The mad immortal a litrp.., p.23
The Mad Immortal: A LitRPG Adventure, page 23
While he could still technically form his weaves, it’d be impossible to aim his Fire Bolt or brandish his Ice Blade without his hands free. In a matter of seconds, he’d been rendered practically helpless.
The cocoon of vines lifted him, positioning him so that he was held upright a few inches off the ground. He couldn’t turn his head to see where Wes had been standing, but assumed he was receiving a similar treatment.
A woman stepped forward, smiling coldly. “Hello, Nate,” Commander Grisham said. “We need to talk.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Commander Grisham was just about the last person in the Nexus Nate wanted to see. Behind her, Bastion and another verist he didn’t recognize—Null, why am I not better with faces?—dragged a limp body between them.
“Ellie!” he tried to shout. With the vine gagging him, it came out as a muffled garble.
He struggled in vain against his bonds as they dumped Ellie unceremoniously beside the commander. With a wave of her hand, more vines sprouted from the ground. They curled around Ellie and lifted her up to dangle near him and Wes.
Ellie’s head lolled lifelessly to the side. Yet, if she were truly dead, she’d be long gone from here, her soul reclaimed and resurrected back at Tabula Rasa. Nate was surprised at the depth of the relief that surged through him at that simple truth.
“I apologize for the restraints,” Commander Grisham said, “but you’ve already proven yourselves willing to attack your supposed allies on sight. Certain precautions seem only prudent.”
He could only strain helplessly against the vines and glare in response. His mind was already racing through escape plans. We need to find a way out of this mess…
The commander must’ve noticed his expression because she said, “Care to try talking yourself out of your current predicament, Nate? I admit, I’m curious to hear what excuse you’ll have for disobeying orders this time.”
With a twitch of her fingers, the vine covering his mouth retracted.
Nate forced a grin. “Hey there, commander. Fancy meeting you here.”
“Indeed. I’m sure it must’ve come as a great shock to you when one of your schemes failed so spectacularly. Now, tell me what you’re doing in the Vermilion Enclave.”
“Doing? I don’t know what you mean. We came out here to see the sights, tour a few of the sectors we’d never been to. You know, there are some truly beautiful sectors out this way. Why, just the other day, we found this pile of crystals in a desert biome that reminded me of you. I think you’d really—”
Vines constricted around his throat, squeezing so hard, he felt his neck might snap even with his remaining aegis. Darkness crept into the edges of his vision as he thrashed against his bonds. Then, mercifully, the vines loosened, leaving him gasping for breath.
Commander Grisham sighed. When she spoke, she sounded weary. “Despite what you may think of me, I don’t relish this. All I want is the truth.”
“The truth?” he wheezed. “I already told you the truth. I didn’t realize we’d be missed quite so…aggressively.”
The commander barked a laugh. “When Bill and Kris returned without you, we eagerly awaited your report from the city. After all, this was the golden opportunity we’d been waiting for to prove ourselves as a guild and finally break through to the major leagues. But when you never came back, well…”
Nate felt a spike of guilt and forced it down. No time for regrets; I need to think. If he could keep Commander Grisham talking long enough, an opportunity to escape might present itself. If nothing else, it would give him more time to plan.
“How did you even find us?” he asked.
The commander hesitated briefly before sighing and shaking her head. “I wish I could take credit, but it was a stroke of good fortune. This soulbinder approached us while we searched for you in the city. She somehow had an inkling of what we were doing and offered to scry on you for a small fee.”
A chill ran down Nate’s spine. It couldn’t be the same seer who had helped them in the Undercroft…could it? According to their pact, she’d only get paid if they secured the bounty. She should be as invested in their success as he was.
No, this had to be a different soulbinder. Still, he couldn’t help but think back on the seer’s parting words to them. Take care upon this path of fate, for at the end, death does wait…
Commander Grisham seemed to mistake the source of his confusion. “The soulbinder enchanted a mirror so that it revealed you and the surrounding area,” she explained. “This forest is a favorite destination of mine. It’s the perfect place for a tranquil walk…so long as you’re willing to put up with the local wildlife. I recognized it at once from the vision.”
Nate suppressed a grin at the thought of the commander dodging hurled acorns. “How did you get here so quickly, then? I didn’t think the guild had any spaceweavers.”
“We didn’t. But times have changed…”
He tuned out the rest of her response, only half paying attention as he contemplated his next move. Escape was far more important than whatever was happening internally with the Riftwalkers.
He wouldn’t be able to swing his Ice Blade effectively while tied up, and his Frost Shield, while easier to control from his bonds, would have a tough time cutting through the vines.
That left Fire Bolt to burn the pesky plants away. Nate, however, wasn’t exactly keen on immolating himself, even with his high heat resistance. Would his Gusting Boots be strong enough to rip him clear?
Perhaps…and send him straight into the waiting arms of his guildmates. As if breaking out of his restraints wasn’t enough, he also needed to free Wes and Ellie, as well as get them all away from the guild. It seemed an impossible task.
Something the commander said caught his attention, snapping him out of his reverie. “Wait, what did you just say?”
Commander Grisham sighed. “Of course, you can’t be bothered to pay attention, not even when you’re literally a captive audience. I said that the Riftwalkers have racked up a rather sizable debt. That’s why this bounty is the Source-blessed answer to our prayers.”
“Harold mentioned the guild was having some money issues. But overall, I thought things were going well.”
The commander grimaced, obviously finding her words distasteful even as she forced them out. “Building up this guild from nothing wasn’t cheap. I owe a lot of powerful people. With our rising fame, that hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Nighthawks have had their eyes on us for a while now.”
“The Nighthawks!” Nate exclaimed. “What does one of the Big Five want with the Riftwalkers?”
“What everyone in power wants: more power. As soon as the Patriarch announced the new bounty, they bought out our debts and started integrating us into their ranks. For now, they’ve granted us a degree of autonomy, along with certain privileges such as the use of their spaceweavers.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” he said hesitantly.
Commander Grisham clenched her hands into fists that writhed with vines. “It’s all just to soften the blow. If we can’t muster the required drops fast, the Riftwalkers will be dissolved, and everything I’ve worked to build since coming to the Nexus will disappear. Surely out of anyone, you can understand how upsetting it is to watch your legacy wither.”
Nate thought of his guide’s stubborn refusal to communicate with him, of his own desperation to prove himself worthy of the gift of verigenesis. Yes, he could understand the fear that all your hard work would be for naught.
Seeing the exhaustion on Commander Grisham’s face as she ran her fingers through her mossy hair, he couldn’t help but feel a flash of sympathy for the curmudgeonly guildmaster.
Still, the guild’s precarious situation changed nothing. He had his own future to protect, along with that of his friends. All this additional information meant was that the commander would be more desperate, and thus more dangerous, if she ever found out about the compass.
Commander Grisham’s expression hardened, her eyes taking on a steely glint. “I won’t give up without a fight. If the Riftwalkers acquire the bounty and win the Patriarch’s favor, we’ll be able to earn our rightful place in the Nexus. And that’s something I’m willing to do anything to achieve.”
Her eyes bored into Nate’s with such ferocity that he had to look away. “And what makes you think we can help with—”
“No,” the commander said firmly. “No more questions. It’s my turn. And before you feed me another lie, let me tell you what we already know. We know you spoke to the Lord Protector in the Hub before he shifted away and that you took something from him while you were there.”
Nate tried not to let his shock show on his face. Had the twins seen more than he’d realized? They must have.
Commander Grisham continued. “We also know that you stayed in the city for over two hours, and that when you finally left, you went straight to the Squelching Bog as if drawn there on a tether. Finally, we know that you never left the bog through any of the registered rifts, traveling under the radar until popping up here in the Vermilion Enclave. So I’ll ask again: what are the three of you up to?”
How had they pieced so much of it together? He supposed it didn’t really matter. It was clear the commander wouldn’t let this go unless he could spin one nil of a story.
While he organized his thoughts, he took a moment to examine the other guildmates clustered in a semicircle around them.
Bastion perched at Commander Grisham’s shoulder, smiling creepily at Nate as he fidgeted with his long fingers. Farther out, he spotted Sandra supporting Dale, his face and arms still covered with mottled burns.
Any hint of sympathy or remorse he might’ve seen on their faces before had been wiped clean. Now, their stares were as hard and cold as the others. The message was clear: he had no friends here, save the two trapped beside him.
Nate did the only thing he could think of; for once in his life, he stayed silent. There had to be a way out of this. At least, the commander hadn’t thought to search their bags yet. They’d been entombed in the vines along with their bodies. It was just a matter of time, however, before she discovered the compass. Then, the jig would be up.
Commander Grisham scowled, tightening her fingers like she wanted to throttle him. Instead, she spun away from him to face Ellie. “Wake her up,” she snapped.
Bastion hurriedly stepped forward, running a skeletal finger across Ellie’s cheek. Nate had a sudden urge to snap the soulweaver’s finger in half like a twig.
Ellie gasped, shuddering awake, and Bastion thankfully retracted his touch. She grunted as she strained futilely against her bonds. “What are you doing? Let me go!”
“Tell me what I want to know, and you can all go,” Commander Grisham replied calmly.
Nate couldn’t quite stifle his incredulous laugh. The sound came out more as a snort. “Just like that? Yeah, sorry if I don’t believe you.”
The commander ignored him, directing her comments toward Ellie. “You were such a promising find, one of our best recruits in a long time.” Her eyes flicked toward Nate with obvious disdain. “At least until you let this one corrupt you. But it’s not too late for a second chance. Help us now, and everything else can be water under the bridge.”
“Help you how?”
“Well, to start, you can tell me what the three of you are doing out here.”
Ellie glanced toward Nate, and his heartbeat quickened. She wasn’t actually considering Commander Grisham’s offer, was she?
Then she shrugged and looked away. “We just wanted to get some fresh air, let off a bit of steam. We’ve been wandering aimlessly for a couple days now. This forest has some real friendly critters in it: maybe you’d like me to introduce you?”
The commander stepped in closer to Ellie. Vines writhed across her back, curling outward like grasping claws. “Do you take me for a nil-brained fool?” she hissed. “The timing is too coincidental for you to be doing anything else but hunting the bounty. What I want to know is what made you think you had a chance in Null of getting it before everyone else. What did you find in the Hub?”
“Just because we needed a break doesn’t mean we went gallivanting off on some grand quest,” Ellie replied. “Like you said yourself, how could we track the Lord Protector better than you or any of the other guilds? We’re just a bunch of lowly Apprentices.”
Commander Grisham growled, spinning away. Bastion stepped forward and raised a spindly hand. “Would you like me to…?” he began, but the commander cut him off with a quick jerk of her head.
“No need for that. At least, not yet.”
The commander stepped out of Nate’s line of sight. He could guess where she’d be heading next. Sure enough, she spoke again a moment later.
“As for you, Wes, I have to admit that you are the greatest disappointment. You’ve always been too attached to Nate for your own good, but I never expected such a betrayal, not from you. I thought you were loyal to the guild and that you honored your oaths. I guess I was wrong.”
Nate didn’t need to see Wes to feel the shame radiating off of him. Perhaps he had made a hasty choice. Maybe they should’ve taken the compass straight back to the guild and told them everything. It was certainly what Wes would’ve done if Nate had let him. Yet, the potential rewards had simply seemed too great.
Even now, trapped and likely facing severe punishment if not outright reclamation, he couldn’t bring himself to give up the hunt. The drops alone represented months or even years of saved effort, but that wasn’t what really drove him. He had to prove that he could do this, not just to the Immortals and to the other verists of the Nexus, but to himself.
“I’m sorry,” Wes whispered. “We were going to return to the guild right after.”
Nate’s stomach dropped. No, Wes, please; whatever you do, don’t tell her about the compass.
“After what?” Commander Grisham asked eagerly.
Wes was silent for a long moment. Nate allowed himself to hope that his friend had found his resolve. Then, voice cracking, Wes said softly, “After we claimed the bounty.”
“Wes, don’t—” He tried to cry out for Wes to stop, but a writhing vine twisted over his mouth, silencing him.
“Go on, Wes,” Commander Grisham said with—likely feigned—compassion. “Tell me everything.”
And so he did. Every action they had taken since their first conversation about the Lord Protector’s badge poured out of Wes in a rush.
Nate hung his head limply in the vines, each new revelation like a knife to his gut. The commander would take the compass, then probably have them all reclaimed for good measure just to make sure they were out of the way. It’s over.
A sudden billow of smoke washed over him, bringing with it the stench of burning wood. For a moment, he wondered at its source. Then, he remembered the forest fire his Penetrating Fire Bolt had started. Had they all really been so distracted that they’d just left it to burn? If so, maybe he could use it to his advantage.
Sandra must’ve noticed the smoke as well since Nate saw her eyes widen. “Commander Grisham,” she said tentatively, interrupting the guildmaster’s questioning.
The commander shot her a glare, and Sandra visibly wilted before clearing her throat. “Should we, ah, do something about that fire? It looks like it’s still growing pretty quickly.”
“Fine,” Commander Grisham snapped, already turning her attention back to Wes. “Take Nick and Kara to help suppress it.”
Sandra nodded, disappearing toward the flames with two other verists in tow. Nate recognized Nick as the skyweaver he and Wes had fought while he vaguely remembered Kara as an earthweaver.
Wes and I are the only heatweavers here, he realized. No waterweavers around, either. Good; if all the guild had were geologic and aerial veristry, it would be significantly harder for them to deal with the fire, even with the aid of Sandra’s time manipulation to slow its spread.
The vines restraining him quivered. He frowned, reaching out with his senses. He might not be able to interact with Commander Grisham’s weave directly, but he could still feel the vital essence comprising it at a basic level.
Was the pattern weakening now that the commander was distracted? The vines shuddered again, and he realized it wasn’t the plants themselves that were shaking, but the ground beneath.
Suddenly, shouts rang out behind him, followed by an echoing crack that sounded like a tree being torn asunder. He struggled to turn, but no use with the vines restricting his movement.
Whatever was happening had certainly gotten the attention of the others. Commander Grisham stumbled back into view, her emerald eyes wide.
“What in the Null…” she murmured. Then, she seemed to snap to, gesturing at the other verists that remained. “All of you, with me, now!”
The commander hesitated, glancing toward Nate. “Except you, Bastion. I don’t want our prize slipping away. Stay here and guard them until I come back. If any of them try to escape, you know what to do.”
“As you wish, commander,” Bastion said, reclining his head.
Commander Grisham bolted past, vines whipping about her like monstrous tentacles as they propelled her body forward. The other verists followed hot on her heels. Soon, only Bastion remained lounging before them, a widening grin plastered across his pale face.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bastion regarded Nate with cold eyes. He seemed unnaturally calm despite the unfolding crisis as his fingers twitched through a complex dance in the air. Half-formed weaves traced the jagged lines running across the backs of his hands, waiting for the last threads they needed to leap into existence.
From behind them came the furious sounds of battle, essence exploding through the forest in its myriad forms. Had the roddels finally attacked en masse? Whatever calamity had befallen the guild, it didn’t sound good.
“I’m sorry, Nate,” Wes moaned, dragging Nate’s attention back to their own predicament. “They were going to find out, and they deserved to know the truth.”
