Jason huffed, sweat dripping down from every pore as he continued to pound away at the stone. He'd made good progress with his tunnel, but an hour had passed and there was still no sign of a wall he could break through. He estimated that chipping through here would put him right next to a storeroom. He'd been there before while scouting, it was filled with all sorts of scattered junk, old clothes, rusty weapons, forgotten toys, a perfect entry zone. He just hoped that there would be no one present once he made ingress.
He maintained the Silence spell as he worked, filtering the Foundation through the House of Kyria. Every strike of his fist should have made a cacophonous echo throughout the whole tunnel, but thanks to this spell he may as well have been punching a pillow with mittens on. He froze in his work to consider his gauntlets… Lithia had said that they were made from Dragon-Bone, so had Jyn harvested his own bones to craft this suit?
An unsettling thought, knowing he was being protected by the bones of his own father. Jason felt almost revolted by the thought, but a tool was a tool, and bones or not, he needed these gauntlets to punch his way through without tearing his own skin off. Michael and Cat still needed saving, Jason may not be a part of the Eighth Arm any more, but that didn't mean he would leave fellow humans to suffer at the hands of the vampires.
What would they think once they've learned that Jason had fully Thawed? That he considered himself a free man now, not a tool any longer? He wasn't sure, but he'd expect the worst. Michael and Cat would likely cease working with him outright, they wouldn't try to apprehend him, that would be impossible for them to accomplish. In fact, even if they rounded up all the crew from the Sparrow, they'd never be able to catch him.
He shook his head. This line of thinking was pointless, of course they wouldn't even bother to try. Terna had fallen, they were in a different dimension, and they were scattered to the winds. Though it upset him to think these things, it simply was. He'd still do his duty and save them if he could, though he had no idea how many survivors from the Sparrow were still left alive.
There were also the Final Kind survivors to think about. In all this turmoil he'd nearly forgotten his oldest foes. They were likely scattered across the other continents of Ahkoolis, likely causing trouble for the locals. He could take the time to hunt them down and exterminate them, they were still enemies to humanity, after all. Hector's friends might have thought it best to leave these survivors alone, some of them had sympathized with the aliens, not knowing that they were just as cruel as Terna herself.
Massacres, resource gouging, conquest; The Final Kind was a mirror of Terna, just with dozens of alien races filling its ranks instead of just humans. If he did decide to go finish them off, what would he do then? He had no ability to return to his own dimension, so Jason would need to find a new purpose after these last tasks were completed. Thankfully Lance would be along for the ride, so he wouldn't be at a total loss on what to do.
He went back to pounding stone as he thought, mind wandering freely. Jason was going to be living on Ahkoolis for the rest of his life. Being biologically immortal, that could mean a very long time indeed before he finally passed on… unless this Godling War was allowed to run its course. He struck a huge chunk of stone from the wall, casually shifting the piece out of the way with his foot.
If the Pillar-Born fought it out till the end, this age would end in an apocalypse, then the cycle would continue. What if Jason could change that? He'd killed Tuji, after all… if he could kill all the Pillar-Born, Lance and the other people he'd come to care for wouldn't die. Yet, following that path would mean eventually facing off with Twindil and her friends. Could he really turn his gun on them after coming to know them? He shook his head, it had only been a week and a half since they'd all left the Faewood together, he could never claim to truly know them.
Yet, despite that thought, he found it difficult to picture neutralizing them. Could there be another way to stop the coming Godling War without slaying all the Pillar-Born? Mangwin had told him that it was the conflict of their mortal and divine blood that caused them to go insane, but Jason also bore this same divine blood through his father, along with mortal blood from his mother. There had been no equivalent of a Godling-War among the Hoplites, no war for ascension, nothing like that whatsoever.
So what was the difference?
He mulled on this for another few inches of rigorous excavation before he realized what the difference was. His mother was an Outworlder, perhaps the difference in DNA was the reason? She was still a mortal regardless, he may just go through ascension anyway, perhaps that was the true reason Hoplites remained frozen…No that wasn't right either, because half-Dragons would likely be as persecuted as Pillar-Born were that the case. True, he saw no evidence of this, but his- Jason grimaced at the thought, but his uncle Legolanthas made it seem that half-Dragons were not so disdained.
He froze before his fist could connect with the stone, his mind fully engaged. Could it be that Dragons were 'mortally divine'? As in, they are born from the union of two Pillar-Gods, but aren't gods themselves, so technically they're mortal? If that's the case, then it makes sense that none of the Hoplites had ever 'ascended' before. This was all just blundering in the dark, but it did wonders for taking his mind off the monotony of digging. He resumed his work, letting his mind take him places he'd never dared to before, all the way up until he reached his objective.
He'd punched out a section of stone to reveal a solid concrete wall. This should be the storeroom, now he'd need to clear out the rock more carefully. He began scraping the stone away, not wanting the reverberations of his mining visible on the other side of this wall. Once he'd pulverized what little rock remained, he approached the wall. He put his ear to it, shutting his eyes as he let his bionics get to work.
A few minutes passed of pure silence before he decided to tear it down. He started small, cracking the concrete gently with his knuckles to wear it away. He wanted a small peephole before he began truly deconstructing it. Once his gauntlets had worn a large groove into the wall, he pierced his finger through it. Quickly he leaned down to peer through the finger-sized hole, seeing the back of a wide shelf.
This was even better, having an obstruction in the way would be useful for keeping this entrance concealed. Displacing it would be annoying but otherwise this was ideal. Hoplite then cast an illusion overtop the hole he just made, pushing Foundation through the House of Kyria before he pictured the drab gray concrete in his mind, summoning it forth into reality before practically slapping it over the hole he just made.
No one on the other side would be able to tell that anything was wrong with the wall, if they even bothered to peek behind the shelf. Better safe than sorry though. Jason then began the tedious work of scraping down the rest of the concrete. The worst part was bending and breaking the rebar out of the way, it was difficult for him to manipulate it. Unlike dark human rebar, dwarven rebar was a light umber hue, and far stronger to boot. Jason could tell the difference, back after his first infusions he'd been given standard rebar to bend, and he'd basically turned that into a pretzel with minimum effort. Dwarven rebar made human rebar feel like paper by comparison.
Despite this increased strength however, it still could not stand up to Hoplite's prying hands. If he were in his whole suit, this would have taken almost no time at all, with half the effort. Without the enhanced strength of his suit though, he had to rely purely on his own. He had better learn to cloak it quickly, he would need the Phalanx suit to kill Wurmdring. Had Jason's flesh not been exposed to damage, he'd have made short work of the vampire, surely.
Once the rebar was good and bent backwards, Jason removed his gauntlets, placing them down beside the entrance before he emerged from the illusion, invisible and examining the floor. He swept back any remaining bits of concrete debris into his tunnel before squeezing close to the shelf. Dozens of open boxes were stacked on the different levels of the shelf, showing their contents. Jason had to squat down to see what was in the bottom layer, as he was far taller than the shelf itself.
He found a few dozen old blankets, some rusted metalworking tools, along with other bits and baubles. He didn't hesitate as he grabbed a few of the dusty blankets, making sure not to take everything out of the box. A few things going missing wouldn't draw much attention, but entire stores disappearing would. He pulled the blankets back into his tunnel before moving back into the storeroom.
Currently he had gotten Lance some coverage and bedding, now he needed to steal some food and water. He considered whether or not to return to the workshop, for surely Lance's gear was still there… but what if Wurmdring was also present, waiting for him to return? Jason wasn't ready to fight him again, not until he was able to counter those Light Whips and cloak his suit. Still though, Wurmdring had been in critical condition when Jason had fled, maybe he wasn't still there? He'd have to eavesdrop on some of the nearby dwarves to find out for sure, as long as Wurmdring or his superiors weren't there, Jason would be able to take Lance's gear back.
He stole a few other odds and ends from the storeroom first, including some old cookware as well as some utensils. He no longer needed to eat now, being able to use Foundation to fuel him, but Lance didn't have that ability. Jason would need to keep his friend fed or she'd no doubt perish. He mulled on this as he snuck toward the door of the storeroom, completely silent as he went.
How was he going to keep her fed once they escaped here? The Fiendwood had nothing edible within it whatsoever, even the water was tainted, there was a chance that Jason wouldn't be able to drink it either. It would be fatal trying to survive topside, the water alone would be a death-sentence, or more aptly, curse-sentence. He then recalled how Fiends immediately disintegrated once they made contact with raw Foundation, Alistair made short work of them with his mastery.
So what if he could purify the water on the surface with raw Foundation? Any cursed-contaminants would be destroyed by the contact, right? It made sense to him, but that still didn't solve the food problem. There would be no way to escape with the wagon now, it was impossible, Jason wouldn't even consider it. Running through the Akan-Dark within that Coffin would surely spell their doom, Jason knew that creature must have been leagues beyond Wurmdring if it was capable of manipulating Akan-Var's undercity in such a way.
He opened the door slightly, straining his ears and hearing dozens of footsteps approaching. Jason shut the door gently, backing away from the door a good distance before freezing in place. Once the footsteps passed, he emerged into the hallway, seeing that it was a group of soldiers, clad in thick plate-armor and wielding miniature versions of Jason's Magnus shotgun. The dwarves looked nervous, heads constantly whipping this way and that as they patrolled the hall. Likely they were terrified of encountering Jason, knowing that he could turn invisible at this point meant that they expected him from every angle. A blast from one of those mini-Magnuses could hurt him badly, but not outright kill him.
Out of the six of them he spotted one dwarf wearing blood-red armor, the signature protection of the Fanged Guards. It was likely that each of these patrols had a vampire with them now, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that there would be other patrols nearby. Right as he had the thought, another group of six dwarves emerged from around a corner, one of them being a Fanged Guard. The patrols were within shouting distance of one another, with potentially dozens more just around that same corner.
Jason would need to be cautious, else he'd get caught. These vampires weren't anywhere near Wurmdring's level, their senses were keen but they wouldn't be able to tell he was here… unless they could smell him. With how sweaty he was right now, that could genuinely be an issue, but they might just chalk it up as coming from their underlings. It was hard to say, but he decided to risk it.
Jason walked between the two patrols as they threaded through the hall, spying several other groups of armed dwarves wandering the halls. Curious dwarven civilians would peek out on occasion to stare at the passing patrols, some asking if the 'monster' had been caught yet.These were met with firm, yet reassuring denials, the Fanged Guard urging them to keep their doors shut until the threat was found.
Did this mean they hadn't found his last entrance? It was unlikely that they hadn't, so Jason wouldn't return there. For all he knew that could be where Wurmdring was right now. He continued on until he finally broke free from the two patrol routes, making his way toward the workshop once again. He could still only cloak two things at once, but he had an idea for how he could sneak Lance's gear out without getting caught.
When he finally reached the workshop, he was shocked to see that barely any dwarves guarded it whatsoever. The door was wide open, with a gray-suited dwarf staring into the shop, eyes wide and glassy. Two other long-bearded dwarves tried to shove the dwarf in, along with a wide cart that was filled with mops, buckets of water, and sponges.
"Please don't make me go in there." The gray dwarf pleaded, "This place is cursed, if I cross this threshold, I will not return!"
"Don't be ridiculous Barrig," One of the soldiers reasoned, "Just get in there and do your duty, the Long Lords have deemed that Ketbrams shop will not be sealed off, so it needs to be cleaned."
"There's too much blood… I'll be sick." Barrig told them, his bottom lip quivering, "You cannot expect me to clean this all by myself."
"Of course not you fool," The other shook his head, "Other sanitation staff are on the way, you won't be alone."
"So I won't die alone, then?" Barrig asked, shoulders slumping.
The two guard dwarves shot one another a look, before turning back to Barrig.
"Look, if it will make you feel more secure, I'll step in there with you. I'm not afraid." The guard said, "But we must fulfill the Long Lord's will, you must be brave, Barrig."
Jason frowned, that's right, the workshop was covered in blood. An entire sea of it basically, covering the floor from end to end. If he walked in there, his feet would get soaked and he'd leave a trail. In fact, he could see his old trail now, massive bloody red footsteps led out of the room and through the hall. He'd come this far already, he wasn't about to turn back now, especially when he knew that Wurmdring was no longer present.
He only needed to worry about his footprints after he left the shop, but going in should be no trouble- his frown deepened. Depending on how deep the blood sea was, him walking through it would give away his position. Damn it, he may have to leave it behind after all, at least until after the cleaning was done. If he knew how to levitate he wouldn't have to worry about it. There was still so much he needed to learn from Lithia, despite his feelings for the rotten corpse.
He hated that creature for needlessly putting Lance in danger, that was no lie, but Lithia was too useful for him to outright cut ties with her. Jason needed that geriatric mummy, otherwise he'd be left on his own to learn magic. He turned to leave, defeated once again, but this time by his own caution. As Jason carefully picked his way back toward the storeroom, he managed to overhear the patrols on the way.
It seemed that Twindil, along with all her friends had managed to escape to the surface somehow. Nolvi would be relieved at least, and that scratched saving them off his list… Would he have saved them, knowing what they were? He shook his head, not wanting to think on that any further. Michael and Cat had not been with them apparently, for he heard that Long Lord Megad was keeping them in his personal study.
If Wurmdring could pick out Hoplite while he was cloaked, a Long Lord would be able to notice his approach well before Jason got within a hundred feet of him. However, he heard something else that gave him a small bit of hope. Apparently, all three Long Lords were preparing for the Long Rest, a significant period of time where they would be unconscious. Following those dwarves, he eventually found out that they would be out of commission for an entire month, more than enough time to rescue his fellow Ternans.
Hopefully Michael was alright, Lance had told him on the way back down from the fungal cavern that he may have been turned into a vampire himself. Why they would do this, Jason had no idea, but it didn't matter if Michael was a vampire now, he was still a marine and a fellow man. He'd not leave him to rot in a cell.
He scavenged whatever other intel he could before deciding to raid a nearby kitchen. The larder was filled to the brim with pale sausages and a stone-gray bread, along with barrels upon barrels of booze. There were no dwarves here to work the kitchen, likely having withdrawn to their burrows after the latest battle. Jason, remembering his earlier plan to sneak Lance's gear out, found an empty barrel, stuffing it to the brim with food before resealing it. He then cast Invisibility over the whole barrel, and it vanished.
Technically, the food inside wasn't cloaked, but the barrel surrounding it was. One missing barrel shouldn't draw too much attention, and with this much food, Lance wouldn't be at risk of starvation. Now all he had to do was find some fresh drinking water and smuggle that out- He paused.
Would that really be necessary? The cavern above had a lake filled with pure drinking water. All he had to do was sneak back here, steal another empty barrel, then take it back up to that cave. He'd fill it up and bring it back down to Lance after returning this barrel to her. When that was all done, he'd take the time to learn some new spells before launching an operation to save Michael and Cat from captivity…
Hopefully they would not hate him, now that he'd chosen to embrace his humanity.