Between a Rock and a Carapace

56. Gateway

The pain Granin had been experiencing in his head had only grown more pronounced as they continued to travel toward the golgari gateway network. Having banned his two fellow Triad members from conversing with the specimen, he was forced to take responsibility for all communication onto his own shoulders.

This proved to be both irritating and exasperating. Being dragged, legless, through the Expanse and into the tunnels over a period of days wouldn’t do anyone’s mood any good, but Granin was starting to believe the creature was diverting its frustration into annoying him and trying to provoke Balta at every opportunity.

Like the time the leader walked behind the monster, a foolish move as it turned out. From seemingly nowhere, the creature unleashed a blast of sticky acid that etched away the Warrior’s true skin before they’d been able to remove it, an affront that had driven him almost berserk with rage.

No matter how many times he warned the monster that antagonising a powerful and connected individual like Balta was a bad idea, it didn’t seem to care. After the acid attack came more clacking laughter every time the warrior came near. Balta had attacked the monster twice more, the second time managing to cut through the carapace and draw blood. Not that the creature appeared too perturbed. The injury was healed in minutes.

During this period of observation, Granin took copious notes. His role as a member of the Circle of Shapers and member of the cult meant he was well-versed with documenting monster characteristics, not to mention his superiors in the cult would expect a full report.

Initially, he’d had doubts about the creature’s capability—an ant was historically pathetically weak by itself. Terrifying in large numbers, to be sure, but amongst the Dungeon’s most unthreatening creatures when battled alone. That this specimen had accrued such strength and powerful evolutions from such a weak base was fascinating.

Of course, the reborn monsters, those whose souls had been reincarnated, either experienced an accelerated start due to their greater than average monster intelligence, or burned out spectacularly, unable to adjust to their new existence. The Cult had found several such creatures over the centuries, not many compared to how many were created by the Dungeon, but they were documented obsessively when found. Several had been sponsored, but none were able to achieve the seat of the final Ancient.

Granin didn’t hold much hope for this particular specimen. Though, he was starting to think more of it than he had at first.

[Any chance you remember where your second servant went?]

[You know, I honestly don’t remember having a second servant… Me and Tiny, that’s the way it’s been for a long time.]

[You know, I could stop healing your ape friend. How long do you think he would last if that happened?]

[I could kill you, me, and everyone here with one spell. Let’s play nice, eh? Aren’t you trying to cooperate with me? Holy moly, there’s no need to get your knickers in a twist. Make sure you heal my ape and bring him along with us, and I’ll have another reason to go along with what you say. Accept the leverage I’m offering you!]

The blasted creature had a point.

Despite the obvious intelligence, impressive defensive ability, and magical prowess, he wasn’t sure the monster would be successful in receiving the support of the cult. They’d been cultivating monsters of their own and had prospects they’d been supporting from the shadows for a long time. It wouldn’t be easy to supplant these established prospects.

Although, something different was brewing at the cult. The air felt tense ever since the strangely extended and potent wave had occurred. Granin wasn’t close enough to the upper echelons to have an inkling of what they were thinking, but something about the atmosphere was growing colder. People were on edge, and a flurry of urgent meetings had been arranged.

That in and of itself was unusual. The Cult was a secret society, mobilising the members quickly and quietly wasn’t easy.

“Final checks! Shapers to the fore!” came a loud call.

The Triads were in a defensive position around their quarry. The creature was close to motionless as usual, the only sign it was paying any attention was its slowly waving antennae.

Five days had passed since the capture of the monster to get to this point, far longer than it would have usually taken. Forced to drag the creature through the Expanse and into the tunnels to get here, it had not been a journey anyone enjoyed. He suspected that even Balta began to regret his impulsive decision to hack off the monster’s legs.

But they’d finally made it. Before them stood a dead end, a tunnel ending in an innocuous wall like a billion other tunnels in the Dungeon.

[This is a Gate?]

[Break off this connection, I need to concentrate.]

[You’re the one who opened it. What kind of magic is this, anyway? Spatial?]

[Be quiet! This is difficult enough without your prattling!]

[Makes sense, I suppose. Puncturing a hole in space or time or whatever should be difficult.]

[I’m officially ignoring you, ant.]

[Oh, right! Gotcha! Good luck, stone man.]

Granin, Nium, and Laksham gathered together and faced the end of the tunnel, raising their hands. He focused hard and reached out to connect his mind to that of his second, Nium. What made this even more difficult was that he wouldn’t be able to draw on the assistance of Laksham, since she was occupied concealing the great ape they’d been forced to heal and keep alive in the shadows over the journey. This meant that the two of them would need to work even harder to Shape this working.

Still, Granin was an old hand. Under his guidance, they reached out to reveal and activate the runes etched into the tunnel wall. Enchanted monster cores buried into the stone came alive and began to funnel Mana from the Dungeon and fuel the Gate.

The runes formed a circle around the edges of the tunnel wall, and a pinpoint of pure light gradually appeared in the centre. Here in the second strata, such a thing was blinding, and Granin had his eyes firmly closed. He needed to work with his mind, not his sight.

With the assistance of his second, he reached through the hole with his mind and entered the between space, a blank world of white that stretched forever in all directions. He expertly oriented himself and directed his thoughts toward the direction he needed and homed in on the mind reaching back to him.

Like people clasping hands, they locked onto each other and began to solidify the link, forming a bridge of pure Mana between the two gates.

“The gate will open in five seconds,” he ground out. “We’ll hold it for twenty, no more than that.”

Balta nodded. This was Shaper business, and he had no place sticking his nose into it, not that any warrior would lower themselves to do so.

“Grab the ropes and haul!” Balta commanded, and the hunting party leapt to follow his order, hauling the monster toward the Gate, picking up speed as the tiny circle of light widened to occupy the entire circle within the runes.

The light was blinding, and the monster struggled weakly as they dragged it, unable to protect its eyes. Fortunately, it didn’t last long. In just a few seconds, the warriors had dragged it through and vanished into the light, where they would appear instantly on the other side.

All that was left were the three Shapers and their hidden guest.

“Are you ready, Torrina?”

A terse nod was all Granin got to acknowledge his words. Seconds later, she was gone, followed by Corun. The final remaining Shaper, Granin grit his teeth as he held the gate without Corun assisting and slowly walked forward so as not to break concentration.

The moment he stepped through, the Gate melted behind him, as if he’d thrown himself from a cliff that collapsed the instant his feet left the ground. A rush of adrenaline coursed through him as the pathway collapsed behind him. For a dizzying second, he felt as if he might be lost in the between space, but then he was through, and sucking in a deep breath to calm his pounding heart.

“We made it home.”

The monster watched him with glittering eyes, its thoughts inscrutable. As the members of the delve stretched and began to relax, their attention was seized by a strange popping sound.

Turning toward the creature, they saw that its legs were regenerating at a visible rate. In only a few minutes, it was able to stand on its own.

Clack.

After a single snap of the mandibles, it sat back down again.