in the middle of the tunnel with its arms outstretched. Octavius quickly used identify on it just as the stone flowed back into place and the light cut out.

Dazk - Thrall (F) (Lvl 57) (Stone Shaper*)

Octavius instantly felt himself gulp as he read the thrall's level. The gulf between himself and the stone shaper was more than monumental. Even if the thrall had absolutely zero combat experience and had put all of its stat points into intelligence, he doubted that he could kill it as he was.

So sneaking in through the tunnels is a no-go, he decided, Though, maybe I can sneak aboard one of the hovercraft. If not, I can try to find a different way into the mountain. There's no way that this is the only entrance.

He felt himself wavering on the brink of what he knew would be a vital decision. Going to the spires above would increase his chances of finding his way back to Earth sooner. After all, any civilization that could create magical floating islands would undoubtedly have a treasure trove of arcane knowledge.

On the other hand, trying to find a different way into the mountain would likely be safer. While the mountain had the level 57 thrall, and likely others of its level, inside, the spires floating high above contained beings with enough strength to enslave those same level 57 thralls.

After a moment's thought, he decided that he could spend another hour watching for more hovercraft. That way, he'd still have more than enough time to look for another entrance before sunrise if he decided that the risk wasn't worth the possible reward.

With that decision in mind, he hauled himself up and into the alcove. There was a chance that there was some form of spell or ward that would alert the thralls and their masters to his presence, so he decided to be careful. Remembering how he had sensed the enchantment of Psiz's robe after his capture, he reached out with his mana manipulation skill.

As he walked forward in a low crouch, his senses spread out a few feet in front of him. With each step, he scanned the stone for any sign of mana but found nothing. Soon enough, he had reached the wall that contained the stone circles and quickly crouched in a dark corner.

Pulling the shadows closer around him, he concentrated on making his use of mana as efficient as possible. Only the thinnest layer of shadow covered him, and he knew that he could hold the spell as it was for a significant amount of time. Of course, he knew that it wouldn't do much as it was, but the moment that he spotted one of the doors opening, he could make the shadow entirely opaque. Once he was satisfied with his hiding place, he settled in to wait.

After settling into his hiding spot, he waited for fifteen minutes before the next hovercraft departed in a manner similar to the first. Based on the sheer number of circular entrances present, he would've guessed that there would be a much higher amount of traffic. The lack of activity confused him, but he set the information aside and watched in silence as a different circular door flowed open and light spilled into the alcove for the first time in a quarter of an hour.

He was unable to see through the newly opened doorway from his position and considered moving so that he could. If he could see into the tunnel, he'd be able to tell if the same stone shaper as before was opening the door. He couldn't imagine that there were enough thralls of that level to man each of the closed doors individually.

Alas, before he could move, a hovercraft zoomed out of the opened tunnel. It was identical to the first, only this one held a single figure. Before it exited his line of sight, Octavius quickly used identify on the lone figure.

Eledireni - Ulindre (E) (Lvl 55) (Mage**)

Octavius frowned to himself as he read the description that he was presented. A few seconds later, the hovercraft zoomed out of his line of sight, and the tunnel's entrance closed. Even so, he was lost in thought.

It was clear that the being was a different race of alien, an Ulindre. He didn't know if Ulindre was the real name of the Pale Ones or if it was just another of their slaves. What he did know was that its level was definitely nothing to scoff at. Beyond that, its rank was (E).

The only other creature that he'd encountered with the rank of (E) was the Lord of Beasts at the end of the Emergence. The Son of Typhon had been able to fight with a strength far above what its level would suggest, and Octavius didn't know if that was due to its rank or some other cause. Either way, this Ulindre's rank was cause for concern.

He settled back into his hiding spot to wait as he digested the information. Although he hadn't learned anything immediately helpful, it wasn't as though he hadn't learned anything at all.

Time quickly passed, and soon ten more minutes had gone by without any sign of activity whatsoever. Suddenly, the door nearest to him began to open. As the stone flowed away from the center of the circle, a hovercraft emerged from the tunnel. Only, this hovercraft was entirely lacking in passengers.

He barely had time to register this fact before the circular doorway swiftly flowed shut. Expanding his shadow sense, he saw that the hovercraft was indeed devoid of all life. Sprinting after it, he quickly reached it and leapt into the air. Even with its speed, it was far from fast enough to out pace his superhuman ability.

He soared through the air after it. As he reached a height of ten feet above the stone ground, his fingers gripped the end of the craft, and he hauled himself aboard. The craft seemed to ignore his weight as it exited the alcove and began to climb toward the spire high above.

Octavius looked up and saw the outline of the quickly approaching island that floated silently in the air. He quickly made a rough estimate of the amount of time he had before he arrived at the spire. Judging that he had enough time to satisfy his curiosity, he closed his eyes and expanded his senses into the hovercraft.

Lines of pure mana flowed around the disk in complex patterns. They were reminiscent of filaments of mana that he'd sensed within the Artificer's Robe that he'd taken from Psiz's dead body. It was clearly some sort of enchantment, but he simply didn't have enough knowledge or understanding to decipher it.

Soon, the floating spire loomed overhead. Octavius was able to make out a large alcove that was clearly meant as a docking station for the hovercraft. A pale blue orb of light illuminated the recessed opening and revealed three more hovercraft floating listlessly in space. However, his hovercraft failed to slow down and enter the alcove. Instead, it continued upward.

Recessed alcove after recessed alcove zoomed by, though none of them were well lit enough for him to get more than brief glimpses of trees or strange furniture before he zoomed past.

Octavius quickly grabbed the side of the hovercraft and rolled over its far edge. The only reason that he could think of for an empty hovercraft to be going up to the spire would be for it to pick someone up. That meant that there would be someone or something waiting for the hovercraft at its destination.

As his body slipped over the far edge of the disk, he pulled himself flush against its underside. Muscles all across his body tensed to keep him pressed against the hovercraft in a feat that was far more difficult than it appeared.

His entire field of vision was taken up by the shadowed bottom of the hovercraft. Even so, he was able to feel its deceleration and eventual changing direction. Soon, he saw light peeking out from the edges of the craft and heard muffled voices above him.

"They'll be back," a peaceful, lilting voice said, "We just have to find them."

"If you think that, you're a fool," responded a similarly tranquil voice in a tone that was entirely at odds with the content of its speech.

Octavius quickly glanced over his shoulder and found a stone floor not three feet below him. As he felt the hovercraft begin to move once more, he let himself drop to the ground with a muffled thud. As soon as he reached the ground, he rolled to the side until he was up against a wall.

After a long minute of complete silence, he carefully got to his feet and examined the area that he now found himself in. He was within a small alcove that was maybe ten feet in height and the same distance across. A single dim blue orb of light illuminated the space from its position on the ceiling.

To his left, Octavius saw a shut wooden door and was relieved to find that it was not stone. To his right, he saw the night sky. Stepping over to it, the alien landscape far below was revealed to him. The sight was incredible, if rather monochromatic. Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, and half of one of the other floating spires was visible at the edge.

As he stood at the ledge, he realized that the ground beneath him was perfectly still. There was no hum or vibrations of an engine. Nor was there any sense of movement at all. In fact, there was barely more than a warm breeze on his face that was significantly cooler than the surface far below. Maybe that's why they built the floating islands, he realized, to stay cool.

Turning away from the incredible view, he quickly approached the door. He examined it in the dim light provided by the magical orb and furrowed his brows. It appeared to be intricately carved with a scene of a forest and a stream. Something that he most definitely did not expect to be familiar to any being native to Cadila.

Furthermore, the door was entirely lacking in any form of handle or hinge. It merely sat flush against the stone of the wall. With a frown, he pressed against it, only for it to fail to swing inward. Pressing his ear against it, he heard nothing from the other side. With a grunt, he threw his shoulder into it to absolutely no success whatsoever.

What the hell? he wondered, With my strength stat, that blow should've at least splintered the wood. Is it enchanted or something?

With a frown of concentration, he once more called upon his mana manipulation skill and felt for the lines of mana that would show the enchantment. He was quickly rewarded with the sight of thin filaments of mana woven in a dense pattern throughout the door. Some of the lines even extended along the stone walls and out of the alcove.

Ok, so there is an enchantment of some sort, he noted, but I've got no clue what it does, nor how to activate it. Hell, maybe it leaves some sort of log of the activations or sounds an alarm of some type if you do it wrong. I really need to learn how these things work.

With a frown, he stepped back from the door. If he didn't know how to open the door, or even if he should, he was left with only one choice. On his way up to the small entryway that he now found himself in, he'd seen plenty of other alcoves that were recessed into the stone spire.

He glanced at his stamina counter and nodded in satisfaction. With the lack of strong winds and irregular movements, it'd be trivial for him to climb to one of them. The spire itself was far from smooth and contained plenty of handholds for him to use. With his stats, he had only the slimmest chances of falling.

Before he started climbing, however, he realized that he needed to decide what he was looking for. He definitely needed to find a water supply, as well as food. Beyond that, a safe and hidden area to sleep would be beneficial. Longer-term, however, he needed to map out the spire and gain intelligence about its inhabitants. Before he could start to figure out how he could get back to Earth, he needed to learn where to start looking.

With his goals now firmly in mind, he walked back over to the ledge. Leaning over the edge, he peered around the outside of the spire. It curved out of his line of sight quickly, but he was able to make out a large alcove slightly above him and to his left.

Running his hand along the wall, he easily found a handhold and gave it a tug to test its strength. Satisfied that it would hold him, he swung out into the open air and began to climb. The rock face was covered in dips and cracks, making his climb all the easier. There were even a few ledges that were large enough to sit on where he could've rested if he felt so inclined.

Soon, he reached the bottom of the alcove that he had aimed for. It was large, maybe fifty feet across and twenty high. A pale blue glow stretched out from it, and he carefully listened for any sound. After fifteen seconds of complete and utter silence, he pulled his head over the edge and blinked in surprise.

The alcove extended a little over fifty feet into the spire but was only illuminated by a handful of lights. Even so, he was able to get a good idea of what the alcove contained. The first dozen feet was only made up of plain stone. After that, however, there appeared to be some sort of flimsy barrier. He couldn't see it as much as he could simply tell that it was there.

Beyond the barrier, the alcove was filled with alien trees and foliage. The flora here, however, was far different from monotone trees and shrubs down below. Instead, he was able to see a series of pastel colors that filled his vision, along with the occasional glimpse of silver.

The far wall of the alcove appeared to be a residence of some sort, with a large open doorway and a series of windows cut into the stone. He wasn't able to see much more than those basic details in the low light and considered sneaking in and looking around. For whatever reason, it seemed as though the alcove was empty of any aliens.

After a moment's hesitation, he decided against such an action. He just didn't see what he could gain from trying to get past the barrier, and the action most definitely had a serious risk associated with it. With a sigh, he looked around and quickly spotted the next closest alcove before beginning to climb over to it. He had many hours before the sun came up to find the most optimal place to rest for the day without being discovered.