Squatting beside the water, he splashed some on his face, relieving some of the heat and sweat. For hours, he had licked every rock he could find, but none of them tasted like the ordinary rock in front of the facility.
"Guide," Gale said. "What the hell should I be doing here? I've checked fifty different rocks and they're all just... rocks."
[Breath of the Void capable of applying taste to environment. All 5 basic senses are capable through the use of the passive.]
"You're saying that I can lick with Breath of the Void? Is that even possible?"
[Affirmative.]
"So you're saying I could actually taste things without physically licking them?" Gale picked up a smooth stone from the creek bed. "That's ridiculous. How do I know if what I'm tasting is correct?"
[Breath of the Void is an extension of the host's body. Taste capability requires focus of will to tendrils to apply taste on objects. Host must concentrate on specific sensory feedback.]
Gale set the stone down and closed his eyes. He focused on Breath of the Void, letting the tendrils extend outward. Usually, he focused on seeing or hearing through the essence extensions. This time, he concentrated on taste.
The reaction was instantaneous and disgusting.
Every surface the tendrils touched flooded his sense of taste with its flavour. The creek water tasted of minerals and plant matter. The dirt carried notes of decomposed vegetation and metal deposits. The leaves had bitter, sharp flavours that varied by species. The air itself carried hundreds of distinct tastes, from pollen to spores to microscopic insect parts. None of these tasted bad on their own, but all at once gave him a cacophony of what the hell am I even tasting.
Gale doubled over, retching violently. His stomach heaved as he vomited into the creek. The Guide didn't even warn him or teach him, even though that was its job description.
"Fuck," he gasped, wiping his mouth. "That was a mistake."
He sat back on his heels, breathing deeply. After a few minutes, his stomach settled enough for him to try again. This time, he narrowed his focus dramatically, directing the tendrils to taste only solid, stone-like objects.
The tendrils extended once again, this time the sense of taste only filtered for rocks, boulders, or pebbles. Each one registered a distinct taste of a rock. Most of them tasted the same apart from some being saltier than the others.
None matched the distinctive taste of the silicon-filled stone from yesterday. The one that had a different taste. The taste of something that wasn't a rock with an etheric pulse hiding underneath the surface.
Gale sent the tendrils farther, expanding his search radius. Nothing near the creek had that unique taste. He pushed them toward the facility, checking the ordinary rock he tasted yesterday to make sure he wasn't hallucinating that there was nothing else.
He found the rock immediately after two other rocks. It still had the same distinct taste of silicon by the surface and the etheric pulse underneath. Expanding the search even more, ten minutes passed by until a different taste registered. 10 o'clock position from the facility, approximately two hundred metres out. It wasn't a stone, but a branch. It didn't taste like wood. Instead, it carried a hint of the same silicon-like taste and an etheric pulse under the wooden surface.
He was about three hundred metres, 9 o'clock from the facility. It'd take just a minute to reach the branch.
Jogging through the undergrowth, he pushed aside the whipping low branches and underbrush. When he reached the spot, he found what looked like an ordinary fallen branch.
Analyze.
[Ordinary Branch]
[There is a slight ether signature in the branch. What could it be?]
It had the same description as the ordinary rock. Too much of a coincidence. Kneeling beside it, he picked it up and licked the middle of the branch. The taste confirmed that it was the same taste he had tasted through Breath of the Void. Beneath the organic exterior was something distinctly silicon. Focusing deeply on the branch revealed the feeling of an etheric pulse.
Tendrils once again tugged at the edge of his senses. 8 o'clock position this time, about 500 metres from the facility's entrance door. This time, it was a root sticking out of the ground. The tendrils fed him the taste, and it had the same silicon taste, which would mean it was probably one of them.
Gale pulled out his phone and opened the walkie app. He tapped the push to talk and spoke into his phone. "Everyone head to the facility. Found more anchor points."
Kyle's voice crackled through. "Thank god for small mercies. Heading back. Pssht over."
"On my way," Rachel said.
"Be at the facility in fifteen." Ollie's voice was partly obscured by static.
Gale jogged back to the facility from the 10 o'clock position, only requiring a couple of minutes. Pushing through the last set of underbrush, he found Rachel standing by the entrance, leaning against the wall. Her appearance completely looked normal despite the sweltering temperature of this greenhouse tower or whatever. On the other hand, he was dripping with sweat by the temples. They both entered the facility and sat by the main console where the main air conditioning vent was.
"Found something interesting?" she asked.
"Two anchor points, a branch and a root."
"No wonder. I kept looking for just rocks."
The door slid open with a soft hiss of cool air as Kyle and Clyde emerged from the western path. Kyle's shirt had dark patches of sweat across his chest and back, his blazer now tied around his waist. Clyde looked only marginally better, his hair plastered to his forehead.
"This fucking place," Kyle muttered. "Probably the worst rift I've ever been in."
"Enemy number 1 of Canadians, the heat," Clyde said.
Ollie arrived minutes later, face red and dripping with sweat. Unlike Kyle, he kept his jacket on despite the heat, making him look even more miserable. He didn't say a word as he passed them, just headed for the next seat that was near the vent where Gale and Rachel sat.
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Lily was last, stepping out of the 3 o'clock tree line. She looked better than the others apart from the frizziness of her hair tied in a tight bun. A floating blue sigil that gave off cool air followed her behind.
"You monster!" Kyle shouted. "Where's your spirit of sharing?!"
"Idiot, you didn't ask," Lily said. "Let's hear what Gale has to say."
"Two anchor points, both disguised as plant matter. One at ten o'clock position from the facility, about two hundred metres out. Looks like a fallen branch, weathered gray, covered with moss. The second at eight o'clock, deeper in the forest. A root sticking out from the ground," Gale said. "This means that an anchor point doesn't have to be just a rock."
"Shut up, Kyle," Rachel said.
Kyle threw his hands up. "I didn't even say anything!"
"You were about to," Rachel narrowed her eyes at him.
"Yeah, I was going to ask if he licked them," Kyle said, "which is a perfectly reasonable question given his track record."
"How else am I going to know which one is real or not?" Gale said.
"Look, rookie. I saw Rachel lick a couple of rocks, and she couldn't find them," Clyde said. "That's got something to do with your spidey senses?"
Gale turned his head to Rachel, who looked away immediately, and said "It's just something mom taught me how to do…."
"Gale, don't answer these idiots," Rachel sighed.
Ollie pulled out his phone and opened up a whiteboard app. "Eight o'clock and ten o'clock are very specific positions on the map. What about two and four? If there's a pattern, we might find anchor points at those coordinates too."
"Why do you mention two and four?" Lily asked.
"Hello? Rhomboid patterns? It's literally telling us the locations are set in a rhombus."
"Makes sense," Rachel said. "Traditional array formations use symmetrical placement. If we find anchors at two and four, it would form a cross-shaped pattern with the facility at the centre."
"Check six and twelve too," Lily said.
A soft click interrupted them. A compartment opened behind Clyde's chair, the smell of grilled meat and eggs filling the room. Steam rose from six plates, each with a perfectly cooked steak and two sunny-side-up eggs. The aroma of butter, salt, and perfectly seared beef made Gale's mouth water instantly.
Kyle's head snapped toward the food. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!! The food is more important right now."
Rachel looked through the window and saw the placement of the artificial sun directly at its peak. "Guess it's lunchtime. This conversation can wait until we're not starving."
Ollie shook his head as he went over to the compartment. "Fine. Let's eat first, then plan our next move."
The group gathered around the compartment, each taking a plate. The steak was perfectly medium-rare, juicy and pink in the centre with a brown crust on the outside. The eggs jiggled slightly when Gale picked up his plate, the yolks intact and ready to burst.
Kyle had already taken a bite, eyes closed in bliss. "Holy shit. Worth getting trapped in a giant death rift just for this."
"Don't be dramatic," Rachel cut into her own steak. "Though I have to admit, it's better than anything we've had in weeks."
Clyde nodded as he chewed. "Remember the crap Raven called MREs in Nunavut? It tasted like shit."
"How'd you know what shit tastes like?" Lily asked.
Kyle looked to Ollie.
"That really wasn't me, idiot," Ollie said. "Serves you right trying to take shit from the locals."
"Whatever. Path really needs to hire better cafeteria staff," Kyle said. "I'm telling you, budget cuts are going to be the death of the organization before any rift monsters get us."
Gale swallowed a large piece of the steak, making his cheeks bulge. "You guys have done many jobs together?"
"Too many to count," Ollie said. "These two have been with me for the past 10 years, 2 months, and 6 days."
"Counting the days? That's sweet," Kyle said.
Ollie pointed his fork at him. "I remember this idiot giving me a fake age."
"That wasn't my fault," Kyle said. "Evil dude nabs us and then another evil boy nabs us with a mean looking old lady."
"I joined these 3 just four years ago after they needed rescue from a rift in Panama," Rachel said.
Lily laughed quietly. "I remember that. An unexpected blood gang from Jiuling held Clyde hostage."
"Jonathan sent Rachel and her family," Ollie said. "Only time that's ever happened."
"Speaking of incidents," Rachel said, "remember when Clyde tried to make Christmas dinner last year?"
Clyde's face darkened. "We agreed never to speak of that again."
"What happened?" Gale asked.
"Don't!" Clyde shouted.
"He tried to deep-fry a turkey," Kyle said. "In our apartment. With a pot that was way too small."
"The fire department came," Rachel said. "Three trucks."
"The building had to be evacuated," Ollie said. "On Christmas Day. In the snow."
Gale laughed as he saw Clyde's usual deadpan expression cracking.
"In my defence," Clyde said, "the YouTube tutorial made it look very simple."
Gale cut another piece of his steak, savouring the rich flavour. "I didn't know everyone knew each other before… everything."
"Kind of a small world for younger generations of Awakened, especially high profile ones," Lily said. "Alexei was right. He basically had all the rising stars gathered in one place and then poof. He just made us all disappear in one go."
"Rising stars?" Gale asked.
"Rachel," Ollie cleared his throat. "Give the rookie an explanation."
Kyle cleared his throat. "The rookie needs some teaching from his guardian."
Clyde cleared his throat. "An obsessive guardian."
"Idiots," Lily sighed.
"I'm not really his guardian…" Rachel turned and saw Gale's face, who was already leaning towards her direction. She cleared her throat before saying, "It's a list of top Awakened based on their prowess ranking on that specific scale."
A line of dark green flame drew itself in front of Rachel, facing Gale. It showed a table of power hierarchy from Awakened, Attuned, Resonant, Harmonic, Mystic. She continued speaking, "Awakened is usually top 50, Attuned is top 25. Resonant, Harmonic, and Mystic all only include the top 10 of each."
"Remember that Russian lady with the taser?" Rachel asked.
Gale nodded.
"Olga Popovic. Rank 1 of Resonant rankings," Lily chimed in.
"Real bitch. Can't be bribed either," Clyde said.
"These twin idiots are 1st and 2nd on Attuned rankings, surprisingly."
"Handsome too," Kyle said with a clear mug.
"Lily is 9th, Ollie is on 4th, and Rachel is on 3rd of Resonant rankings."
"Am I on any of the rankings?" Gale asked.
"Clearly not. You haven't completed an assessment at neutral grounds yet," Rachel chuckled.
The conversation lulled as they finished their meals. Gale didn't even realize the people in front of him were famous, except for Ollie. No wonder they were all familiar with each other and talked the way they did. Kyle yawned, causing a chain reaction of other yawns that even Gale felt. His eyelids grew enormously heavy. Letting them close for a couple of seconds too long probably would have knocked him out right there.
"Man, I'm suddenly wiped out," Kyle said.
Rachel set her empty plate aside, covering a yawn of her own.
"I'm going to die of a food coma," Clyde said, eyes already half-closed.
"What?" Lily asked.
Rachel stood up, stretching her back. "We should take a nap. We've got plenty of time anyway. Six more days until the navigation module is ready."
"What about the anchor points?" Ollie asked, though he looked like he was fighting to keep his eyes open.
"They'll still be there after we rest," Rachel said. "Better to approach this with clear heads."
Kyle was already heading towards the living quarters. "Don't have to tell me twice. Wake me up when it's time for dinner."
Clyde followed his brother without a word. Lily followed, walking to the end of the quarters. Ollie followed them and floated his body up to the upper bunk at the end.
Rachel looked at Gale. "You coming?"
Gale nodded. Getting up from his chair took all his willpower to not sleep right there and then. It’s not like he hasn’t slept on a rock before. A metal floor probably was even comfier.