Silk Lake became a dot in the distance the farther they went along the mountain pass. For Synexus, the slight detour had been incredibly rewarding. He gained two new skills, was able to help a whole town of people, a new mystery to work on revealed itself, and he was able to harvest quite a bit of the mana enriched water from the lake itself.
Night after night, when things would fall silent except for the crackling of their campfire, he would pull out the codex and look for things about the mysterious planet and its people. Unfortunately, no planet by that name was recorded, nor was the O’s species. However, from the peeks into the world that some of the Mind Maiden’s got when connecting with the voices, he was able to find one planet that fit the description, but it was nowhere near the planet cluster of Motholo. Their best bet was to ask the Sphinx or find someone who had expertise in the planets and stars.
When his search to scratch the mysterious itch that made up the Mind Maiden’s past came up null, Synexus turned toward the water and the secrets it held. Even though he had managed to log it, it would be difficult for him to recreate which is why he stored quite a bit of it inside his Progress Garden before he left. Now there were two rivers running through the forest of altered plants. One had a mana glow to it. Splash instantly asked to switch rivers to continue his studies on mana and Synexus obliged. Three weeks passed since they made the switch and there were no side effects at all, in fact there were no changes. Well on the outside. Synexus started picking up a slight mana glow from his friend but didn’t want to give anything away. Figuring out the puzzles of life on your own is always one of the best feelings and he wouldn’t rob Splash of that.
Another change to his Progress Garden were the thin connection between the Zaxillian and all his creations. Using Mana Perception revealed a web of lines going to a plethora of plants, materials, and even the animals. To level up the skill, he took strolls through the garden and made the plants shift out of his way to make pathways. Suddenly, it felt like the garden was one living organism reacting to his soul. Sending enough mana out to control each plant was challenging and he found himself exhausted more than once, but it would be worth it to understand the skill better. Branching Intelligence already leveled up ten times in the course of the three weeks. He still needed to push it twenty-one more levels to get over the level wall once again.
Mind Modeling only gained one level over the course of the weeks when he took the time to map his friend’s minds. Kumo was hesitant at first since she grew a big aversion to mental magic during their stay in Silk Lake, she eventually gave in trusting Synexus. Besides, his skill was only akin to mental magic. It was simply a collection skill that interacted with the mind and one that could perhaps save her one day. As for grinding the rest of the levels, that would have to wait until they were in another town. Yu said the sphinx would let him log their minds which excited him greatly. Sphinx were among the most intelligent beings on the whole planet and that meant there were secrets in their minds to unlock.
The quiet three weeks led to being productive on all fronts. It also led them closer to their goal. In just over a month, they would finally reach the Shadow Labyrinth Mountain. According to Gene, the party would see it in a few more days of travel. Both Yu and the owl were tight-lipped on what to expect. From their faces, there was a secret that couldn’t be told, only discovered.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Vorin doesn’t like surprises and he tried to get the two to reveal what they know without any luck. He eventually resigned to just being as prepared as possible, which meant an increased exercise regimen and more team tactic training.
Hyren was growing fast and was finally able to start training with the rest of the party, so the new team tactics incorporated the frightening little three-headed dragon that was starting to gain more colors under her scales. Soon they would know what elements she had gained. For now, she was more of a surprise attacker due to her impressive speed and powerful bite. Their plans often had her coming in from way above when the others were pinned down or when their enemy was on their last legs.
Another addition to their battle tactics was Synexus’ creations that he could now control. His Razor Hydra Plants could now be better directed towards weak points in defenses, his ability to control materials led to a host of new ways to throw their enemies off guard, and it even meant they could make some attack plans that involved using the environment itself. With the fact that he could instantaneously summon anything from his garden within a fairly large sphere at this point, it made his new Branching Intelligence skill incredibly lethal.
Three weeks was a decent amount of time and the party looked like perfect pieces of a much bigger machine the way they moved with each other. When they moved, they moved in unison. When one would strike, the others were there doing whatever they could to amplify their strength. When one fell, they all stood as protectors. Over the last year and a half, their bond had strengthened to a point that it was more like a family now than an adventuring party. And none of them would let anything happen to their family.
Prith even started being comfortable with showing the others his family through his scrying diamond which he used almost every night. Sometimes it felt wrong to check in on them, but he couldn’t help it. The Smile Isles called to him. Ever since the trial, he knew that his visit was long overdue.
With Prith sharing his feeling of urgency and Yu’s increasing excitement at seeing her sisters, the party decided that there would be no more distractions. The next time they stopped would be at the base of the sphinx’s mountain.
Two days later, Gene’s words came true and they caught their first sight of Shadow Labyrinth Mountain.
A mountain of pure obsidian that made the mountains they were walking on look like anthills. Synexus looked in awe but couldn’t see the top. Dense dark clouds condensed around halfway up the mountain making it seem like at the top one could touch the cosmos.
The dark condensed clouds created a perpetual shadow that showered the mountain in a somber gloom. Sometimes when they were staring at it, it looked like the shadow was dripping down onto the surrounding land. Kumo swore she saw something moving from within the shadows at one point.
At night the mountain looked like a silhouette against the moonlight. Almost too black to register with the eyes. A majestic sight, nonetheless.
In the early morning when the sun was rising in the East, the shadow from the mountain would reach them even at a month travel out from the behemoth. As they got closer the shadow covered them most of the morning and created a chill in the Spring air.
Yu pointed out the bottom of a structure on the mountain’s face, and they all had to squint to see the matte black brick against the obsidian. She said it was the home of the Sphinx. A building made of hyper condensed obsidian brick that spiraled its way around the mountain like a shadow constricting the night sky. She began singing to her sisters and sometimes at night, Vorin swore he could hear them singing back from up above in the clouds.
Synexus knew that it was time. It was finally time to meet the legendary sphinx. It was time to conquer the fabled mountain. And it was time to start the next part of their adventure.
