Path of Dragons-Chapter 68Book 8: : Through the Smoke

The smell of smoke hung dense in the air, filling Elijah’s lungs and feeding the flames of his fury. The sight of the factory – for that was all it could be – only made it worse, and he struggled to contain his instinctual anger. Even as he slowly closed in on the enormous facility, his simmering rage very nearly overwhelmed him.

Yet, by that point, he’d had plenty of opportunities to overcome his instincts, and he used those experiences to help him clamp down on his instinctive fury. Still, it wasn’t easy, for he’d never encountered anything quite so blatantly unnatural as the facility before him.

It wasn’t like what he’d felt from the monsters back on Earth. They were unnatural, but that was mostly because they didn’t belong. They had been transported to the planet against their will – a cosmic mistake that had driven them somewhat insane. In those cases, Elijah felt something more akin to pity than anger, largely because they’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had their lives upended as they were thrust into an unfamiliar situation in which they could never belong.

They still needed to be pruned, but it was easy to look at that duty as mercy killing.

With the monsters in the Primal Realm, things were slightly different. They weren’t just in the wrong place – they were ugly things mutated beyond the dictates of nature. They neither belonged nor should have existed, and killing them felt like dealing with pests. He held no true enmity for them, but he neither could he bring himself to tolerate their presence. Instead, his real anger was for the situation itself. Reserved for whatever force had created them.

And now, Elijah was looking at that very source.

It was worse than he ever could have imagined. Not only did its constant spewing of monsters violate every one of Elijah’s Druidic instincts, but he was also offended by the sheer amount of pollution it belched into the world. That wasn’t limited to the acrid smoke steadily billowing into the atmosphere, but instead, also included a sludge-like runoff into a nearby river. That body of water had turned a shade of putrid green, and Elijah sensed – even from afar – that it was caustic and entirely inhospitable to life.

He'd never really been a staunch environmentalist. Certainly, he’d supported efforts to limit pollution and save endangered species. He’d done his part by limiting his effect on the world as well. He’d even participated in quite a few beach clean-ups, usually sponsored by the laboratory where he worked or the university where he’d gotten his degrees. However, he’d never have categorized himself as a radical. It was never a priority for him – more of an afterthought or a byproduct of his profession.

Becoming a Druid had changed some of that. The initial indication was when he’d first laid eyes on Ironshore and saw their effect on the surrounding forests. Back then, they’d been struggling to get their operations up and running, and as a result, they’d cut a few corners they otherwise would not have. Thankfully, since then, they’d adapted to a more live-with-nature mentality than a dictate to impose their will on the natural world. Otherwise, Elijah wasn’t sure if he’d have been able to ally himself with them.

Since then, he’d encountered numerous similar situations. Sometimes, his reactions were subtle – just a simple disdain – but other times, pollution represented a call to action. That was what had happened with the nuclear power plant, and he expected that he’d find himself similarly motivated by any other ecological disasters.

Whatever the case, the monster factory was everything Elijah hated all rolled into one, and he wanted nothing more than to destroy everything associated with it.

So, it was with that in mind that he reached the factory itself. Despite his anger, he still kept his wits about him as he stared at the front gate. It was a massive thing of aged iron, and he suspected that if it had been closed, it would make for a potent deterrent to infiltration. However, it stood open, almost inviting him inside.

Elijah couldn’t shake the feeling that giving it what it wanted would be akin to walking into a powerful monster’s maw to be eaten. He chose to avoid it. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Instead, he circled the factory, once again marveling at its incredible size. If it was less than five miles long and twice as deep, he would have been surprised. What’s more, it rose to a height counted in hundreds of feet – and that wasn’t even considering the tall, thick smokestacks jutting into the tarnished sky. And finally, it abutted a small mountain, suggesting that the facility continued into the earth. Doubtless, it featured many subterranean levels.

When he drew closer, he even felt a few – and the twisted representations of life they hosted.

Putting that from his mind – or at least isolating it in its own facet – Elijah continued his meticulous exploration as he searched for an alternate route inside. He would go through the front gate if no other opportunities for entry presented themselves, but he knew that would put him at a distinct disadvantage.

After a few more hours, his efforts were rewarded when he found what looked to be a ventilation pipe. Unfortunately, it was guarded by a cage of thick iron bars that practically hummed with ethera. In addition, the chemicals it belched into the air were extremely caustic – to the point that they would strip the skin from Elijah’s very body.

He confirmed that when he waved a claw over it. Jerking his hand back in pain, he saw that the scales had been melted. After that, he limped around until he remembered that Wild Resurgence was usable in his bestial forms. He did so, letting the stream of vitality wash over him.

Over the next day, Elijah found many more vents. Some were more toxic than others, and on a few occasions, he found that simply being in their vicinity left his lungs burning and required more healing. He was fortunate that Wild Resurgence didn’t break stealth, because the sky frequently played host to more evolved harpies, and Elijah suspected that they had a limited ability to see through his stealth.

Part of that suspicion came from formless intuition, though the bulk originated with learned instinct. He knew a sentry when he saw one, and the harpies definitely fit that mold. Besides, if he was wrong and still took precautions, there would be no harm done. However, if he ignored those instincts, there was a good chance he’d end up dead before he had the opportunity to regret not being more careful.

So, as he continued his search, he paid close attention to the harpies’ flight patterns.

Finally, he found a vent whose bars were corroded to the point where they didn’t emit even a wisp of ethera. After marking the location in his mind, he kept on, but when another day had passed, he’d found no other potential weak points. So, he returned to that vent and began to study it.

The first thing he realized was that the toxins it spewed were particularly corrosive. He could feel it with Soul of the Wild, and when there were no harpies nearby, he even tested it, almost losing his finger for his stupidity. He yanked it back, seeing nothing but bone that had been scoured clean of flesh.

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Thankfully, that didn’t count as dismemberment, and he was able to retreat to a secluded spot and heal himself, though it took hours to do so.

After returning to the vent, he continued his inspection – both with his mundane senses as well as Soul of the Wild – and he discovered that there wasn’t a drop of ethera flowing through the vent. It wouldn’t take much for him to break the iron grate, but then what was he supposed to do? If brief contact with the toxins had stripped the flesh from his finger, it would certainly do the same to his body.

He sat back on his haunches, giving the problem some thought. Obviously, he could heal himself through it, but that seemed like a bad idea. It was even more toxic than his Shackle of Penance – even exceeding the corrosion he’d experienced next to the ethera-enhanced elephants foot. So, there was almost no way he could endure it for however long it took him to traverse the pipe on the other side.

However, the size of the pipe would permit him to use Shape of Thorn, which in turn would afford him quite a bit more Constitution. Maybe that would help shield him from the toxicity. In addition, he had Unchecked Growth to heal him, though he knew there was a good chance even that huge increase in Regeneration would be overwhelmed.

Or he could just go in through the front door.

In comparison to the grate, it seemed inviting, even though he knew it would be a trap. Or maybe not a trap, per se. Rather, it was the straightforward path. From his experience in the Desolate Reach as well as various towers, Elijah had noticed a pattern.

The easiest looking path was often the most difficult. Often, it meant an overt battle. However, there was almost always an alternative route. A back door that required a different set of skills. Elijah knew which one he preferred.

The only question was whether or not he had the skills to take advantage of this particular route. He wasn’t sure.

So, he continued his exploration – this time, checking the front door. He really didn’t want to use it, but he’d be kicking himself if he didn’t confirm that it wasn’t a viable option. With that in mind, he traversed the factory roof, going over instead of around, until he reached the gate. From the top, he peeked inside, and he was surprised to see that it was almost entirely free of guards.

He crept forward, clinging to the ceiling as he entered.

That was when the doors started to close and poison gas erupted from the grates in the floor. Elijah didn’t take long to make his decision to flee. So, he let go of the ceiling, already embracing Shape of the Sky. He twisted mid-air as the gas swirled around him, seeping through his pores even as he completed his transformation. Nausea knotted his gut and dizziness gripped his mind.

He righted himself just in time to see one of the harpies barring his way.

Elijah didn’t hesitate before using Lightning Rush.

He became a bolt of lightning streaking through the gate. However, there was one large, winged complication. The harpy was directly in his path. In a blink, he smashed into the monster, and it disintegrated into a puff of flesh and blood, destroyed by the sheer force of his flight.

But Elijah didn’t stop.

He couldn’t even if he wanted to. So, even as the delicate bones of his flight form shattered under the weight of the collision, he kept streaking through the air for another second. Then, the ability ended, and Elijah tumbled through the air. His wings were broken, so he had no way to stop his plummet to the ruined landscape. He crashed through a mostly fallen building, sending out a shower of debris before he finally rolled to a stop more than a hundred yards later.

The first thing he realized was that he was completely incapable of moving. Nearly every bone in his body was broken. The pain was the second thing he felt as agony arced through his whole body. Shock gripped him as he tried to quarantine that pain into its own facet of his mind. It spilled over into another. Then another after that. It didn’t stop until it took up four entire facets and part of a fifth.

But so long as Elijah had one spare corner of his mind free, he could at least think. He could take stock of his situation.

The cry of a harpy echoed in his ringing ears. It took him a second to even recognize it, but the second he did, he initiated the most painful transformation he’d ever experience. His broken body twisted into something resembling the Shape of Venom. Then, struggling to fight through the pain, he embraced Guise of the Unseen.

It enveloped him just in time, cloaking him in stealth only a moment before he felt one of the harpies come into range of Soul of the Wild.

Elijah had no idea how intelligent the things were, but he knew enough to recognize just how bad of an idea it was to stay still. He’d left a pretty obvious trail across the landscape as he’d tumbled to a stop, and he knew it wouldn’t take a genius to connect the dots.

So, with great difficulty – and more pain than he’d ever felt – Elijah dragged himself away from the crash site. He could only move a few inches at a time, but that was enough to get him behind a pile of rubble. During his crawl, he’d noticed a slight, cave-like cavity beneath the rubble, so he pulled himself inside and waited.

Even with a hastily cast Wild Resurgence coursing through him, unconsciousness threatened to overcome him, but he staved it off by focusing on the investigating harpy. She moved like a bird, with sudden twitches and unerring focus as she followed the trail. When she reached the spot where he’d transformed, she bent down with her nose only inches from the puddle of blood he’d left behind. However, there was no more trail for her to follow.

Guise of the Unseen didn’t just hide him from sight. It took care of all the other senses as well, and it seemed that it had magically obscured his bloody trail as well.

Elijah knew that if it hadn’t, he would already be dead.

The harpy screeched a few times in frustration as it continued to search the area. It even perched atop the very pile of rubble beneath which Elijah had taken shelter. But it didn’t find him. Minutes passed, and Elijah felt his injuries more keenly. The pain spilled over into a sixth facet.

Then a seventh.

Finally, the harpy launched herself into the air and flew out of range of Soul of the Wild.

But Elijah didn’t relax. Not until almost half an hour had passed and he was certain that the harpy was truly gone. Only then did he allow himself to shift back into his human form and cast Blessing of the Grove. In the small space, the rain quickly began to accumulate, and soon enough, Elijah was half submerged. The vital waters were not uncomfortable, though. Instead, they were filled with so much life that they eased some of his pain.

Elijah got a few more casts off before he finally succumbed to the shock of having almost every bone in his body broken.

He didn’t really sleep. Instead, he fell into something closer to a fugue state that lasted for almost a day. Fortunately, he’d cast his healing spells so often that they came almost instinctively, one after another and keeping him alive.

Without them, he would have died.

He knew that the second he regained full awareness and looked inwardly at his twisted body.

It really wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Certainly, hundreds of bones had broken, but most were just minor fractures. However, there were quite a few compound breaks that would require his intervention if he wanted them to heal properly.

So, harkening back to some of his earliest days, he got to work breaking and resetting bones. As he did so, he pushed against Grove Conduit, filling his small cave with so much energy that that it should have acted as a beacon of vitality. Maybe it did, and there just wasn’t anything around to notice it. Regardless, Grove Conduit had another distinct advantage – it nourished his body, creating a pocket of dense vitality that sent his Regeneration attribute skyrocketing by more than fifty extra points. Not only did that help with his healing, but it also refilled his pool of ethera even more quickly than that buff suggested.

Like that, nearly a week passed. The first few days were the most difficult, and in his lowest moments, Elijah questioned whether or not he’d ever be the same. Permanent infirmities weren’t that common in their new reality, but they were more than possible. Usually, they were limited to missing limbs, but Elijah knew that misaligned bones could be just as detrimental.

But as the days went on and he diligently worked on repairing his body, things became easier. More tedious, certainly, but easier. More than once, he wished he’d brought Ron along. A true Healer wouldn’t have needed quite so much physical intervention to get things to heal properly.

However, Elijah was all alone, so he was forced to work with what abilities he had available. Thankfully, it was enough, and after ten days stuck in that hole in the ground, Elijah was once again whole.

Now, he just needed to get into that factory, and he knew he couldn’t go through the front door. So, it was with some trepidation that he set off back in that direction, intent on entering through the grate.