JASMINE and Mac dragged Ryan's limp body with them while Ryd scouted ahead. They were tired, with a few cuts and bruises, but nothing that wasn't already healing. What worried Jasmine was Ryan, he wasn't waking up, and was dangerously pale. So with an arm wrapped around the two girls, they dragged him along.
When they had put some considerable distance between them and the cliff where it had all gone wrong, they decided to rest for a bit to catch their breath.
Ryd started a fire while the two girls laid Ryan down gently, then Jasmine checked on him.
"How is he?" Mac asked
"His pulse is weak," Jasmine said, "and he's barely breathing."
She took out her wand and held it face over Ryan's body,
"What are you doing?" Ryd asked
"Full-body scan," she said,
The gem of her wand glowed and she ran it over his body for thirty seconds, then it beeped with the results.
"Oh no," she gasped as she used her aurum oculus to check on Ryan internally, it was as bad as her wand had concluded. He had suffered severe internal damage in the magik recoil, and several of his magik channels had ruptured, weakening his magik web. The most shocking discovery was his source cluster, the amount of magik at his cluster was dangerously low, he had barely enough magik to regulate normal body functions, and the other source cluster was just as empty.
Ryd returned with firewood, "How is he?"
Jasmine reached into her backpack and pulled out a flask of aurora, before pouring it into his mouth.
"Idiota," She hissed, getting him to swallow "¿Estás tratando de que te maten o algo así?"
"Is he…?" Mac couldn't finish the sentence
"He's still alive, but barely," Jasmine said, "He used up too much magik in that disaster of an attack, and in trying to cushion our fall."
"What was that attack?" Mac asked
"I think it was an advanced lightning-type cast." Jasmine said to Mac, "The base sequence of the glyph formula was identical to his 'thunder clap', but he didn't have it down pat, and as such, the magik formula unraveled mid-cast,"
"Blowing up in his face," Mac finished, "literally,"
Jasmine nodded, "screwing up a cast of that magnitude caused a magik recoil that messed him up inside, then protecting everyone after the cliff collapsed took up all the magik he had in his body. He's honestly lucky to still be alive."
"Can't you do anything for him?" Ryd asked, "heal him, maybe?"
"Normally, you'd just need to stimulate his magik web by circulating magik through it, that'd speed up his recovery in an emergency, but in the state he's in right now, doing that might just kill him before doing any good." Jasmine explained,
"Is there anything we can do?" Mac demanded
"Right now, I think rest it the only thing we can do, until we can get him to a proper healer," Jasmine said.
Ryd stood up, "I need to take a walk, I won't go far,"
Jasmine looked at him with concern, "I don't think that's a good idea. There're people hunting us after all."
"I'll be alright," Ryd said, "I can use the opportunity to set up a false trail, lead our pursuers elsewhere,"
Jasmine reluctantly nodded in understanding as he walked off.
Once he was gone, Mac went to his pack and started going through it.
"What are you doing?" Jasmine demanded
"Something isn't right here," Mac said, "I've suspected it, and you know it too."
"Know what?" Jasmine asked
"He's hiding something,"
"Well, so are we." Jasmine said, "We can't just invade his privacy."
"Jasmine, I know that your head over heels for this guy, but don't let it cloud your judgment. He's after something."
"Like what?" Jasmine asked
"I don't know yet. But why would he still stick around, even after that disaster at the settlement?"
"If you're looking for some incriminating evidence, you won't find any." Ryd said coming from behind a bush.
"Ryd, I thought you had gone to lay a false trail?" Jasmine asked
"I was, then, I got the suspicion that someone was going through my stuff." Tapping his ears, "good hearing, you guys should argue quieter,"
"Ryd, what reason do you have for helping us?" Mac said frankly
"Well, I thought you would help me find my parents when this was over," he admitted honestly, "or did you think I only did it because of the bounty on Ryan Reins?"
"What?"
Jasmine looked at him, not knowing what to think
"Yeah, the places I've been to these past few months haven't all been pleasant," Ryd said, "in some of them, I've heard talk about a big reward for Ryan; someone very powerful wants him away from ARGUS."
"I won't let you hurt him!" Mac sneers as magik curls around her clenched fists. She charges at Ryd with enhanced speed, but he dodges effortlessly, sending her punch into a tree, splintering its trunk and toppling the tree.
"Wait!" Ryd said, "let me explain."
"No more talking." Mac said, "What? Were you going to drug Jasmine and I so we'd pass out while you ran off with your precious bounty?"
"No, it isn't like that at all." Ryd said as he continued to dodge all her attacks. "You have to believe me."
"Excuse me if I don't take you at your word," Mac said, "or don't, either way; you're still gonna eat my fist!"
It was at that moment, that Ryd tackled Mac just as Jasmine yelled, "Look out!"
As Ryd and Mac drop, two black projectiles smash into the trees behind them with enough force to punch through its trunk.
Jasmine, instantly on alert, launched three arrows at the origin of the projectiles.
"What was that?" Ryd asks
"Get off me," Mac demanded as she pushes Ryd off of her,
From the woods, a tall man quietly appears, he was dressed in nondescript dark clothing that fit his wiry frame. He had dark close-cropped hair and his face was hidden by a blank white mask. He was unarmed, and Jasmine couldn't detect any concealed weapon on him,
So what did he shoot at them, she thought, and how did he shoot it?
"Who are you?" Mac demanded
The man didn't speak, but in response, he held his hand out to her. Then, from the sleeve of his black overcoat, another black projectile was launched at her. Mac was able to react in time and swatted it away, but not long after, the arm she deflected with fell limply by her side.
"Wha…?" Mac blinks, now unable to move her hand.
"Mac!" Ryd said, as the man then charged at her, now holding a blade.
Where did he get that from? Jasmine thought
He was about to stab her, but then Ryd intercepted.
While Ryd engaged the stranger, Jasmine went to tend to Mac.
"I can't feel my arm." Mac complained as she tried to flex her hand, to no avail, "What the hell did that bastard do to me?"
Jasmine inspected the hand with her aurum oculus. seeing that the circulation of magik had ceased. "It's some form of magik paralysis. Whatever he shot at you probably halts the flow of magik in the body upon contact." she said clinically,
"This isn't permanent, is it?" Mac asked worried
"No, only temporary," Jasmine said, "long enough for him to get it and kill you, I'd guess."
Turning her attention back to Ryd, she sees him slash at their attacker, his blade biting into the man's abdomen. He stumbles back, instead of blood, a dark sludgy substance spilling from where he had been disemboweled, before the sludge coagulates and seals the wound.
Before anyone can react, he rushes forward and punches Ryd in the face, sending the younger man reeling.
"That's so unfair," Mac complained, the feeling in her arm had returned, so she grabs a pair of brass knuckles from her bag and jumps into the fight. Where she got brass knuckles from, Jasmine had no idea.
"Appreciate the help," Ryd said
"Oh, I'm not helping you; I'm just taking down the greater threat first."
As the two of them charge at the man Jasmine draws an arrow to her bow, filling the quartz arrowhead with her magik energy until it turned bright blue, then she fired it at the mysterious man. The arrow sliced through the air at breakneck speed, barreling towards his head. But he dodged the arrow at the last second, contorting his body into an inhuman posture, distracting him just enough for Mac to get a solid hit right in his face, shattering the mask.
As the masked man rises off the ground, they gazed at him in shock and horror. He had no face; no eyes, no nose, no mouth, no ears, just a scarred and mangled sheet of skin where a face should've been.
"What… are you?" Jasmine asked
The man just stood there, then he charged at Jasmine, a blade forming in his hand, but Ryd intercepted and after a brief clash they parted with Ryd severing one of his arms, which bled the black sludge before being reattached.
Ryd landed by Jasmine, "He's some sort of zombie."
"A zombie?" Jasmine said, "That's impossible."
Zombies were a very weird type of creature, they were undead having been resurrected through a variety of forbidden means. Most zombies were normally very docile and pacifistic; they sustained themselves through a very strict vegetarian or vegan diet, and they typically lived in secret communes away from civilization.
Technically, although G was also undead, he was more like a type of golem, with his soul bound to, and animating a vessel.
"Any day someone wants to help would be much appreciated!" Mac says, as she dodges a barrage of attacks from the zombie
He was unarmed, yet he kept producing weapons out of nowhere. That was driving Jasmine crazy.
If Ryan were awake he'd have made a bad joke about that, Jasmine thought then she shook her head; why am I thinking that? Stay focused.
Jasmine used her aurum oculus and studies the zombie internally. His magik web was odd, it still circulated around his body, but in a way she had never seen before. She saw that tiny bits of his magik were being expelled from his body constantly.
Of course, she though, that's how it's doing that.
She takes a trick arrow from her quiver, the shaft of the arrow was filled with blasting gel and a small fuse.
"Keep him busy for me." Jasmine ordered
"Sure…" Mac said as she blocked another strike, "…no problem,"
While Mac and Ryd are keeping the faceless zombie occupied, Jasmine runs along the outskirts of the battleground getting behind him.
With the zombie focused on Ryd and Mac, it didn't notice Jasmine, she nocked the arrow and fired right at its back.
A split second was all that was needed for Jasmine's arrow to embed itself through the zombie's heart. The zombie looks back at Jasmine to see her hit a trigger along the controls by her bow's grip, lighting the fuse of the trick arrow and the specifically designed explosive pack detonated forwards, blowing his chest wide open.
"Gross!" Mac says, as she is right in the splash radius, and was splattered with innards, "I'm covered in… what is this stuff?" she held up her hand and saw it wasn't blood or guts; it was a black sludge-like metallic substance, like mercury, but darker.
"This is the same stuff the weapons he throws at us are made of." Ryd said examining a chunk of zombie goop.
"The substance flows inside him and is irradiate with magik." Jasmine said, "He controls it at will"
"So he secretes this stuff from his sweat glands, and uses it to create weapons." Mac said, "Like a sweaty magik killer?"
"Ryan, that was a cheesy joke," Jasmine said absentmindedly
"Uh… I'm not Ryan." Mac comments
"Oh, right." Jasmine said, "Sorry,"
As they walk away from the corpse, the little bits of flesh and metal began to seep back towards the carcass, reforming it. The zombie rises again with a sickly moan.
"Come on!" Mac whines, "How many times are we going to have to kill you?"
From the zombie's bare chest –which was still reforming— it launches tiny darts at them, forcing them to duck for cover, then he started stumbling over to where Ryan laid unconscious.
"It doesn't seem to be fully healed yet," Ryd noted
"He's going after Ryan," Mac hissed, glancing at Ryd, "He must be your competition."
"We can't let him take Ryan," Jasmine said.
"Well, I'm open to ideas." Mac says
All the liquid in his body has been replaced with that weird substance. Jasmine thought, and if it's a conductor…
She fished into her belt and pulled out her trump card; a precessed quartz crystal, specially charged with lightning magik from Ryan. She always kept it in case of emergencies, but she was a bit hesitant to use it now.
"Guys, I've got an idea." Jasmine said, "I need you to buy me some time to get it ready."
"Alright, leave it to me to be the distraction… again," Mac said as she charged the zombie head on, she rips off a branch from a downed tree and swings at the zombie. The zombie was knocked off his footing and into Ryd, who transformed into a vragtor and belched molten rock on him.
As the volcanic rock began to cool, the zombie flexed, cracking the cocoon confining him, but Jasmine was already prepared.
"Take cover!" Jasmine yells as she pitches the quartz crystal at the confined zombie, then she fires an arrow at it. The arrow strikes the crystal right as it is right in front of the zombie, pinning it to its forehead. As the crystal is pierced, it releases a violent and wild reaction of lighting and winds so strong that it discharges in the form of a concussive blast, sending everything flying away from it. When everyone gets back up, the zombie was gone, leaving a smoking crater.
"What happened?" Mac demanded
"That crystal had Ryan's lightning magik in it," Jasmine said, "while you guys were keeping it distracted, I forced some wind magik into it as well."
"Isn't that dangerous," Ryd said
"Very." Mac said, "energized quartz crystals are unstable, and lightning magik isn't the safest magik to begin with. Compressing wind magik from another source with lightning magik in a quartz crystal is a very explosive process. You're lucky you didn't blow yourself up first."
"We should go," Jasmine said, "I don't know if he can regenerate from being completely obliterated, but better safe than sorry,"
"I agree." Mac said, checking on Ryan, "We're sitting ducks out here."
"Where are we anyway?" Jasmine asked.
Ryd pointed, "That ridge over there we just passed is known as the lions' claw. It marks the boarder of another region of jungle."
Both girls looked at him,
"Why should we believe you?" Mac asked, balling up her fist,
"Look, I don't want to hurt you or Ryan," Ryd said, "I knew about the bounty on Ryan for a while, before I even met you. I was tempted yeah, but I'm not going collect."
"Why?" Jasmine asked
"I have my reasons; I want to avoid situations where I'm imprisoned and studied, so I won't subject others to it." Ryd said
"He has a point," Jasmine said
"I know," Mac sighed, she turned to Ryd, "Okay, what's this new region beyond the ridge?"
"I don't know," Ryd explained, "I've never been this deep in this area before. But I do know that this area has been known as Maveth by the locals,"
"Death?" Jasmine translated
"Lovely. Well, if we stay here we'll run into those crazy Talons again or who knows what else," Mac grumbled, "So let's press on,"
"Okay," Jasmine said, "Let's go."
Together with Mac, they carried Ryan along, following Ryd into the depths of Maveth.