The doors swing open soundlessly, revealing… significantly less than I expect. The archives have only three large, pillar-like structures of wood, with the vast majority of the floor being perfectly smooth wood. The pillars don’t appear to be arranged in any particular way, which goes against the normally ornamental nature of the rest of the construction. If not purely aesthetic, the creatures at least have some appreciation for symmetry and elegance, but that’s entirely lost in this room. I turn to protest to Lethin, but she immediately claps her clammy hand over my mouth. Though annoyed by her overly forward response, I indulge her the silence as she frantically gestures toward the three elders seemingly pouring over the contents of the archive.

Does she fear them? There are only a few, and their power here is limited… they wouldn’t, after all, wish to harm any of their precious documents. We have no such compunctions.

Regardless of my distaste for her cowardice, I allow her the moment to collect herself, though I find kneeling to be a bit much for…

The ground rumbles slightly with the force of wall after wall of tome ridden pillars rising from the floor. Of course! They wouldn’t allow someone to waltz in and destroy everything, and Thetzeke had said their town had been destroyed in the past revolutions… how could I have forgotten! How unfortunate that they couldn’t predict one of their own would betray them.

“Delicious…” But none care for my words in the ensuing chaos. Shouts from across the room start as accusations to each other, and their witless bickering keeps them occupied while I walk over to the nearest pillar and select a tome. As expected, thin sheets of bark, covered with small letters. Nonsense to me. If only written language translated as well as spoken… but alas, that makes this entire room of kindling that much more pointless. If it’s not good to me, what use is it at all?

With a quick flourish, I move to cut several of these pages out, intent on starting a pleasant little fire, but the moment my knife heads for the page, a construct of root and vine snatches my wrist. I stop, studying the strange limb emanating from the ground at my feet, before shrugging and pushing the knife closer. Immediately, four more hands emerge and stop my movement completely. From the source of the roots, a thing almost like a body emerges. It vaguely resembles the creatures, but entirely made of plant matter… most interesting.

“None may harm the archive.” It speaks, but I cannot fathom how. Fortunately, it fails to attract the attention of the elders.

“And what, pray tell, are you?”

“I am life; I am love. I serve forever in protection of the archive.” More bodies emerge around me, but make no hostile moves. “I am whole-heart-health-all-one…” The others join in, their combined voices slowly rising in volume and overlapping. “I will protect-None may harm-All are we-” I struggle and wrest my hand from the grasps of the hand shaped constructs and back away, tome in hand. The voices continue, all facing me, but I can just hear a change from across the room.

Alas, the element of surprise is so often wasted.

An explosion of wood and fibrous plant matter erupts from behind the pillars, and two elders flash into view atop what could be writhing snakes of pure magical wood.

“YOU!” They hiss in unison, all previous composure lost under the torrent of hatred pouring our way. “LETHIN! You and yours will be removed from the archive DELETED FOR ALL TIME AND FORGOTTEN BY HEAVEN AND EARTH. JEKTA, SHE IS NOT YOUR MATCH, PRESERVE THE ARCHIVE IMMEDIATELY!”

Jekta, presumably the third elder who had not joined the other two atop a monstrosity, emits a flash visible from everywhere in the massive chamber, and all the pillars begin sinking down at once. All but one, that is.

“I do not need to match you, just stop you ONCE!” A single pillar shudders while the others continue to retreat, struggling under the competing efforts of two mages, before snapping and shattering the entire column. Pages rain down, loosed from their bindings by shaking and sudden fall, clattering to the ground like so much refuse.

A screech of agony and rage echoes through the archive, and though the other elders and the ‘eternal servants’ immediately shift their attentions to saving the falling tomes, they aren’t fast enough to grab more than a quarter of them before they crash to the floor and, in many cases, simply shatter. Justice, I suppose, for focussing too much on how to harm with their magic. More hands than I can count rise from the ground, delicately picking through the wreckage and begin placing pieces together, desperately trying to undo the harm.

The archives stop sinking, and I hear a strange noise from behind me, but I can’t help but be transfixed by the sight of this incredible comedy! My laughter evokes screams of anger from the elders, but nothing from the eternals. However, I’m given very little time to contemplate that fact as countless spikes shoot from the ground where I was only just standing. I start to fall back to where Lethin was kneeling, but a quick check reveals that she’s being stabbed through over and over by three of the eternals.

Growling in frustration at having my mood soured, I unsheath my sword and cleave through the unsuspecting constructs, letting my Energy flow like a raging torrent through me. The vines are no match compared with the edge of my blade, and the hunger for warmth that resides within freezes their bases as well.

A rapidly travelling row of spike moves like a wave towards us, and I only have time to throw the tome I grabbed down to where Lethin hangs to life by a thread and jump away. As expected, the elders opt to target me instead of risking injury to the archive. They themselves are not exempt from the eternals’ ministrations, it seems.

With that in mind, I rush away from the enraged elders and make a grab for another tome. Just as I make contact with it, a wall of spike shoots out of the floor straight up into the air, catching my outstretched arm and sending a spray of blood over the tomes. A grasping hand snatches my injured arm and guards the books from my offending fluids. Frown deepening, I tear my arm back and jump away just in time to avoid another, more comprehensive row of spikes, then it’s back to running.

I skirt the edge of the outermost row of pillars, blocking their sight with the floor to near-ceiling height of the pillars, and snap one of the tokens of healing. My arm didn’t hurt, but the spray of blood was definitely from my radial artery being nicked, and that would put me down quickly. Plus, I’m too focussed on another Energy task to seal it up the usual way. A moment later, Kaythe pops into existence around my shoulders. “Hello my precious Kaythe, I have need of you, if you would be so willing.”

“Of course, Predator!”

“Excellent.” The two elders make themselves known, one on each side of the veritable hallway I’ve trapped myself in. “You must not harm these books, but I need you to crawl all over them and make them harm them. Do not fail me!”

“Never!” Kaythe’s voice is equal parts excited and determined as he launches himself from my shoulders and onto the nearest pillar.

“DIE!”

Gigantic claws made from magically animated wood emerge from the monstrous serpent closest to me, while the one at the other end flattens its snake into a wall, covered in vicious blades. They move as one, targeting me from both sides, and I opt for the closer one. The claws flash, moving far faster than their size belies. I fall to the ground, sliding to avoid a swipe by one, but the other slams down a fraction of a second after, leaving me nowhere to go. I put everything I have into a lateral strike and just manage to get through the base of the colossal cat’s paw before it smashes me into the ground. The bulk of it still slams into me, but it no longer has the weight of the elder’s serpent behind it. Several somethings crack under the impact, and only two of them are the intentionally broken healing tablets. The magic surges through me, seeking to repair the minor fractures. With the aid of my Energy, I’m just able to get the dismembered ‘paw’ off of me before,the ground beneath me erupts in spikes. Because of my position on my back, I’m able to take the brunt of the hits with my armored back and only suffer minor gashes along my legs and head. The force, despite not piercing me, sends me airborne, which leaves me helpless as the wall of spikes closes in and the other elder’s remaining paw rushes to snatch me out of the air again.

The giant paw’s crushing power threatens to shatter my body, and likely would have if not for the dangerous amount of Energy coursing through it. The expenditure is too much, too fast, and I’m going to have to stop or die very soon. The bar already blinks a dull yellow at me. I’ve managed to keep my Health up, and my Stamina is practically full, but that will change in a moment if I can’t use Energy.

The elder sneers and raises me up to face it. “Struggle all you wish, your death will be legendary… both in length, and agony.”

“L-likely! How-ever- I wouldn’t want to t-take the spotlight… from you.” Kaythe leaps from atop a nearby pillar and cocoons the elder’s head, riddling it with holes with his bone shivs. It might not kill the thing, but its focus is entirely lost, allowing me to force my way out of the suddenly inanimate wood. I land just in time for the second elder to reach me with its wall of spikes, and I see a flash of light from his place at the top. I leap back, straining my muscles as much as they’ll go, and feel the wind the wooden maw as it snaps shut.

I frown impertinently up at the offending mage. Even I would have died from that.

Having already paused for too long, I run around the distracted elder and duck down an aisle several rows over, quickly grabbing another book from the archive. They’re tough, can heal themselves and each other, and are highly lethal, but the archive can kill them with their own magic. The other one hasn’t shown itself yet, meaning it’s either dead or more clever than it seems, but I just can’t bring myself to think so highly of such a creature.

I take a moment to let my Energy cool down, just while I can hear the yelling from across the room. I can still feel my Energy connection with Kaythe, indicating he hasn’t been killed, but that also means he isn’t distracting them. A flash of green emanates from where they were, and the voices stop, replaced with a slow rumbling.

Stowing my sword, I launch myself up one of the pillars, careful to avoid hitting any of the books, and manage to climb to the top just as the ever creative duo try to trap me again. Cat and mouse? Surely, but who can say who is who? A twisted grin crawls onto my face as my hands tighten around the grip of my sword. Once more!

I step forward, as if to jump at the elder in front of me, but I’d rather leave it be because it’s in a better position for Kaythe to reach. Instead, I spin on my heel and rocket towards the other elder, who was obviously looking to take advantage of my back being turned. The claws are back, and the imposing figure does its best to loom over me despite our heights being the same. It isn’t the time or place, but the humming starts again and my mind floats in perfect serenity.

A swipe to slice through, a slam to dodge, an elder’s pain to sing beautiful music to my ears as I sing mockery to it. “Is this the power of your will? This?! And you would dare match it against me? No no no… this affront cannot stand!” Its blood clatters to the floor, shattering into a million frozen pieces. The fool lets me strike again, sundering the hardened wood that protects its head, before an arsenal of vines throw me across the room.

I slam my sword into the ground, gritting my teeth through the oddly painless dislocation of my shoulder. I… cannot feel pain anymore… can I?

I let my Energy get to work on it, but before it can even finish, an idea possesses me, and I know immediately I must fulfill it! Without regard for the unhealed nature of my arm, I rip my sword from the jagged scar I’ve carved in the floor and fling it back the way I came. With almost perfect synchronization, my sword and the wounded elder arrive at the same place. Almost. A claw flashes through the air, deflecting the sword into the wall behind it. The elder snarls, but notices how the claw it used has partially frozen after only the briefest of contact with my weapon.

“Filth, whatever you are, you are truly remarkable. How unfortunate that Thetzeke will be repaid with never ending suffering for bringing you here.”

An impudent grin is all it receives before I charge once more into range. Unhindered by my weapon, I let my Dexterity speak for itself, and I realize my skill Adaptive Combat has been lighting up like crazy this whole time, guiding my actions and helping me learn faster in this oppressive environment. And… rendering me immune to the same fucking nonsense being used over and over.

With a scream of rage entirely unbecoming of one with the title of ‘elder’, the creature misses horribly when I stop short of its range, turning its floor shattering slam into a path right to its vulnerable body. Suddenly terrified, it uses the other claw to shatter the limb I’m using to climb, but I manage to kick off onto at pillar, and again toward the wall behind it… and my sword.

The creature turns toward death, and death greets it by separating its head from its body, sending it crashing to the floor where it explodes into a mess of frozen pieces.

“BROTHER!” The last remaining elder looks on in horror and seething rage when it realizes that healing such a thing would be impossible. The body continues to flounder, but without the head to guide the movements, it’s like a puppet with tangled strings.

The flash of light is almost blinding. All at once, the de-animated snake I’m on explodes into shards of wood, peppering me with wounds both large and small. I hit the ground hard, driving many of the wooden shards deeper into my body, and I can only be thankful for the loss of pain I’ve been experiencing lately.

I open my eyes… must have instinctively shut them in the chaos… but the left one isn’t… opening. My hand goes to open it manually even as my Energy confirms what happened; a jagged chunk of wood is stuck fast in my eye. My hand falls away, and a small, ragged chuckle escapes my chest. I hear the creature getting closer, but my mind is focussed elsewhere. My bag… I have just the thing… where’s that vial…

I stumble to the entrance where Lethin gapes wordlessly at me from the floor and my pack lies on the ground where it wouldn’t get in the way of the fight. The sounds get closer… it’s right behind me… got it! I tip back the vial against my lips, but the liquid only barely gets in my mouth when I’m slammed into the ground by something massive. My Energy flashes red, my corset of Energy metal the only thing that keeps my spine from being shattered, but the pressure alleviates suddenly.

“A potion? You limp off like a wounded animal to drink a POTION?!” It snatches the potion from my reddened lips even as I try to drink it again. I turn my head and look it in the eye. Its hood pulled back, cloak shredded by combat, I see just another one of the creatures. Perhaps a little more browned with age, but nothing more. Another creature. Staring down at me, grinning that same sinister smile.

“You will need this no longer. I will see to your healing. Again… and again… and again… till you beg for death and your broken body serves only to imprison your perfectly functional mind!”

It tosses the glass behind it, down the corridor, where it shatters. Gleefully, it turns back to me, and the pressure of the mass on top of me is entirely removed, replaced instead with the familiar sensation of vines curling around me. “Yesss… we will have such fun- what… what’s that? Smoke?!”

It looks around, an expression of abject horror plastered across its disgusting face, as it finally realizes what was in the vial.

Not a healing potion, but a basic mixture of red flowers and water. They are so very easy to confuse, after all! Everything looks red when it’s covered in blood.

“No! I- I was tricked! Don’t-” But its pleas are quickly drowned under a torrent of “serve forever-your punishment-die in agony” type comments while it is stabbed relentlessly until it stops moving.

I take several deep breaths- well, as deep as I can with several broken ribs and a body full of unintentional holes. I grope for my backpack, but find only shattered glass within. The Energy, Health, and Mana potions are unusable. I cluck my tongue in annoyance. The smell of smoke grows stronger while both Lethin and I lie on the ground, unable to move.

“You knew.”

“Knew...what?”

“That destroying the archive would get us killed. You knew and said nothing. You agreed to service knowing you would never have to fulfill it.”

“H-hah…”

“Clever. I have to admire that kind of backstabbing. Unfortunately…” With a groan, I use my relatively uninjured arms to break off the few vines that actually managed to wrap around me and unsteadily push myself to my feet. “I’m not dying here.” I turn to her, and the slightly smug satisfaction she held drains away to reveal only dread. “M-more elders yet remain, and I… cannot continue.” The fire grows ever stronger, and the magics of the eternals only serves to give it more fuel when it attempts to stop the hungry flames.

“Quite right, we have no time to heal you, and I can’t drag us both out… but that won’t stop me from taking you with me.”

“Wha-”

“Lethin, we have a task to complete.”

“You… cannot-”

“Shh, nothing more to do now. You’re… mine.”

The dregs of my Energy turn a deep orange color, Eliminating the creature known as Lethin.

[Warning! ‘Other’ concentration exceeds [email protected]#^@[email protected]%@%$#&%#@ EFFECT IGNORED]

The sound of a million burning thoughts joins a pointless tune, and my path stretches ever onward.