Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

When Ruwen returned, he found Sift leading Rungs Two, Three, and Four through one of the more complicated Viper forms near the entrance. Everyone stopped when Ruwen strode through the open gate.

“Hey,” Ruwen said with a wave. “I guess everybody’s ready.”

“The thunderstorm woke everyone,” Sift replied.

Ruwen kept the guilt off his face. The fight with the Gloom Stalker had not gone unnoticed here. He looked up at the clear sky. “The rain must have just missed us.”

Sift pointed at the open gate. “Right, well Rung One left thirty minutes ago.”

Ruwen scanned the Adepts. “Any ideas on where to start?”

Nymthus stepped forward. “Sizen Sift had us focus on the hard and soft aspects. It made me wonder about the swamp. It is all soft and muck on the bottom and hard wood above.”

Ruwen gave Nymthus a small bow. “Excellent observation, Sister. I did not make that correlation myself. You are exactly right. The swamp appears more fitting now that you’ve pointed this out.”

Nymthus smiled and returned to Rung Four.

Prythus cleared his throat, his face red.

“Do you wish to add something?” Ruwen asked.

Prythus looked down, and Nymthus kicked his calf. Reluctantly, he looked up. “Well, when Nymthus told us her idea, we all loved it, and it made me think.”

Prythus paused, and Ruwen filled the silence. “Please speak, brother. There are no bad ideas.”

“Says the god of bad ones,” Sift whispered.

Prythus swallowed hard. “It’s a little more philosophical, and I’m not sure it’s appropriate.”

“Believe me,” Ruwen said. “Philosophical is my language.”

Reassured, Prythus continued. “It’s the water. If Nymthus is right, the water connects the soft and hard elements. It creates them both actually and binds them. It’s like the energy that powers our Steps. The trees grow, collecting energy and storing it in their trunks like we do our bodies during the hard style Viper Steps. Then, as the cycle completes, they die and return to the water, where they sink gently to the bottom, returning all their energy to the swamp like our Bamboo steps bleed the energy from our bodies.”

Ruwen remained silent, and Prythus fidgeted. Ruwen held out a hand. “Be at ease, Prythus. The brilliance of your theory has stunned me into silence. It holds a perfect harmony and I believe you and Nymthus are absolutely correct. In hindsight, the swamp is a perfect location.”

Prythus grinned as the Adepts smiled and congratulated him and Nymthus.

“Has anyone figured out how that helps us find this level’s token?” Sift asked.

The smiles faltered.

Sift turned to Ruwen. “Ideas?”

Ruwen frowned in thought. Rung Four’s theory felt correct, but it involved water as the boundary between hard and soft, and the swamp contained a lot of water.

“With the abundance of water, there must be another clue,” Ruwen said. “Let’s explore and see if anything triggers a solution.”

Sift stepped toward the Adepts. “Pair up and form a line outside. We will move together, each pair in sight of the pairs on each side. Look for anything strange and yell if you sense any danger.”

The Adepts immediately moved to the gate, and in seconds Ruwen and Sift stood alone.

“Hey,” Sift said, stepping in front of Ruwen. “When I heard the first explosion, I ran outside, prepared to fly over and help you. Dusk convinced me to stay.”

“Dusk? Why? Oh, and thanks.”

“No problem. She said you weren’t in any danger. I told her it sure sounded like you’d found trouble.”

“What did she say?”

“She laughed and said you’d definitely found trouble, but that it posed no danger to you. She said, and I quote, ‘he is curious, not angry’ and then walked off.”

Ruwen considered Sift’s words.

“What did you fight?” Sift asked.

“A Gloom Stalker. Kind of like a shadow man. He had Fortified to Gem. Probably Diamond, maybe peak. Get this, he pinned my shadow to the ground, and I couldn’t move.”

Sift leaned back in horror. “What?”

Ruwen nodded. “Paralyzed me.”

“How do you fight that?”

Ruwen frowned. “Didn’t your orange belt give you a way to hide your shadow?”

Sift mirrored Ruwen’s frown. “No. I got buffs to my dodge and critical strike.”

“That’s interesting. I kind of assumed we’d all get the same thing, but I guess they personalized it.”

Sift turned his head around to look at his shadow. “Now I’m really freaked out. How can my shadow hurt me? Even Blapy wasn’t that evil.”

“Relax. I don’t think shadow manipulation is common. This guy came from the Shadow Realm, and it makes sense he could screw around with them.”

“When I first saw you, something bothered me, but I couldn’t figure it out. Now I know your missing shadow caused it.”

“I know it looks odd, but I’m scared to put it back now.”

“Will hiding it cause any trouble?”

That hadn’t occurred to Ruwen. “That is a good question. I should probably find that out.”

“Maybe you sunburn easier, or can’t step into other shadows, or—”

“Stop, that isn’t helping,” Ruwen said. He pointed to his head to change the subject. “Tarot has a list just like you.”

“Really? What’s his number one? Exploding Burrowers?”

Ruwen tilted his head. “No. What are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing. Obviously wrong list. Knowing that golem, I bet ‘spanking’ is in his top three.”

Ruwen leaned back and shook his head. “Spanking? How many lists do you have? And what is that one for?”

Sift winced. “Uh, how about you tell me what kind of list Tarot has?”

Tarot climbed from the top of Ruwen’s head to the front and stuck his head out. “I want your ‘spanking’ list.”

“Uru help me,” Ruwen whispered.

“Come on over here, little man,” Sift said. “Let’s compare lists.”

A line of cards appeared, edge up, between Ruwen and Sift. Tarot slid down them, leaving blue sparks in his wake. In a blink, he’d disappeared into Sift’s hair.

“You worry me,” Ruwen said.

Sift patted Ruwen on the shoulder. “You, my friend, need more lists.”

They strode toward the open gate.

“I have lists,” Ruwen said, a bit defensively. “I keep one of all the things I need to give Fractal.”

“Boring,” Sift replied.

They crossed under the wall and into the line of Adepts, ruining any chance for Ruwen to defend himself.

“Let’s go,” Sift said. “We’ll start by moving straight ahead. Keep yourselves relaxed and open to the surroundings. We can’t be sure the clue we need will be visible. Oh, and if you see a small white turtle yell.”

“Tortoise,” Ruwen whispered to himself. He smiled at Sift’s concern about Shelly’s whereabouts. Speaking of lists, that tortoise was one of the last creatures in the Universe that needed babysitting or worry.

Sift’s directions to pay attention to the invisible was actually pretty good advice, Ruwen thought. Especially after his recent shadow experience. Things they took for granted might have significance. It turned out Sift had already applied Ruwen’s shadow lesson to his life as naturally as everything else related to the Steps.

As they advanced through the swamp, Sift walked up and down the line, whispering to Tarot and occasionally laughing. Ruwen stayed in the middle of the Adepts’ line and twenty feet back. It would allow him to jump quickly in either direction if he heard any calls of distress or excitement.

Ruwen let his mind wander, not focusing on the problem, and letting it unravel in his subconscious. The swamp fit this trial well and it gave him confidence they’d figure out the solution.

The line of Adepts made Ruwen’s brain itch, but he didn’t focus on it. After an hour, Sift stopped everyone and they grouped together. No one had seen anything or sensed anything invisible.

“Did anyone see my turtle?” Sift asked.

Everyone shook their heads and Sift’s shoulders slumped.

“Some of these snails are bigger than she is,” Sift continued. “What if they kill her and steal her shell?”

The island the Adepts stood on had little extra room, and instead of cramming himself into their ranks, Ruwen had stayed in the water. He stood chest deep, although Insect Repellent kept him dry. The snails really were everywhere in this swamp. As he watched, one swam in front of him, the slug swishing its rubbery tail to power itself forward.

How could something so squishy ever hurt Shelly? Sift really had to get a handle on his fears about that tortoise. How would the snails even attack Shelly? Knock their shells together?

The thought made Ruwen smile, and he placed a finger in the water. The snail didn’t alter its course at all, and slid right over his finger, the soft underbelly leaving a streak on his Insect Repellent shield.

Ruwen froze as the snail dropped back into the water and continued.

“I’m an idiot,” Ruwen whispered.

The snails had both a soft and hard section combined in harmony to fulfill one purpose. They reflected the lesson of this trial.

“The snails,” Ruwen said louder. “The snails are the clue.”

Everyone looked at the ground and out into the water. After a few seconds, Sift said the obvious. “They’re everywhere. Are we looking for really big ones? Or special ones with arrows pointing to the token?”

Everyone laughed, and Ruwen smiled.

The image of the aftermath of Ruwen’s battle with the Gloom Stalker materialized in his mind along with the frigid cold of his Cleverness trait activating. He winced in pain and rubbed his temples.

Three seconds later, the pain passed, and Ruwen focused on the Adepts. A single snail may not lead them to the token, but all of them together might. The snails near his fight with the Gloom Stalker had formed a line, and it made him wonder if all the snails might be arranged like that. Perhaps they had assembled themselves in some type of pattern that would give them the clue they needed.

“Are you okay?” Sift asked.

Ruwen released his head and met Sift’s gaze.

“I have an idea.”