Path of Dragons

Elijah hit the gate with the force of a speeding train. In the past, that wouldn't have been possible in his relatively delicate flight form, but with all the recent attribute gains, he could bear it. The gate didn't even tremble, though. The bones that comprised its arch were entirely solid. He hadn't even chipped them. That told Elijah everything he needed to know about their durability. At best, it would take a concerted effort harnessing every point of his Strength to dismantle the gates. That wasn't possible, given the flood of undead pouring out of them. But at worst, they were indestructible.
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So, he turned his attention elsewhere.

And it wasn't long before he felt it. Three surges of power – conduits – flowing from the gates, and in two separate directions. One led to the throne of skulls, while the other led downward. Through Soul of the Wild, Elijah determined that the former wasn't the source. Rather, it was the recipient, channeling that power into Avara. But below – that was a different story altogether, and one Elijah intended to investigate.

With that in mind, he left his companions behind. He'd given them what help he could afford to give, and hopefully Tempest Swarm would provide them with a chance to hold on until he took care of the real problem. If those gates weren't defeated, then they wouldn't have a chance of winning the day.

After his ill-fated dive, he flapped his wings and regained altitude just in time to avoid the grasping claws of dozens of undead. He soon left them behind, then circled as he focused on Soul of the Wild. The conduits flowed toward the center of the spire, though Elijah knew better than to simply retrace the steps they'd followed on their way up. He and Dat had already investigated every nook and cranny of those corridors, so if there was something inside, it wasn't connected to the main halls.

Even as Sadie and the others fought against the oncoming horde, Elijah once again dove, soon passing the lip of the platform so he could see the underside. It was mostly as expected, forming shallow bowl-like shape festooned with sharp edges that made it look more aggressive. It was like the whole thing was designed by an edgy teenager going through a goth phase.

Only a moment after that thought crossed his mind, Elijah felt ethera stir just ahead of him. At first, he thought he'd found something relating to the conduits leading to the gates, but when he saw a shimmer in the air resolve itself into a vaguely humanoid shape, he recognized it for what it was.

A wraith.

The incorporeal thing was a deadly enemy, and Elijah narrowly managed to bank far enough out of its path to avoid its oncoming attack. From experience, he knew the things wouldn't inflict physical damage upon him. Rather, they would suck the life right out of their prey, one attack at a time. That meant that he couldn't afford to get hit. Otherwise, he'd end up a lifeless husk.

Unfortunately, that resolution was compromised by the fact that the wraith was not alone. Far from it, in fact. Suddenly, the air screamed with their presence, and hundreds of the incorporeal creatures descended upon him. Some looked mostly human – though transparent and with a blue tint – but others obviously took inspiration from various other races, like dwarves, goblins, elves, and ogres. The vast majority of the things took shapes he didn't recognize.

It didn't matter, though. Elijah wheeled away, tucking his wings into a dive that let him avoid the closest wraiths. However, he couldn't dodge them all, and soon enough, a wave of frigid cold that had nothing to do with the ambient temperature swept through him. He didn't feel any weaker, but he knew that if he kept going like that, he'd end up plummeting to the ground, entirely devoid of life.

Thankfully, he managed to outpace them, and soon enough, something became entirely apparent. The creatures were capable of rapid movement, but it was limited in scope. They could only keep it up for a couple of seconds before they slowed considerably. That gave Elijah enough of an opening to lead them away from the battle, circling around and herding them into a pursuing mass of blue, ephemeral forms.

Each circle took him further afield, and to his distress, took long seconds that he knew his companions couldn't afford. Yet, he knew he needed room to investigate the phenomena below the platform, and he couldn't accomplish his goals with the wraiths flying around.

So, he continued his plan for another couple of minutes until, at last, he judged that he'd gained enough of a lead to give himself at least a few minutes to search for a source of all that ethera. He returned to the platform, finally pushing himself to full speed, and when he reached his destination, took a second to notice that things were not going well.

Sadie was holding her own, but Dat had disappeared. Nico threw out heals like Elijah had never seen before, which was probably the only reason either of them were still alive. That sight told Elijah he was on the right track. If he didn't stop the flow of undead, there was no chance of victory.

Before he did that, he needed to help, though. So, he swooped down, targeting one of the largest skeletons – the one Dat had identified as a Healer – snatched its collarbone with his talons, and, with a mighty beat of his wings, took to the sky. He was over the lip of the platform in only a second, and he dropped the creature to the ground far, far below.

That act hadn't come without a cost, though. The enemy spellcaster skeleton had peppered him with a dozen attacks that had singed through his wings. If he tried it again, Elijah's flight capability would be severely diminished.

Despite his desire to help his friends, he needed to focus on the real problem and stop the flow of enemies from the gates.

So, he latched onto the underside of the platform, shifted into the Shape of Venom, then adopted Guise of the Unseen. Once he was hidden, Elijah focused on Soul of the Wild, mentally following the conduit of ethera toward the central spire. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for.

It was a round hole covered in what looked like green crystal.

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Elijah shifted into Shape of Thorn, and using his vines to cling to the underside of the platform, he reared back and punched the crystal. The blow failed to harness his full power, but even without leverage, he managed to crack it. The ethera flowing through the conduit weakened slightly, telling him he was on the right track. So, he hit it again.

After three more blows, it shattered completely, exploding with enough force that he very nearly lost his grip on the underside of the platform. But he was surprised to see that, even though the flow of ethera had weakened, it didn't stop. Instead, it remained incredibly strong.

Seeing that, Elijah shifted back into the Shape of Venom, then skittered forward. Passing through the beam of ethera was not pleasant, and Elijah felt his scales blister under the onslaught, but it wasn't enough to dissuade him. For almost fifty feet, he fought against the current until, at last, he spilled out into a chamber hidden within the spire.

For a couple of moments, he simply lay there, recovering his energy. Passing through such a concentrated flow of ethera left him feeling an odd mixture of energized and absolutely wrung out. Like he'd drunk an entire pot of coffee after spending four days studying for an upcoming final.

As the seconds passed, he slowly returned to some semblance of equilibrium, but more importantly, he realized that he couldn't afford to spend any time on recovery. So, he shifted back into his human form, then cast a couple of heals to counteract the blisters he'd picked up.

That was when he allowed himself to look around, and he was more than a little surprised at what he saw. In the center of the chamber was the largest power crystal he'd ever beheld, and its size was probably the least notable aspect. Instead, that distinction belonged to the green tint and the sheer amount of power it contained.

Kurik would have loved it.

After taking in the sight of the crystal, Elijah glanced around the rest of the room. It was triangular in shape, with three connected halls leading outward. He couldn't see past their entrances, but he felt something sinister within those dark corridors. Predictably, three other beams of ethera – in addition to the other three, which were on a different plane, leading outside – went through those halls.

Elijah's first instinct was to simply smash the power crystal. It was clearly the fuel for the portals, so getting rid of it – or even disrupting the flow – would likely deactivate them. But that plan was undercut by the fact that it was surrounded by a cage of black metal that proved too durable for Elijah to destroy.

And for longer than he cared to acknowledge, he tried to do just that. It was like railing against a mountain, and he accomplished even less than that comparison implied. Regardless, it was a good hint as to what he needed to do next. So, he turned his attention to the dark halls.

Deciding to be on the safe side, Elijah shifted back into the Shape of Venom, then adopted Guise of the Unseen. The sense of being watched disappeared, confirming that he was on the right track. He padded forward, and when he reached the hall, he hesitated only a second before passing through.

Worry for his friends drove him forward as he climbed the walls, and he was so distracted by that that he very nearly ran into his doom. A giant, inhuman eye embedded into the ceiling flicked back and forth, clearly keeping watch over the entire area. Elijah had no interest in seeing what would happen if it detected him – doubtless nothing good – so he took extra caution as he traversed the dark hall.

He could barely see a few feet in front of him, and the area was so infused with ethera that Soul of the Wild was of similarly limited use. Still, he inched forward, keeping watch for more evidence of the hall's creepy security system.

Along the way, he saw four more eyes. They were just as large and when Elijah searched them with the sense granted by Soul of the Wild, he found himself utterly repulsed. The things weren't just watchful. They felt, for lack of a better term, cruel. It was further evidence that he didn't want to see what they would have in store if his stealth faltered even a little.

He remained vigilant, driven by need as well as a little fear, and he soon found the end of the hall. A black obelisk stood at the terminus of the beam of ethera, and after seeing its glassy sides, Elijah struggled to understand what he was looking at.

When he once again focused on Soul of the Wild, he saw two things. First, the sides of the obelisk were not as smooth as he'd first thought. Instead, they featured a single rune on each surface. Second, the walls were absolutely covered in similar glyphs, each one pulsing with a subtle current of ethera.

Most importantly, Elijah recognized the setup because he'd seen something similar not long ago. Had the old man built those tests to give them hints as to what was to come? Almost assuredly. And Elijah wasn't shy about putting those lessons to good use. He immediately searched for the matching glyphs, then extended a tendril of his soul into each one.

The runes on the obelisk lit up, one by one, and when all four sides were alight, the obelisk retracted into the floor. The beam of ethera ceased.

Elijah pumped his fist, then started back toward the hall. Only when he felt that foreboding sense of being watched did he remember to shift back into Shape of Venom and slip into stealth. The way back was no less fraught with anxiety than the first trip through the tunnel, but Elijah managed it, immediately entering the next hall. What he found on the other side was an almost identical setup, though with a different set of glyphs. He had no idea what they meant, but he didn't need to, so long as he got the results he needed.

The third hall went almost identically to the other two, though this time, the eyes in the wall were even more vigilant. That forced Elijah to slow down, which was not an easy task, given the anxiety flowing through him. He managed it all the same, and when he returned to the main chamber, he found that the cage had retracted into the floor.

The crystal was exposed.

Guessing that the test of strength had a purpose just like all the others, Elijah reasoned he was intended to remove the power crystal. So, he shifted into the Shape of Thorn, then stepped up to the pedestal where the crystal rested. The thing was at least five feet across and perhaps seven tall. It would not be no easy burden to lift.

Elijah hoped he could manage it. To that end, he wrapped his arms and vines around the thing, then activated Savage Strength.

It didn't budge.

Not even an inch.

The thing was at least as heavy as the tenth stone that he'd failed to lift back in the test of strength. Perhaps even heavier. But back then, Elijah was driven by nothing more than adrenaline and pride. This time, his friends' lives were at stake. So, he tried again, and on this attempt, he managed to shift it an inch. Screaming with the strain, Elijah continued to struggle, and one inch became two. Two became three. And after tapping into every point of strength he possessed, he managed to lift the thing free of its cradle. The second it left, the beams of ethera ceased.

He stumbled backward and dropped the huge power crystal.

It hit the ground, shattering the stone beneath it, but it remained entirely intact. Seeing that, Elijah decided to finally use an item he'd prepared for just such an occasion. Before he'd left his island, he'd bought another ring paired with the spatial anchor on his island. Until now, he'd decided not to reveal its existence, but this seemed like a good opportunity.

Once it disappeared, Elijah refocused on the task at hand. After all, he had some friends to assist.

So, without further ado, he ensured that he hadn't missed anything in the chamber, then headed back the way he'd entered. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too late to save his companions.