Chapter 124

Lykan

Side Tunnel Entrance

All well designed mines have ventilation shafts. Shafts designed to let air travel into and through the deepest portions of a mine. The labyrinths of the Titans are no different. If anything they seemingly have more air paths and exits to the surface than any other construct. Lykan theorized that these multiple exit tunnels were designed to spread qi faster to the surrounding environments. The idea being that once more qi was in the surrounding area, the better the tools and instruments of the labyrinth would work and thus be able to dig deeper into the outer layers of the planet.

With that logic in mind, and the details of the labyrinths being mapped out in his prolific mind, Lykan realized a few things. First with the labyrinth being right at the top of a hill, it likely meant the entire hill was the labyrinth that for one reason or another was never able to burrow deeply into the soil. Given that all the dirt and debris around the mountain leading up to Clevarall could just be the buildup of natural erosion, Lykan thought this to be the case. If this was the case then this trip should be relatively easy.

“This should be relatively easy, if my analysis is accurate.”

“How so?” Brenna asked as she followed Lykan as he made another left turn to search along the base of the mountainside for something.

“The reason for the ease, simple. If the Labyrinth never got the commands to dig deeper then it likely never received them. The reason for this? No one gave the commands. If that is the case, then we can likely expect that either no Titans survived in this laby…dungeon as you call them.”

Hearing this Brenna nodded along, but then a question occurred to her. “Couldn’t it be that the ground was too dense underneath?”

Lykan turned away from his searching to give her a bright smile that caused tingles to swell in her chest. “Good question. I also thought about that, but looking at the soil around the area I think we can safely discard that thought.” He said as he gestured out to the countryside that was overflowing with weak clay and sandy soil.

After hearing Lykan’s logic, Brenna looked a little deflated as she contemplated his words. That was when Lykan seeing her expression, spoke up. “Don’t worry, it was a good thought, and why I need you with me.”

He did need her too, she was smart, fun, and most importantly didn’t attack him upon seeing him. These were all good qualities, in fact he would really settle for someone that didn’t try to attack or hurt him upon seeing him. The fact that he got all three from one person was a bonus. It was also a sign of how sad his life had gotten over the past few years.

Realizing their moment was over Lykan continued his search. He was aware of the different warriors that were tracking him, though this time they all seemed to keep their distance. This was fine with Lykan as he wished to avoid conflict if he could avoid it, thus the searching for the side air tunnels.

This was an entry way that would normally be denied to Lykan, as most of the times the labyrinths would be buried too deeply into the soil and these exits would be under dozens of meters of dirt. But for this particular instance where the Labyrinth never seemed to dig deeper into the soil it was perfect. At least it beat charging through a garrisoned stronghold of orcs, fighting their way to known entry areas. Then fighting their way to the core room of the labyrinth. With this process he just had to worry about monsters he encountered on his way to the core room.

Looking at the ground, he saw a bright red patch of dirt that glowed with qi energy. “There it is.” Lykan pointed as he hurried forward to the source of qi, not truly paying attention to the plants and fauna that lay in his way.

“The tree?” Brenna asked as he drew closer.

“What tree?” Lykan asked.

Thud.

His head found the tree first, as he was too busy looking for the source of qi. To his surprise, a tree had grown over top of the exit. Lykan at first was at a loss of what to do. He had a way in, but there was a giant tree in the way. He turned to Brenna, as he did his eyes caught the glint of something shiny behind her. His eyes unfocused for half a second, taking in the flat end of the giant mithril war axe that had been gifted to her, as a newly identified citizen of Mezrathurin. Seeing the axe, a smile filled his lips as he stared at Brenna, as he suddenly realized the solution to his problem.

“Have I told you how glad I am that you are with me.” Lykan said to Brenna.

Hearing the words a faint blush filled Brenna’s face, though Lykan missed the subtle cue for embarrassment. Instead he was too focused on the giant axe that hung on Brenna’s back.

“Umm…I…thank you?” Was what Brenna stammered out, before Lykan continued his thought.

“Could you please chop down the tree for me?” Lykan said pointing to the overgrown maple that was easily three to four times larger than any tree Brenna had ever seen. Looking at the tree, and its relative distance from the city Brenna wondered how she had ever missed such a large tree. Though given its trunk and the surrounding tress many likely assumed it was three or four trees placed tightly together. Instead what she now found was this monstrosity, a tree that looked like it could be the legendary world tree of the elves. A tree so massive that an entire house could be made from it, but Lykan wanted her to chop it down.

“That is impossible.” Brenna said, looking at the giant tree.

Looking at the tree then at Brenna, then back Lykan gave a questioning look. In the process he bit his lower lip in a way that Brenna found oddly endearing. The lip bite was quickly lost as he turned back, having evidently come to some sort of conclusion.

“I think you underestimate your new found strength.” Lykan said before continuing, “at the very least you should try before you make such blanket statements.”

Hearing that Brenna paused, but then nodded. She would at least try, then she could say I told you so. Shrugging to herself she removed her axe from her back, then wound up and swung at the massive tree. She half expected the blade to bounce off, expecting the thick bark of the tree to be too much for her and her new axe. Instead she heard the crisp chop sound of a blade striking deep into fresh wood. The sound was like music to her ears, as she felt the blade strike true. She removed the axe and then continued to strike away over and over.

The sun soon faded, but Brenna was filled by enthusiasm for her newfound talent. She could be a lumberjack easily.

Thump, thump, thwack.

Each swing brought her one step closer to her goal of having the tree get felled by her mighty swings. Somewhere in the process she had taken to putting her tongue out on her lips in between strikes. It was a subconscious way to keep her lips wet, while also showing how she was focusing ahead for where the next strike would land.

These were details Lykan observed and smiled at. Lykan was glad he had found someone who would take tasks seriously, the fact that she looked cute while doing so was just an added bonus, at least in his mind. He watched her land blow after mighty blow, until finally the sun set. With the sundown, and Brenna’s focus still entirely on chopping through the dense tree. A process that she was now halfway through with, Lykan decided to give a hand. Circulating his mana, Lykan flew up into the air. Then once he was about halfway up the trunk of the tree, Lykan channeled qi into his fist and swung.

BOOM!

The sound was so loud that Brenna was taken out of her intense focus. She looked up, but her eyes had a hard time finding the source of the noise. This was a process that was also made tougher by the fact that there was suddenly a loud crackling sound coming from the tree trunk.

With the sound Brenna involuntarily took a few steps back. Lykan on the other hand just continued to press forward, wanting the break to happen in a way that was the safest to Brenna. Also give his height, Lykan had little to worry about, except for the possible swatting branch that might take a swing at Lykan if he lost focus. Fortunately for both the break was simple and clean. The tree first fell over so it was parallel to the base of the hill. Then the tree slowly rolled down the hill a few feet, making it so its massive frame was well away from the area where Lykan was most interested.

By the time it was all done, Brenna felt satisfied. She had put in a lot of work and still felt fresh.

“Wow, that was great. I truly have gotten strong. I felt like I could do that again, if needed.” Brenna said, flexing her arms while raising her mighty battle-axe in the air.

Hearing that Lykan just smiled. “Well, that’s good, we still need to get through the roots.” Lykan said, as he pointed to the root system of the tree that dug deep underground and were clearly blocking the path to the tunnel Lykan noticed.

“Can’t we just go in… anoth..er entrance?” Brenna huffed out, suddenly feeling her energy failing her as she realized there was still more to do.

Hearing that Lykan only smiled. “We could have, but we are so close with this one. In fact…” Lykan said as he went towards the roots, circulated qi into his staff to make it glow with a burning red hue. Then with a deft motion he drove the glowing rod down.

Swoosh.

The staff slid in easily, like a hot knife into butter. Nodding to himself, Lykan kept the steady stream of heat going to the large bo-staff, all while he rocked the staff from side to side.

The staff was so bright that it illuminated the night sky. If the guards didn’t know where they were from the sound of the falling tree, the glowing staff that was now carving a way into burning wood was a dead giveaway of their position. Fortunately no one came close. They were still far enough away from the city that the archers would not have a truly accurate shot at them. Also orders were given to the archers not to antagonize the monster from the temple. The fact that the two were content to stay on the side of the hill was good enough for everyone in command. Though that didn’t mean that the guards on the wall of the city, and a few non-hostile scouts weren’t watching the two work.

At first a few warnings were made that the tree would be used as a weapon of some sort. But then calculations were made and it was identified that the tree would not be able to fall on the walls, nor cause any lasting damage. Then when it was noted the tree was being cut to fall parallel with the base of the hill, everyone was only curious. Now everyone watched the pair work. Or in this case, everyone, including Brenna, watched Lykan work his way through the massive roots of the fallen tree.

He began first by carving an ‘X’ into the roots. Then he began pushing his staff deep, before using it to leverage out the deep root systems that had been broken into quarter sized chunks. Once the first section was removed, the process became much easier as Lykan had more area to move around. Finally he got the last few sections removed, revealing a giant open pathway that led straight to the qi core rooms of the labyrinth. With these paths, the two of them would bypass the first few layers of the dungeon and be able to quickly access the core room.

“You ready?” Lykan asked, looking at the tunnel. This was a bit tighter than he would have thought, it clearly wasn’t designed for Titan comfort as it would have likely been maintained by one of the maintenance droids. But still it was going to be large enough for Lykan and Brenna to drop down easily. The only problem was, there would be many steep inclines along the way. Inclines that would require either one to be able to fly or get hurt if they fell too quickly and landed on the generators below.

“Yes.” Brenna said, stepping forward so she would be one step behind him. She felt her chest pounding as she once again felt the power and thrill of her surroundings flood into her. She had become aware enough of the power of qi to realize the tunnel they had revealed was filled with qi. Qi that made her blood pulse quickly. She felt her own qi quickly circulating in her body as she felt alive.

“Good.” With that Lykan held out his hand to Brenna. Brenna caught off-guard by the gesture, reached out to grab his hand. A slight exchange of qi was felt in the touch, one that Brenna was more than aware of. As for Lykan, whether he registered the exchange of energy or not was unknown. Instead he was already moving to his next step. With quick movements he pulled Brenna in close to him so she was pressed against his chest. Then before she could protest he pulled them both down the tunnel shaft, where they began plummeting rapidly in the darkness.

Lykan’s qi senses allowed him to feel and anticipate each bend and turn in the structure. Meanwhile Brenna could only feel the slightest sense of nearly unlimited power coming from beneath her feet. It was a terrifying sensation, one that made her feel like she was somehow plummeting into the abyss.

“AHHHH!” Brenna screamed as her senses told her of the impending danger that she was quickly plummeting towards.

“Hahaha!” Lykan laughed back, a maniacal cackle to his actions as he too gave way to his emotions. Though in Lykan’s case, his emotions were more on the thrill of a controlled decent into the unknown.

As they drew closer the glow from the generators began to glow ominously, as if the two were falling into a fully stoked fire. It was at this time that Brenna knew she had made a mistake, a terrible horrible mistake.