Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Ruwen moved slowly through the canyon as he scanned each side. The path remained mostly clear of obstructions, but occasional head-sized rocks appeared. The perfectly round stones probably meant water flowed through this canyon at some point, tumbling and smoothing the rocks. He hoped the canyon wouldn’t suddenly flood, and added it to his things to watch out for.

The fog made mapping the chests painful, and it took all his concentration, which meant he didn’t have a chance to consider what this trial might focus on.

Three hours into Ruwen’s mapping, he came across Rung One. Echo kneeled next to an Adepts, wrapping their arm in a strip of cloth. Four of the Adepts looked injured, although only the one Echo worked on appeared serious.

Echo ignored Ruwen, and he didn’t poke her with any questions. He nodded at the members of Rung One and continued. With his Diamond senses, he had followed Rung One’s progress. He listened to their discussions and followed all their fights. Their skill in the Steps had kept them alive as they faced a poison explosion, a dozen crossbow bolts, and a small army of sword wielding ferrets. The fog made the eavesdropping more difficult, and he guessed very little sound escaped the mist.

Ruwen didn’t know which chests Rung One had chosen or what criteria they used to pick, but from the six chests they’d unlocked, three had contained something violent.

Ruwen stopped and gave his eyes a break from the intent focus of the past hours. This trial reminded him a little of the egg level in Fractal and he smiled at his last encounter with the Savage Seven. He had used his Survey and Stone Echo Abilities to find the eggs that contained the keys he needed.

Doing that here, assuming it would even work, would definitely count as cheating, and likely get Ruwen punished. He had no desire to take a shortcut, and once he finished here, he would turn his mind to deciphering the purpose of this trial. Spending months here did not fit in with his plans.

Eight hours later, Ruwen finished his examination of the canyon and strode up the camp-side slope toward the tents. By the time he had reached the Adepts of Rungs Two, Three, and Four, he had figured out the likely point behind this trial.

The Adepts all sat cross-legged in the sunshine with their eyes closed in meditation. Ruwen sat next to Sift, surprised not to hear any snoring.

“I’m so bored,” Sift said. “You took forever.”

“It was eight hours.”

“For. Ev. Er.”

Ruwen shook his head. “Did you have any bursts of inspiration?”

“No, but I took a long lunch. They had this fried dough thing. It’s flat and covered in cinnamon, sugar, and honey.”

That sounded much better than the maple syrup taste Ruwen had walked around with all day. He had forgotten to take care of it before leaving and had considered returning to get rid of the debuff multiple times throughout the day.

“Sounds delicious,” Ruwen said, and after a pause, continued. “I’m glad you figured out a fair way to divide the relics. It makes the Rungs all—”

Ruwen waved his hand, as if trying to remember a word.

“The same?” Sift offered.

Ruwen sighed. “Yeah, the same.” He didn’t have the mental energy to keep trying today, so he went right to the compliment. “I’m proud of the leadership you’re showing. The Adepts look up to you.”

Sift smiled and the debuff, along with the taste of syrup, disappeared. “Thanks for noticing. I’m actually trying.”

“I know.”

Sift handed Ruwen a key and Ruwen studied the unremarkable thumb length metal for a few seconds.

“Rung One came back a while ago,” Sift said.

“They had a rough morning.”

“It looked like it,” Sift said as he stood. “Let’s get this dance started.”

Ruwen stood as well.

“It is time to begin,” Sift said to the Adepts.

They all grouped in front of Sift and Ruwen.

“Did anyone find inspiration?” Ruwen asked.

Nymthus cleared her throat and nodded. “The first night you arrived, you spoke of secrets and balance. The first trial demonstrated that we end where we start, and I think we can assume this trial has a similar lesson.”

“Excellent,” Ruwen said. “Any ideas on how that helps us to find the right chest?”

The Adepts remained silent and Ruwen waited.

“Order,” Prythus finally said. “Your first night with us, I did the Steps in the wrong order, and you explained why. Can we use that here?”

“Interesting,” Ruwen said, pleased that someone had come to the right conclusion. “Why don’t you all discuss that and figure out how?”

The Adepts grouped together in obvious excitement at the possible solution.

Sift turned to Ruwen. “Do you know which chest?”

Ruwen sighed. “No. I know how to figure it out, but the variables and math make it difficult to figure out on my own.”

“I thought you were good at math.”

“I am. But only Lir or Xavier could do it quickly and accurately. I can only narrow it down some.”

Sift shook his head. “Such a wasted youth. You should have studied harder.”

Ruwen’s eyes widened in shock at the absurdity of Sift saying Ruwen should have studied harder.

Sift laughed and patted Ruwen on the shoulder. “I’m just kidding. I know you didn’t waste all of it.”

Ruwen relaxed and scolded himself for swallowing Sift’s bait so quickly. In hindsight, taking his current life situation into account, he had wasted part of his youth by focusing solely on alchemy and ignoring the more martial skills. He remembered his dreams of becoming a Mage and shooting fireballs while strutting around in an expensive robe. Those dreams belonged to another, more naive version of himself. That kid would never recognize what Ruwen had become.

Ruwen refocused on the Adepts and realized with all the math books he’d read in Deepwell’s library, he likely had multiple Narrators that could help with the calculations. But that also felt like cheating, so he didn’t ask Sivart.

Excitement among the Adepts spiked, and Ruwen guessed they’d found a good solution. The group separated, and they approached Sift and Ruwen.

“It is about energy,” Prythus said. “We just need to find the chest that is level with this plateau.”

Nymthus continued. “The energy gained going down our side she be exactly what it takes to climb the opposite side.”

Ruwen bowed to the Adepts. “Excellent reasoning. Should we test it?”

Shouts of agreement erupted and Ruwen strode away, the Adepts following.

“You know where that chest is?” Sift asked in a low voice.

“There are several of them,” Ruwen responded in the same quiet tone.

Sift’s brow wrinkled. “I thought the Founders said only one chest contained a token.”

“They did.”

Sift’s shoulders slumped. “So this theory is wrong.”

Ruwen held up a finger. “I would say instead, it is mostly right.”

“Is this the math part you mentioned?”

“Yep.”

Sift sighed. “I came to this conclusion fifteen minutes after you left this morning. I thought when you returned, we could walk to the correct chest and be done with this trial. Now I feel stupid for wasting most of the day. Lylan is in trouble, and I should have acted sooner. I should have gone looking for you.”

“Normally, I would agree with your stupid assessment, but this is bigger than us and Lylan and Hamma.”

“I know they can take care of themselves,” Sift said.

“Yes, but it’s more than that. We improved the Step forms of every Adept behind us. That will impact them the rest of their lives, but it will only take them so far. To reach their potential, they need to understand the purpose behind the Steps. Understanding gives the Steps more power.”

“I know you’re really into the deeper meaning stuff, and I agree with the balance part. But I’m not sure how necessary all this other knowledge is.”

“That is understandable from your viewpoint.”

“What does that mean?” Sift asked, a little defensively.

Ruwen waved his hand. “No, I don’t mean it as a bad thing. Let me think of an example.” Ten strides later, Ruwen continued. “Let’s take your favorite thing—”

“Dessert?”

“No.”

“Lylan?”

“No. And she will stab you if you ever list favorites in that order again.”

“Noted.”

“I’m talking about flying. Does a falcon need someone to explain the complexity of flight? When to flap their wings or glide or how to use the air currents to soar? No, of course not. It is natural to them, and the alchemy of it is meaningless.”

Sift whistled, the sound high, almost shrill. “Female stone falcon. They live near tree line in mountainous regions. I hope to see one when we finally get to visit snow.”

Ruwen studied Sift as they walked. “Nice whistle. Are you listening to me?”

“Yes. Mostly.”

“Compare the falcon’s natural flight, with you learning to use your Air Meridian to do the same thing. Then add the complexity of using your Soul magic to amplify your flying. Because that type of flying isn’t natural, you need advice, practice, and a deep understanding of how to fly.”

“Yeah, those early days were rough.”

“Early days? If not for your Gold body, I’m pretty sure you’d be dead from all the times you smashed into a wall or the ground. And that was just a week ago.”

Sift waved a hand. “Nonsense. I was practicing hard landings.”

“Okay, you’re distracting me. This isn’t about your reckless obsession with speed. I’m trying to make a comparison, so you understand my comment about your point of view came from respect, not the opposite.”

They walked in silence for ten seconds, and Ruwen gave up hope that Sift understood.

“I get it,” Sift said. “I’m a falcon, so I don’t need your philosophy.”

Ruwen smiled. “Yes, exactly.”

“It’s about time you respect my flying. I am an airborne Step falcon.”

Ruwen bit his cheek, fairly sure Sift was baiting him by purposefully twisting his examples. Instead, he finished his original thought. “Understanding the patterns in the Steps, at least the three obvious ones, has immense value to these Adepts. So while I want to get back home as much as you do, I feel like we owe it to them, and their futures, to spend a little time in these first three trials.”

“I understand.”

“All that just to tell you, that you shouldn’t feel guilty about wasting your day.”

“You could have just said that. It would have saved like five minutes.”

Ruwen rubbed his forehead.

Sift laughed and patted Ruwen’s back. “Relax. I appreciate the explanation. I joke a lot, but there is a sense of peace when I listen to you. You spend a lot of time picking your words, and I know you’ve thought everything through before talking. It calms me and the others who know you. I value that about you.”

They had almost reached the edge of camp and Ruwen studied Sift as they walked, but he couldn’t detect any sarcasm. Sift had spoken sincerely.

“Wow, thanks,” Ruwen said. “I’m a little shocked.”

Sift shrugged. “Once I figured out this second trial, I had a lot of time to think today, and I realized how nice you’ve been lately. You compliment me every day, and I must admit it has made a difference to me and my confidence.”

Ruwen nodded. “You’re welcome.” Guilt rose like a wave in his thoughts. He had only said those things because of the Uneven debuff. The taste of maple syrup forcing him to compliment Sift to remove it.

Another realization occurred to Ruwen, and it repelled the guilt, scattering it like shadows before the sun.

Ruwen stopped at the edge of the downward slope and turned to Sift. “I meant every word.”