AETHER BEASTS

The city was unlike anything I'd expected. I'd imagined a warren or tunnel-like system of attached rooms and spaces, but what I was witnessing was nothing like that. Behind the door lay a vast and wide space that stretched on for what must have been miles in all directions like a big chunk had been taken out of the earth. Large crystals lay upon the roof of the space embedded in the earth and they shone down sunlight or at least a light similar in color to sunlight, down upon the city, which for the most part looked like a normal city.

The buildings were made out of different sorts of stone, but there were roads, different districts that I could from the vantage we were at. We were outside the city, on a cliff that looked down upon it.

"Even more beautiful than I read about," Misty commented.

"Must have taken a lot of effort to make the space," Sandra said.

"Maybe, maybe not," Our guide said. "No one actually knows who made the original city or how this space came to be. Now let's get down there."

We followed her down a long zig-zagging staircase that was on side of the cliff we were on, and I was actually worried one of us might fall until I took my first few steps. The material the stairs were made of was adhesive, though not overly so and it made falling or tripping a lot less likely.

"It's similar to the fleetwood we found in the tower," Zirani explained in answer to my thoughts. "Though it's not as potent in terms of aether. If you focus your arcane sense closely enough then you should be able to sense faint traces of earth aether."

I did as she said, and was able to sense faint hints of aether, though nothing compared to the fleet wood. The earth aether seemed to react each time I took a step, just like a natural enchantment that made the material adhesive.

"What are those?" Sandra asked, pointing up to a large stone block that lay next to one of the shining crystals.

"Air purifier," Our guide answered. "They keep the air fresh and circulating. There are dozens above us and all over the city."

"You aren't worried about anybody tampering with them?" Misty asked.

Our guide chuckled. "They are all heavily guarded. It happened once by accident and he tried to run, but we locked everything down and caught him within the hour. He paid a big fine and was banished from the lower city for a few years, but that's about it. It's hard to cause us harm down here, we are the 'stone' revenants after all."

We asked a few more questions about the city as we made out way down the stairs and across a stretch of empty space to the city. No walls surrounded it, not that it would need them. This palace had the natural defense of being underground, and one would have to get passed the higher city first which would give the lower city plenty of time to react and prepare.

"It's a large hazard," Zirani said. "I suppose it doesn't matter here in the plains, but an earth-focused arcanist from my lands could bring the roof down with relative ease. It's not like there's any reinforcement enchantments keeping it up or any enchantments at all as far as I can tell."

That was a scary thought to think about, but I didn't think it would be happening. As far as I knew, Bullrock had been around for a long time and was a neutral city, never having taken part in any conflicts.

We finally made it to the city after an hour of walking. It hadn't looked too far away from above, but the underground space was vast and if the city ever wanted to expand they could for a very long time before having to worry about space.

"I'm assuming you three are here for the labyrinth?"

"How did you know?" I asked our guide.

"It's what most people come here for," She replied. "And you three are powerful arcanists. I can't think of any other reason you'd come here if not for the labyrinth. By the way, I'm going to have to report your presence to my superiors so you might get a visit later on."

"We were expecting something like that," Misty said. "I hope there will be no trouble."

There was a hint of a threat in her voice and the guide quickly shook her head. "Of course not. Just a few questions to make sure your not here to cause any harm, and probably an offer or two."

That was also expected. Sects were always looking for new powerful arcanists to take in and make alliances with, and well we were perfect candidates. Young, powerful, and easel influence or so most probably thought. We wouldn't be staying here though. We had a bigger goal in mind.

The guide led us through the city, giving us bits of important information and general information about things like the market, the most popular eateries, clinics, and the auction house. It was truly like a tour up until we got to the labyrinth. It lay near the center of the city and was heavily guarded with dozens of stone revenants. The entrance itself was a wide opening with a staircase that led into darkness, and close by lay a pale white pillar etched with intricate carvings that gave off all sorts of aether. People would approach and after a quick inspection and payment for some, they would be allowed to enter the labyrinth. Of course, each was also made to use the escape pillar, since they wouldn't be able to get out without it, at least not unless there were either very lucky or had a damn good memory, but even that wouldn't help in some cases as labyrinths were known to shift their layout and held warping properties.

There was a wide variety of people waiting to get into the labyrinth from stone revenants to mercenaries and even common folk. They probably thought they might get lucky or had heard one of the stories about grand riches and wealth. It's not like I'd thought that just a day ago.

Our guide led us to the pillar, and with our ticket, we were able to bypass the line. Some began to complain, but the moment they noticed our strength, they promptly shut up. It wasn't the lands beyond the great scar, but power still meant a lot here in the northern plains

The process of attuning to the pillar took seconds as all we needed to do was feed some aether and then a connection formed. It was similar to my bonds with my three ladies, but not as strong and I could tell its purpose.

"It's not that complicated," Zirani said, and I might have disagreed with her a few months ago, but not now. I could understand the pattern and pillars' inner workings. It was essentially a one-time bond with an embedded pattern that when fed, would trigger an effect that would pull on one end of the bond, bringing the person who'd attuned to the pillar back to the spot they'd been in when they'd first attuned to it. That might have caused some problems, but I noticed that apart from us, the guards hurried anyone who spent took long near the pillar. A closer look at the pattern showed that anyone with a bond would not be able to teleport out if an object was standing in the position they'd been in when they'd attuned to the pillar. That of course raised more questions, and I might have asked about it if Sandra hadn't pinched me to get my attention.

"Think about it later," Sandra muttered. "Labyrinth first."

"This is where I leave you," our guide said with a short bow. "I hope your delve into the labyrinth is fruitful and as interesting as you hope for."

We thanked her then made our way to the entrance, the people around it parting for us. The guards near the staircase had seen us with the guide and waved us forward. There were whispers and murmur about us and who we could be, but I just ignored them.

"May your delve be fruitful and grand!" the guard's recited in unison, their voices booming.

"It must be some sort of saying," Sandra said as we took our first steps down into the darkness.

It looked similar to Sandra's smokey darkness in a way, and I guessed it was actually a portal. It sure as hell wasn't natural darkness. I was at the third level and my enchanted eyesight meant I could see pretty well in the dark, but I couldn't see a thing down there.

"Misty, are sure we don't need anything else?" I asked. We had our rings and everything we'd acquired in our time spent in the tower along with plenty of other things, but it never hurt to ask and double-check.

"No." She shook her head. "We've got everything we need."

"Then onward we go."