Owlcat ; Strigis felis this cute little thing; little is relative—is the result of a mad wizard’s experiments to create collector animals and familiars. Unlike other chimera, this species retained its ability to reproduce and as result, has proliferated across many parts of Alkerdia whether as ferals or domestic pets and familiars. Their habits follow those of owls and cats; proud, haughty and wanting to be pampered. What do you call a group of owlcats? Is it a litter or a parliament? I think they call it a cahoot. from Philiarz Warnerskemander’s Bestiary for Adventurers: ‘Exotic Beasties and Where To Find Them.’

Whether her father knew what she was about to do or not wouldn’t have changed anything. It wasn't like he could stop her in the first place. What she was about to do was for their collective good. While her father glazed over the fact that there was something after all the chaos died down, she did not. Human minds had a tendency to get tunnel visioned when one had one too many things on their plate. Her? Not so. She did not have the same limitations.

Hence her reason for rushing headlong towards the gate―she was on a clock. She’d begun a countdown in tandem with the expected time of the gate’s opening. Why the urgency? Easy, more dwarves were coming. She’d retrieved the Seeker’s mission logs and therefore knew that a response was not far behind.

Their alliance was one of convenience and she would have pulled out immediately would it have not been too suspicious. It was all hindsight of course; the longer she’d delved into the memory crystal’s innards the more she’d unraveled―and just about too late from the looks of things.

The synth turned her line of sight towards the hulk of a hobgoblin. [Berserker]― a tricky class with high vitality and highly unpredictable once went into their battle state. She wanted to end it fast, because she had less than five quarts till the gate was fully attuned. The roar of the hob washed over her as they bellowed a fear inducing skill—[Dread Taunt]. The paralysis that would have stopped her short bounced off her; she barely broke a stride. The hob on the other hand, seemed surprised,—it was hard to see it with a face locked in a rictus of wroth.

A giant club the size of her torso came from overhead. Numen traced its trajectory with [Line of Evasion] and [Vector Lock On] throttled her perception. The hob goblin’s roar was stretched into a drawl and a projectile of slow flying spittle spilled forth from his overbitten mouth. The synth pivoted out of the crude weapon’s trajectory with a few paces to spare; unwasted movements. The force of it rustled her hair―then the club impacted the stony ground with a quake that would’ve knocked the feet from under her .Rocks splintered and flew in a cloud of gray crushed dust― in that instant however, the synth had already gotten under his guard.

The first rule of fighting things bigger than oneself was to get under their reach. Dangerous sure, but if you were fast enough you could harry them without wasting movements―her pivot carried her to the tree trunk like thighs. There, she drew the dagger, curving out a chunk of muscle with her passing. The skin was thick and taut with muscle that had the tensile of steel cables and the brute barely bled; she had to augment her swing with Ter and channel magic through the dagger.

The hob’s [Tough Skin] did not rebuff the weapon and consequently a roar of anger and pain answered her as she tumbled beneath his legs. And she was not beneath giving him a couple of presents on her way too . Two well aimed shots went for his family jewels—the report was a hollow metallic ring which caused her to frown as she killed her momentum to face her adversary.

A backhand instinctually made her twist out of the way as the large hulk suddenly moved too fast for a being of his size. She was grazed in the ribs as she rolled with the motion―the force would have outright broken her body if she were an ordinary girl and worse, thrown her some distance with the force of a wrecking ball. She slid on the ground on a crouch, her boots squealing along the aged stones.

The hobgoblin let out a raucous chuckle as he wiped off the blood on his thigh. Unabashedly, he pushed aside his tabard to reveal a helmet, beaten into shape and strapped on with strips of leather. He knocked on the metal, while leering at her. Numen corrected her assumption―It was a cast iron pan in the shape of a large helmet―a deep frying pan. Only two dents showed where her [Air Bullet]s had scored marks against the thing.

‘Distasteful!’ was her thought as she flicked the settings on the Rune Wand to [Spark Bolt]. Seeing as his taunts no longer fazed her, the hob was incensed. He swung from the left. The synth pushed off the ground in a burst that left a splintering fracture on the ground. Seeing as she was going for the same place she’d attacked earlier— they considered her stupid and didn't deviate from their attack. Not even a feint was thrown her way.

How wrong they were. As the synth slid underneath, with the hob’s crotch in her line of sight, she let loose to spells of [Spark Bolt]. The shots were instantaneous amber yellow streaks that earthed on the metal protection with a loud bang― Lightning currents wracked the hob’s large body as they spasmed, lips caught mid-snarl. Whatever roar of agony they had been about to let loose was paralysed in their throat. Their eyes rolled back in their head and they promptly fell over with their hands to their scorched nethers. The rest of the onlookers looked at the occurence in shock. Numen levered herself off the ground, unfazed as she chanced another glimpse on the gate

“ Three pars left” she narrowed her eyes. And burst into motion just as well as the rest of the raiders decided to come en masse. Four remained behind them—and another three with their backs to the woman tinkering with a scrying slate near the gate.

“Art― Red!,” A familiar voice came garbled through the [Farspeak] hail.

“ Snow, finally!” Arthur replied, fighting against the resistance of the yoke and aerodynamic drag as he suddenly changed direction to dodge thrown weapons going for the vessel’s wings. The bone shivs were more a nuisance more than anything, but a couple of them ate through the drachenflieger’s mana reserves with their skill augmentations as it tried to recast its [Aegis Shield].

They were just harassing him―otherwise he’d have outright mowed down the band of raiders by himself. Plus he had to keep them away from the defenseless Stormbreaker which was staying close to the scene of battle in case the adventurers needed a quick bail-out. A lone archer on the deck kept away most of the rabble, like the goblins swimming in the lake.

“We have a problem,”

”Tell me something I don't know!”Arthur grunted. He shoved the sticks to the right, barrelling through the air after a vespertine. His vision tilted before leveling out as his weapon skill wavered in the vespertine’s changing trajectory. The largest of them had been content to idly observe, diving in when he thought he had a chance. He had some sort of skill that temporarily made the artillery staves stop functioning.

“There was a standoff,” the voice seemed breathy as if she was running. “ three ships came in. Remember those from Riftedge?

”Ah, the Ikaros and some other mouthful of a name?” Arthur murmured, his mind intimating the worst. “ So they’re here after all―” ‘Feck it, Can’t catch a break can I?’

“ Not only them…there are more of those crafts, like the dwarven woman's. Two different factions were arguing. Then I got a chance to slip away,”

“ The villagers and necromancer?”

“ Remus is with the villagers; finally reunited…Thaddaeus, well I left him at the marsh,”

“ Huh?Why?” Arthur blurted, just in time to bring his sights on the back of a vespertine. He used [Pyro Bolt], not out of curiosity, but because the other stave had inadvertently gone on a cooldown of some sort. ‘Tapped out’. But his reserves were full―if only he had the Azure Surfer— A bolt of searing orange bridged the distance in an instant, lancing through and cauterizing a hole in the vespertine who dropped like a limp kite. An ear grating screech against the craft’s canopy signaled that the vespertine were getting even more aggressive.

“ We’re not picking up strays No― I mean Snow,”

“ Your use of monikers is superfluous. [Farspeak] is more secure than [Message],” Numen butted in.

“You heard that?”

“ I did, “ Numen replied detachedly as if she was not fighting several fronts at once. “ I need a par―to get to the gate.”

Arthur chewed his lip balancing so many things in the chaos. He was still grounded despite the pressure of battle. “ The decision to come along is on his head. He pays rent and upkeep! “ the last words to Nora came out in a half-grunt as he swerved to avoid a wing of vespertine dropping on him.

One thing about the drachenflieger though, it exchanged weight for agility―the vespertine had used it against him more times than he could count. Also the wings were the weakest point of the shield hence the reason he felt like he was doing curls at the gym. One of them had gone dead, and he felt resistance whenever he tried to turn the one of the steering sticks like it was trying to fight him. It was a scout ship—not an interceptor.

“ How much time left?” Arthur enquired. He’d had enough of playing tag in the air― He fought against the left yoke and banked sharply towards the ground

“ It is advisable that you stay out of this. I have everything well in hand― ”

“ Oh yea? And who is it that likes doing what they want, when they want?” Arthur chuckled tiredly. ‘Also I need to keep an eye on that Mage-Hunter’ Arthur mulled as he glanced at the upcoming battlefield on the canopy.

“I…father—”

“I think now's just as good a time as any to let us in on that plan don't you think? Why the lid?”

“I fear revealing the components of the plan will throw it into disarray. Therefore, having you out of it mitigates variability of the outcomes—”

‘Gah!’ Arthur internally grunted as he levelled out the drachenflieger to avoid smashing into the ground.

“ Guess what ice princess? You can only do so much with two hands. I am coming in and punching through. We need all the time we can get and that's that.”

“Yes father,” the synth acquiesced hesitantly

‘Atta girl’ Arthur thought amusedly. Surely there was a pun in there somewhere? Or not?

Perhaps running on the fumes of sleep was giving him some sort of lucid paramsonia. It was like looking out from a fevered dream―his inhibitions were virtually nonexistent as he fought drowsiness.

Dazed, he watched the light of gems twinkle in his eyes as he felt the fog of metaphorical cotton squeezed between his brain matter and skull. That’s what high caloric metabolism and little sleep was doing to him as he flew over the heads of the melee combatants—he bit his cheek to stay alert.

He paid no mind to the vespertine pursuit hot on his tail, instead, he zeroed in on the synth ducking around the remainder of the raiders. extra-spatial awareness or not, she was being overwhelmed despite her fast movement and size. Arthur let loose several successive shots of [Pyro Bolt] which sent some of them scampering and caught one of them in the foot, putting him out of commission.

Arthur zoomed past the place he’d shot at, content he’d taken off some of the heat from the synth and angled away from the giant aperture of the gate whose buzz gradually built up as more mana charged the air . He could feel his mana sense tingle like static on his skin even as he pulled back into the sky for another run. Below the bubble canopy, the people he guessed were Void Syndicate stared at him with cold indifference.

“ Father, your intervention was unnecessary.”

“Whatever you're about to do, do it fast. You heard Nora say we have company. I bet our tentative alliance will do squat against the force that's coming. Also keep an eye out for that Mage-Hunter, I have a feeling she'll turn as soon as she gets wind of things,”

”Acknowledged father,” the synth replied in her monotone.

If Numen could curse, she would have been doing that right there. Time was running out and she was surrounded on all sides by four raiders. High levels, she felt their bloodlust wash over her like a tide that tried to drown her and crush her under its weight. Between the gaps in the enclosure, she saw the rest of the Void Syndicate standing idly by. Two of their number looked ready to step forward. According to her [Identify], they were some kind of [Rune Thief] and a [Void Swordsman].

The other was a [Psionic Spellsword] whom she wagered had been the one to put up the scrying ward. The last person was a [Wayfarer Mage]; a type of void mage that specialized in teleportation. Despite their obfuscation artifacts, the synth was momentarily able to parse their classes and levels. They were distributed in the mid-20s; one of them was closer to the cusp of the next tier.

While she did not break as sweat from juggling many things in her head and her plan of action, her father’s intervention gave her more breathing room. [Pyro Bolts] strafed the vicinity with arcane fire sending some of the raiders ducking out of the way. The Hill Maidens and the other adventurers pressed the advantage as did the dwarven Mage-Hunter who was caught in a battle craze—she could hear her cackle over the din of clashing metal and cries of battle even as she made for the gap created between the strike of artillery spells.

A screech made her tumble into a roll as a verspetine soared overhead, the rest of the raiders regroup crying in indignancence as they went after her. There was yet some distance between her and the archway. Ahead of her stood the Void Swordsman, staring down like a sentinel. She could feel the aura brush off her Celestial Quartzite skin, pressing her to the ground.

The [Rune Thief] by his side had his hands twitching, almost as if he wanted to move— however, something else interrupted the flow of events; the gate activated. The barrier of the aperture shimmered and wavered, gaining corporeality as its surface rippled like water. The almost electric buzz in the air built up a crescendo into a whine that all and sundry could feel in their bones. And gone was the film of magic in the opening; it has been transformed into slow moving and colorful swirls trapped behind a threshold. For all the varicoloured brilliance, it might have been a nebula compressed inside a concave mirror. The pull from it was incontrovertible as the battle momentarily came to a standstill.

Even the synth felt the gate call to her, urging her onwards. ‘Unstable,’ Numen thought. Some of the dredged knowledge came unbidden to her. The gate wouldn’t last more than a few casions; not with the calibrations the [Wayfarer Mage] had done. It had been jerry rigged to work hastily and looked in danger of collapse.

“You did it,” Zeur said with awe in his voice as he gazed upon the gate. Shifting colors bathed his face like the glow of a giant lightning ridge opal. It was pulling at him, mesmerizing him. The other gates they’d tried seldom achieved stability for more than a few pars and when they did, their colors looked washed out compared to the spectacle in front of him. It had been months, finally they’d passed their test of induction.

“It’s ready,” Ismuth gasped, scrambling up from her crouched position. Sweat pearled on her brow as she groaned with the effort. Her calves smarted something fierce from being in that posture too long.

“Can we go now?” Salamon asked. However, his eyes were elsewhere. The [Rune Thief] really coveted the strange girl’s artifact. And that annoying flying vessel had proven difficult to rein in, even for Zsulfur who had just now called off the pursuit.

“What now?” Balto asked, gaze not turning away from the little silver haired girl whose gaze seemed to bore through them. Her stare was putting them on edge.

“We leave, cut our lo— “something pinged on his anti-scrying wards. Something fast and coming in hot. Zeur’s attention whirled to the skies between the ridges. There was a hail of light, pinpricks of orange—shining stark against the morning blush of feathery clouds. Those were not stars or fireworks, not with Danger Sense pricking the nape of his neck like an acupuncturist’s needle. Every single person was paralyzed, fear numbed their movements.

“Move!” Zeur bellowed. And the trance broke as everyone ran towards the gate. Fights were disengaged and weapon’s clattered on the ground. Only the adventurers were left at loss but they too ran towards the opposite side where their pickup was hovering above the lake’s surface.

There was no proximity alarm. One moment the sky was an ebbing morning blue and pastel pink by the horizon―the next, it was awash with the harsh glare of orange points of light trailing smoke.

The scrying slate on the instrument panel didn’t buzz as much as shake with the entry of [Message] spells from Elena and Nevine. Nora also hailed on his [Farspeak] as she let him know that she was on the Stormbreaker. Meanwhile, things had already descended into chaos as the fighters scattered in panic. The wounded were carried off while the dead were frantically stripped of their possessions. It was all surreal as if Arthur was looking at everything like an outside observer.

His stupor was shaken by a sudden lurch that snatched the breath out of his lungs. The yokes were suddenly jammed and unresponsive― the four gems showing the collection of aer mana for each the wings had all gone dead. The craft lost the magic holding it aloft as it spun, hurtling like whirligig through the air. Vertigo overtook him as thump’s rung out through the drachenflieger’s hull. Then membranous wings and a baleful visage covered the canopy.

“ Crap!,” Arthur cursed his inattention as he unsuccessfully tried to arrest the drachenflieger’s plummet through the sky. The light in the distance was growing nearer by the moment. There were no warning alarms blaring, no autopilot telling him to pull up. Just the ear-piercing shriek of claws on metal. Animus metal was lighter than even fae-steel, but the body of the vessel was made in layers, akin to papier mache draped over an exoskeleton. The [Aegis Shield] was long gone and it would not be long before a tenacious vespertine rend the hull with their bone claw weapons. Again, the drachenflieger was a scoutship- not an armored battleship.

“ Father!”

“ I got this!,” Arthur managed to grunt out, as his vision tilted in tandem with the careening of the drachenflieger. The harnesses dug into his chest as he struggled to reach the alexandrite that would switch to the tertherite based levitation. If he could just reach the focus; the jostling was not doing him any favours—Then another shock groaned through the small vessel’s hull.

‘It won’t hold’ for long’ was the synth’s thought her mind fired on all pistons. Everything moved so lethargically like the air was viscous, thick―she could even see the after images of everyone who’d dropped and run. Sounds were drawn out, reaching her ears off pitch. Even the pyrtherite runeheads in the sky were a blur caught in motion. They ever so slowly, crawling towards the platform.

Delayed feedback from her Scan clued her in to the Mage -Hunter who’d turned around to come for her. She’d already foreseen that there would be communication before she as soon as the woman’s armacus had started receiving [Message] spells. She found the artifact already aimed towards her in a casting position.

The drachenflieger was too far, out of range of her gestalt; her father could not reach the controls to the tertherite crystal mana source.The trajectory of the craft’s fall would put it in direct collision with the gate. The same gate which was right ahead of her and was a few casions away from suffering a structural collapse to its translocation matrices.

Whether the collapse had been intentional on the part of the Void Syndicate or they weren’t aware of it, she wasn’t certain―she liked to think they’d sabotaged it to throw off their tail. She counted ten translocations before the thing collapsed and the magic backlashed to form the inverse of a translocation gate―a rift gate.

Ancient knowledge was being recalled as she weighed her options. She only had one conclusion― all the moving parts were up in the air and there was no redo for this. What she was about to do could not be done alone however; she’d have to call out her soul sister. It would push back Arcis’ recovery

The only way to tie everything together was to fix the gate but could she account for the trajectories of the arcane spells cresting the horizon? She had to try—her mind snapped back to the present. She threw herself to the left, a tumble breaking her fall.

A [Ray of Disintegration], whizzed above the space she’d been and struck one of the fleeing goblins in the shoulder. The flesh burst into pink mist and the arm flopped to the ground. The goblin only had one moment of shock before he screamed and clutched a bloody stump. More rays peppered around her as she evaded the Mage-Hunter’s aim in a zigzag pattern.

It was then that she saw the drachenflieger come in falling towards the gate from the edge of her eyes—the four wings were limp, sails torn asunder by claws. The Aegis Shield was down and the vespertine she'd identified as Zsulfur rode the drachenflieger to the ground while he was scoring gouges across its surface. The Pyrtherite runeheads were not far behind. She fired off a [Message] telling Stormbreaker to stay out of range. It would only be a temporary fix as Numen could not count on the next volley to miss.

The synth kept dodging the [Rays of Disintegration], not unlike phaser fire shrieking through her shoulders and at her feet. As the drachenflieger went for the ground, the vespertine jumped off, just in time to enter the gate. It was then that the tenth person entered the aperture and the gate's colors inverted ominously. Got stuck like flies on a glue trap; half of their bodies inside the gate and the other outside. They started screaming.

“Father! The canopy!" she screamed over the link while simultaneously willing [Gestalt] to the fore of her consciousness . The canopy snapped open with a hiss of air. In the same instant, she teased the transition from the aertherite to tertherite crystal mana source, which powered the craft's [Levitation], killing the vessel's momentum towards the gate going rogue

A grunt answered her through the hail as her father was rocked back from inertia.

Remotely, she activated the matrix for the spell barrier and the [Aegis Shield] was recast despite its cooldown as the canopy slid shut. She heard a dwarf curse and felt the use of Lesser Teleport, then fire rained from the sky.