Owalyn’s power surrounded Celaine, filling the underground chamber with the green light of her essence. Celaine was on her knees, her Brilliance held out in her right fist, tethered to her chest on a streak of ethereal essence. It shone so brightly it was almost white—this was the strength of her soul. The difference between Chosen and practitioners. The gift of the gods.

Hump resisted the urge to back away. Owalyn’s intent was strong, pressing against him like a blade to the throat, but he felt suddenly defensive of Celaine. Ricard’s party was in the room, along with what remained of the other squad of adventurers. Everyone held their breath, stunned by the sudden presence of Owalyn. Some retreated or fell to their knees before the god’s might. They were before the hunter’s bow, and there was nothing they could do but hope for mercy.

But there was no god pillar. It would not take long for everyone to realise what that meant. Celaine was no Chosen of the Pantheon.

Hump suddenly regretted that they hadn’t officially registered Celaine. Technically, she needed a permit to be travelling in Alveron—she was effectively a walking weapon. It shouldn’t matter, not with Countess Daston’s support. Still, Hump wanted to be there. He pushed through the fear, the pin-pricking sensation against his soul, the force of Owalyn, and he came to stand beside Bud, where he surveyed the watching crowd.

Celaine didn’t even seem to notice. She was completely at ease, her eyes closed, her breathing steady. Essence continued to pour out from her Brilliance, and the chamber responded in kind. The walls turned green and lush with moss. Grass sprouted between the gaps in the tiled floor, twisting together to form her first circle. Within it, god glyphs formed one by one, filling it fully with her Major Blessing—Hunter’s Instinct. The blessing responsible for her superhuman instinct and ability to perceive essence.

The grasses continued on, coiling around her to form her second circle, two of her minor blessings—Powershot and Spring Step—dividing it in half. Her third circle came next, Predator’s Intent taking up the first of three sections, leaving room for two more minor blessings. Each one would build upon her foundation, readying her for the breakthrough to the fourth circle and next major blessing, effectively achieving the same thing as Soul Manifestation. It was so simple for Chosen, their god providing the support like building blocks, guiding their path. Hump was almost jealous. Almost.

He craved the power that the gods offered—that they possessed themselves—but he did not want to be beholden to another being. And after having two monsters messing with his soul, he wanted no more of it, whether god or something else.

Celaine breathed more heavily as her next minor blessing took form. Grass coiled upon itself, climbing along the circle like grape vines, forming the new god glyphs. As each one formed, it shone brightly, solidifying itself with essence and turning to crystal. And for each one, Celaine’s aura strengthened, bolstered by Owalyn’s presence.

Hump fought to keep his breath under control, refusing to budge even as her power grew. Bud took a step away, though he still remained close.

It felt like hours passed in those brief few minutes, then the full glyph formed within the circle. Her new blessing taken form. Hump studied the twisting lines of the writing, intrigued by the completely different markings. He’d seen them multiple times before, but it was hard not to think about the possibilities inside. The secrets Owalyn might have. Secrets that perhaps not even the gods of the Pantheon were familiar with.

Hump’s spellbook shook and he pressed a hand against it, suppressing it. All eyes were on Celaine, but he didn’t dare to open it for a look.

He watched as Owalyn’s power diminished, leaving just Celaine once more. She opened her eyes, the green of them shining brighter than usual. Stars glimmered inside them, mesmerising. Hump swallowed nervously as her eyes fell on him, sharp as arrows, the power of Owalyn still within her. That too soon faded.

“Congratulations,” Ricard said, breaking the silence in the room. “It’s always fascinating to see the blessings of those beyond our Pantheon take form. I’m pleased to be a part of it.”

“Thank you,” Celaine said.

Ricard nodded and then turned to the rest of them. “Bind the surviving warlocks and then ready up. I sense something in this place, and it makes me uneasy. We’re not leaving until we’ve searched every corner of this base.”

“My lord, my squad can keep watch over the prisoners.” It was the veteran adventurer that spoke, and Hump caught an edge to his voice that he didn’t like.

Ricard met his eye a moment then shook his head. “Thank you, Terrance, but the guards will be here shortly. Tend to your squad. I know you’ve lost too many in this fight already.”

The man gritted his teeth but nodded. “As you wish.”

He turned from them, returning to his squad. One of the warlocks was on the ground beneath the foot of a warrior, squirming for freedom but unable to get a word out with the pressure on his chest. Terrance grabbed him by the foot and dragged him out, tossing him a few paces in Ricard’s direction. The man hit the ground hard and rolled.

“Here’s our prisoner,” Terrance said.

The man beside him turned to Terrance in anger. It only took a look to shut that down. Hump understood. If he’d lost party members, he would feel that same anger. That same hate. Why did these warlocks get to live when their own people did not? However, he’d heard a little of the fate that had befallen the warlocks captured before. The fate of the survivors would not be a good one.

Terrance then held up a black stone. “He had one of these in his pocket.”

“Search the others,” Ricard said. “We want as many black stones as we can get our hands on.”

Everyone turned to business after that. Hump was pleased Ricard hadn’t pushed the matter of Celaine’s blessing; his response was certainly better than Bud’s had been. He tried to ignore the warlock bodies they piled up nearby, and the stench of death in the room.

“How are you feeling?” Emilia asked, approaching Celaine.

“Good.” She smiled. “Great even!” She noticed the unconscious wizard on Dylan’s shoulder. “What’s with the wizard?”

“He was the one that separated me from the rest of you,” Hump said.

“Any trouble?” Bud asked.

Hump smiled softly. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He held up the wizard’s staff. “Got this ol’ thing too. I think it might be silver ranked.”

“You’ve not checked yet?” Celaine asked.

Hump shook his head. “Didn’t want to miss seeing your next blessing. Congratulations. It’s good to see all your training paying off. Now we just need Bud to catch up and finally hit the third circle.”

Celaine gave him a side-eyed look. “You are lagging behind.”

Bud huffed a breath. “It will come when it’s meant to. When Kelisia decides it.”

Marcela and the others of their squad joined them shortly, congratulating Celaine.

“Ricard wants to search the chamber,” Marcela said. “Stay close, and shout if you find anything.”

“Got it.” He turned to Celaine, relying on her keen eyesight. “Where do you think we should start?”

She led them away from the other parties. Hump activated Wizard’s Light. It was a large chamber made larger by the broken walls the warlocks must have shattered in their expansion. It seemed the warlocks had converted the basements of a number of other buildings, and even stretched into the waterways that went under the city. From here, they’d be able to access much of the city with ease.

“Well, I know your dying to know,” Celaine said. “Let’s get it over with.”

Hump chuckled, pulling his spellbook from his belt and letting it open onto a new page. Ink swirled, essence shone, and a new entry took form.

BLESSINGS

Way of Shadows

Description

Mould the shadows by your touch, drawing them in around you or manifesting them as objects.

“It’s like an essence reader,” Emilia said, watching as the ink finished writing the god glyphs. “Can you use these glyphs for anything?”

“Our runes are derived from them,” Hump said. “Perhaps one day I might be able to create some of my own, but for now it’s beyond me. Hell, it’s beyond Vivienne. I don’t even know where to start.”

Bud leant over Hump’s shoulder for a better look. “The blessing’s similar to Patrick’s stealth ability.”

“Similar, but more versatile,” Dylan said. “From the sounds of it, you’ve got the utility of added stealth, but you can also produce objects from shadow. You might even be able to form arrows and other weapons with it. We’ll need to see how far you can push it.”

Celaine reached out to the darkness and Hump felt a sliver of essence in the air. She tugged, and the shadow moved, stretching like a piece of fabric. It tore, and she plucked a rod of shadow from it.

“That’s… really neat,” Hump said.

Celaine balanced it in her hands. “I was trying to create an arrow.” She bent it between her fingers, and it snapped silently, a flare of shadow rising from the break before dissipating beneath the light of Hump’s staff.

“It’s probably something you can improve with practice,” Dylan said.

“It suits you,” Emilia said. “You’re very skill oriented. These more complex blessings will do well in your hands.”

“It’s interesting that it’s shadow based,” Hump added. “Everyone always says that the gods select blessings that best match their Chosen. I wonder if this is because of your work with Bloodshadow. You should see if it has any effect on the dagger.”

“Let’s save experimenting with the evil dagger for later,” Bud said apprehensively. “I know it’s difficult for you, Hump, but we need to choose our moments.”

Hump rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t suggesting we do it here.”

Celaine knelt, and Hump held out his staff to see what she was looking at. Lines of browns marked the floor. They were smudged and completely dry, but it appeared to be the remains of a formation. Hump studied it, trying to get his spellbook to take some note of it, but whatever markings remained were beyond readable even for it.

“Is that blood?” Dylan asked.

“Yes,” Celaine said.

It was a grim reminder of where they were. Whatever cheer at their victory left them then.

They continued to search, finding clothes, weapons, food, and the other essentials for survival. It was obvious the warlocks had been here for a while.

It wasn’t long until the guards arrived and took over watching the prisoners. A few minutes after that, Ricard called for all the adventurers to follow. He led them through a series of connected chambers.

Soon, he slowed down, advancing cautiously. Hump searched the darkness of the chamber beyond, trying to find what he’d seen. In the shadowy light, it almost looked as though the walls had veins. He was reminded of Bledsbury Dungeon, but stepping closer, Hump realised this was different. The dungeon’s veins had pulsed, and the walls had a red sheen to them, like light shining through flesh. These were brownish and almost looked like wood.

“Corvin, give us more light,” Marcela said.

He chanted a short prayer, activating his blessing from Ordana, and filling the chamber ahead with the sun’s light.

They were roots, not veins. They grew from every wall, filling them like a plant in an overgrown pot. Ricard rounded a corner ahead, leading them through another demolished wall. A steady light shone in the chamber ahead of them.

As they stepped closer, Hump was overcome by nervousness. There was something about this place that sent chills through him. Not just the warlocks, but a wrongness.

Hump frowned, surprised at what they’d found. A tree filled the small cellar, and was the source of the light. The leaves were a luscious green, and soft yellow blossoms decorated its branches. It was beautiful, enchanting even. Yet strangely, the mere sight of it made Hump feel sick to his core. He felt its presence pressing against him, twisting its way through him like an illness, finding its way inside.

A number of the other adventurers came to a stop. Emery, Corvin’s sorcerer, was sick and couldn’t go further.

“If you feel unwell, remain back,” Ricard said. “This is no ordinary tree.”

Hump couldn’t help himself. He continued forward, unable to look away from the tree. It took him a long while to figure out exactly what it was that drew him in. It was a void. While he felt wrong in its presence, he couldn’t sense the tree at all. It was a blank spot of nothingness, yet it radiated light.

“What is it?” Hump asked, staring at the strange bulges and patterns of bark on its trunk. They moved slowly, expanding almost like it was breathing.

“Gods have mercy,” Ricard muttered.

His tone made Hump’s chest tighten. The sound of someone retching came from somewhere behind him. Hump took a step back, staring at the tree nervously, trying to find what Ricard had seen. And then it came to him.

Faces. The strange patterns on the bark were faces. Suddenly, all he could see were eyes and mouths. Dozens of them, all screaming out in terror.

Hump took another step back. He clenched his fist around both staffs, horror filling him.

“What evil monstrosity is this?” Bud growled.

“I…” Ricard stared at it in disbelief. “I don’t know.”