7-70. Tested
“Magic is weird,” Elijah mumbled to himself, looking around. He’d expected the next challenge to take place in a room similar to what he’d seen in the tests of might and cunning. However, what he saw before him couldn’t have been more different. Three sides of the room were almost identical to what had come before, but the fourth wall was missing, revealing a bridge spanning a vast chasm.
“This is the test of stealth,” came a voice that made Elijah flinch. He’d thought he was alone, but suddenly, there was someone standing beside him.
Or crouching, really. He glanced at the creature, seeing it squatting only a few feet away. It was thin to the point of emaciation and wrapped in grey strips of cloth. Over its head was a hood, and a featureless mask covered everything but its eyes. The creature looked vaguely human, with all the appropriate pieces, but there was something about its twitchy movement that told Elijah that it was something else entirely.
Not surprising.
It cocked its head, then gestured toward the bridge. “Proceed. Do not be seen, or you will be destroyed.”
That was within his expectations. It was a test of stealth, after all. Still, Elijah wanted more information before he started. “Is the exit on the other side of that bridge?” he asked.
There was no answer.
The creature had clearly given all the information it intended to give. So, Elijah sighed, then shifted into the Shape of Venom. When he looked back at the creature, it was gone. Or that was what his senses told him. The fact that he couldn’t adopt the Guise of the Unseen said that the monster was still looking his way.
That sent a chill up Elijah’s spine.
He’d long leaned on Soul of the Wild to bypass most forms of stealth. Even Ghost Cloak couldn’t completely hide Dat from him. Sure, seeing through it was difficult, and it required every ounce of concentration he possessed, but it was possible. And Dat’s most powerful stealth ability was the strongest Elijah had ever encountered.
Or at least it had been before he reached the test of stealth.
“You need to stop looking at me, or I’m never going to be able to enter stealth,” Elijah pointed out in the hissing voice of Shape of Venom. There was no answer, but only a moment later, Elijah found himself relaxing as the sense of being watched disappeared. He immediately adopted Guise of the Unseen.
Once he’d removed himself from the visible spectrum, he took a step forward and proceeded onto the bridge. When he glanced back, the alcove had disappeared, replaced by a featureless black wall.
Elijah shook his head and took stock of the situation. The bridge itself looked mostly normal, though upon further inspection, he realized it was anything but ordinary. For one, it was only a few feet wide, and because it lacked any railings whatsoever, it would assuredly be quite treacherous to cross. For another, there were carvings covering the entirety of the top surface.
Finally, Elijah could feel creatures skittering back and forth. They were barely there in the sense granted by Soul of the Wild, but there were so many of them that he couldn’t even begin to ignore their presence. When one crept closer, Elijah recognized that it was a spider.
That brought to mind Elijah’s most recently evolved spell, Primal Swarm. Or more accurately, the ability it granted to his blight dragon form:
| Lurking Swarm
| Conjure a swarm of phase spiders that will remain unseen until first strike. Swarm will dissipate after attacking. Attacks will inflict a potent venom upon enemies. Control dependent on Dexterity attribute. Potency based on Core Cultivation. Only useable in Shape of Venom (or appropriate evolutions).
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