AETHER BEASTS

After cuddling for a few minutes, we dressed then headed out into the main room where Zirani had finished the circle. This one was not as complex as the others she made like the bonding circle for me and Sandra, but it was odder. It was similar to the circle the twin horn had been using for the lost queen in that smaller circles were attached to a large circle, and items, mainly cores, were placed in the circles. What was more interesting was that strings of aether had appeared from the cores and attached to the circle and aether was flowing. I would have never been able to understand what was happening early, but now with more knowledge, I was able to come to the conclusion that the strings were a power source and the circle was like a pattern and pathway for the aether.

"What's it going to do?" I asked Zirani.

"This will teleport us outside of Bullrock, the higher city, not the lower." She frowned. "I hope so at least. This is my first time creating such a circle and it's different. Honestly, this wouldn't be working if our core didn't have a spatial mutation."

It had been so long since I thought about the mutation, but it made sense. Teleportation was a common technique for those with spatial affinity, though I'd never actually seen an arcanist with a spatial affinity in the plains. The affinities of space, time, and gravity were so rare in the plains that some didn't think they existed, mostly those who lived in smaller communities away from the cities. The only reason I knew better was because of the academy. That was what set West Vale apart from the rest. Everyone in West Vale was well educated, at least more so than most people in the plains.

"It's going to be hard to explain how we managed to get to the higher city, isn't it?" Sandra asked. "The only way out of the labyrinth they're aware of is the exit pillar."

"That would be a problem if we were staying for long," Zirfani replied, walking over to the center of the main circle. "We enter the city and then we can deliver the girl, get our rewards and then leave quickly. I'm somewhat disappointed we didn't find any cores down here, but there's bound to be something in the chest you took."

"I don't know how we're going to get them open." Misty sighed. "I couldn't open it or even scratch the lock using my death claws."

"I'm not too worried about that." ZIrani smiled. "I'm guessing they have some sort of defense created using whatever power the hag and well…"

She trailed off and a thoughtful look appeared on her face. "The hag was speaking some truth. I do, and still am feeling a tug whiting, drawn to the power here. I can sense it smiler to how I sense aether. Misty showed me one of the chests and there's an intricate pattern embedded into the lock, made up of the same energy the hag was using, however, it's powering itself with the bits of ambient energy in the air. When we leave, there won't anything for it to use as a power source."

"So she was telling the truth then?" Misty asked.

"Partially," Zirani replied with a shrug. "At least that's what it seems. She's dead so I don't think we'll ever know unless we come across someone else from another world, now everyone into the circle."

"Is hope still asleep?" I asked worriedly as I stepped into the circle beside Zirani.

"She is." Misty entered the circle with the girl in her arms. "She's exhausted, mentally and physically. I think we're going to have to tell her some of what she saw was a dream. I'm not sure if she saw Zirani, but no reason to risk it."

Once we were all in the circle, Zirani closed her eyes and began to focus. The aether that had been moving through the pathways within the circle began to speed up, and a new form of aether left our core, a green, tinged with blue. It entered the circle which began to shine so brightly I had to shield my eyes.

What happened next was like falling but in reverse. My body became weightless for a long moment and all sound, smell, and sensation left, only to return in a wave as the light cleared.

I stumbled forwards and pressed a hand to my mouth to stop myself from vomiting. Sandra was not so lucky as she puke her guts out nearby, and even Misty looked sick.

Once I was sure I wasnt going to spill the contents of my stomach, I stood and inspected my surroundings. We were in small forest cleaning, presumably outside Bullrock if the circle had worked correctly.

I turned to Zirnai who looked comely fine. "Please tell me that's not what it's going to feel like when you teach me to teleport?"

She chuckled. "No, it won't. Now I should probably go, the girl's waking up."

As Zirani retired to her core, Hope opened her eyes slowly. Misty had set her down so she could walk over and lean against a tree.

I walked over, and Hope's eyes remained hazy for a long moment before they cleared and focused on my face. "Aiden?"

"I'm here, Hope," I said. "We're out of the labyrinth."

She shot up at that then immediately winced as she pressed a hand to her head. "Ow."

"Yeah, you hit your head pretty bad," I explained, crouching down. "What do you remember?'

"Ermm, you saved me, and then we ran back to the old woman's house, and then." She paused and tilted her head. "And then blackness."

I held back a sigh of relief. It seemed she'd been tired enough that she hadn't been paying much attention, which meant things would be easier for all of us.

By now Sandra had finished puking, and Misty looked better. They both walked over, and Misy once again picked up the girl who had closed her eyes once again and fallen back to sleep. Apparently, she was more exhausted than I'd thought.

"Come on. I can use green pulse to find which way we need to go."

"If we even are outside Bullorck," Sandra said.

"Zirani's never failed us before," I reminded.

Sandra shook her head. "I know that I'm just saying. She herself said this is her first time doing this, and usually the first time you dos something you make a mistake."

I felt Zirani's emotions, and she didn't seem offended by Sandra's words at all.

"She is partially right," Zirani said mentally. "But I'm also a four-hundred-year-old aether beast and an expert when it comes to the arcane. That circle was based on principles and methods I am well trained in, though fate and chance do love to prove us wrong."

"Well, they've been kind to us so far," I replied. "We met each other after all, and well we're still alive despite the fact we keep getting into very dangerous situations."

Not that I wanted to leave things up to chance, not anymore. I could feel Zirani worry as she knew what i thinking and I didn't hide what I'd been thinking about a few hours ago. I let her see it all because I wanted her to know that things needed to change. I need to learn more and stop relying on her so much. I made sure she understood that I wanted her close and with me always, but that I needed to learn to make decisions for myself and truly gain some experience. Everything that had happened since leaving West Vale had been eventful, to say the least, and I'd had Zirnai with me the entire time, knowing that if I screwed I had her. I'd always asked her for help, and though I made smaller decisions, I'd always relied on her for what to do and where to go, and while there wasn't anything wrong with that, I was realizing it had reached a dangerous degree.

If Zirani suddenly vanished now then I wouldn't know what to do, and that was very much a bad thing.

Zirani didn't say anything, but I could tell she was deep in thought and thinking things through.

As we walked through the first I used green pulse and It took only ten minutes to find the trail that led to Bullrock, though we got a few looks, no one bothered us, and we were able to make it back to the city quickly. The guards were shocked at first but once we told them who we and they had an entire squad escort us to the mayor's building.

I'd rather we headed there more discreetly, but it didn't really matter since we'd be leaving immediately after getting our rewards. If we stayed then questions would be asked and we could not answers them as that would lead to more questions and most likely violence.