Path of Dragons

Book 5: Chapter 67: A Natural Predator

A gentle wind rustled the leaves above, and a cacophony of chirps cascaded across the canopy. Twinkling motes of ethera danced in the air, casting the forest floor in a slightly blue glow that, in most situations, Elijah would have found quite comforting. He was distracted, though. Because for once, he’d found a group of ka’alaki hunters before they’d found him.

Kurik and the others were around three miles away, tired after an entire day of battle. After their experiences in the Citadel of Innovation, the jungle had come alive in a way it never had before. Elijah wasn’t certain if it was seasonal or if something else had prompted the change, but their entire trip back to the Nexus Town had been wrought with danger. Mostly, that had taken the form of the wraiths, who had attacked with a characteristic lack of self-preservation. Elijah and his companions had killed wave after wave of the creatures, and yet, they’d plagued every step the group had taken through the jungle.

The creatures were dangerous, but that was mitigated by the fact that they seemed incapable of tactical thinking. That meant that if they couldn’t overwhelm their prey with numbers or strength, then the wraiths were at a distinct disadvantage. Meanwhile, Elijah and the other members of his party had steadily developed and solidified their own strategy for dealing with the vicious creatures. So, the fights weren’t nearly as dangerous as they had been earlier in the Trial.

Still, fighting through wave after wave of the monsters was exhausting, which was why the group had decided to take advantage of a hidden position they’d found within a cave. There, they’d set up their camp – including their defenses – so they could get at least a few hours of precious rest.

Once Elijah had seen that they were safe for the time being, he’d shifted into the Shape of Venom and set out to scout the area. For whatever reason – maybe because of his advanced cultivation, his levels, or his attributes – fatigue didn’t quite affect him as strongly as it did everyone else. So, he’d taken it upon himself to ensure that no one snuck up on them.

He also enjoyed every chance he could get to utilize his newest shape. While he’d expected to have second thoughts, regardless of which choice he’d made with the evolution of Shape of the Predator, he’d been nothing but happy with Shape of Venom. Not only did it come with all the advantages of its predecessor – save for a few points in Constitution – he’d discovered that Envenom was even more powerful than he’d first thought.

Certainly, it hadn’t been enough to immediately take out the Engineer, but that was less because of its power than because of the unique nature of the enemy. Elijah couldn’t be certain, but he suspected that, in addition to being at the peak of the Mortal Realm, the Engineer had also altered his body to such a degree that he likely should have been immune to most afflictions.

And yet, Envenom – combined with Insidious Malady – had torn through his body, weakening him enough that the combined might of his party could take the monstrous ka’alaki down. Since then, Elijah had seen just how potent his venom could be, but he’d also begun to think of strategies where he could better incorporate all of his forms to get the most out of his abilities.

But he didn’t think he’d need them for the hunters camped below him.

Like all of the hunters Elijah had encountered, they were ka’alaki, meaning that they had legs instead of thick, serpentine tails. That seemed important, but without more information, Elijah didn’t know what to make of the detail. Regardless, there were a half dozen of the creatures huddled around a smokeless green fire. When Elijah looked at the flames, he sensed swirling ethera that periodically pulsed, sending waves out into the jungle.

Was the fire something like his monster-dissuading tent? Perhaps. Or maybe it had some other effect. He couldn’t be sure, but what he did know was that it did nothing to him. Those pulses of energy were entirely ineffective against him, so he’d chosen to ignore them.

For a few more moments, Elijah remained on the branch above the group, silently watching and hoping to glean some information from their conversation. He knew they were speaking some language other than English, but that didn’t hinder his understanding. Instead, he knew precisely what they were saying, but unfortunately, they spoke very little, and what they said was nothing of consequence.

Eventually, Elijah grew tired of watching, and he chose to act.

He dropped from his perch, landing on a hunter’s back. Before the ka’alaki could react, Elijah sank his fangs into the creature’s neck. He didn’t hesitate before leaping away and biting another member of the group. By that point, they’d reacted. Yet, Elijah was too fast, already skittering across the ground to bite another hunter in the leg.

Then, knowing he couldn’t stand up to a unified defense, he raced away, ducking through the underbrush with barely a rustle. That was when the first wave of experience settled onto him. Another followed soon after. And another after that. Only a few seconds had passed, and already, three of the hunters were dead.

Behind him, the other three panicked, forming a triangle so that they could see him coming. Elijah didn’t care about that. He was already gone, using his gifts to climb a nearby tree faster than he ever could have before his form had evolved. In moments, he was back where he’d started, looking down on the hunters and waiting to make his next move.

He could have used Guise of the Unseen, but he’d told himself that he wouldn’t unless absolutely necessary. The blight dragon shape was even better suited to camouflage than the draconid form, and he wanted to grow accustomed to that just in case his stealth ability became unavailable.

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And despite the fact that the hunters kept looking up – after all, they’d seen where he’d come from the first time – they couldn’t detect him. It was a good reminder that, even before the infusion of ethera that had come with the touch of the World Tree, there had been plenty of animals that were capable of becoming practically invisible. Elijah aimed to emulate those beasts.

For a while, he remained on that branch, completely motionless and watching the remaining hunters.

“Is it gone?” asked one in a hissing voice.

“I don’t know,” the other said. “Did you recognize it?”

The third shook his head. “It is no species I have ever seen.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” growled the first.

They went on like that for a while until they finally decided that they’d somehow survived the attack. The moment they relaxed, Elijah pounced once again, killing those three much the same as the others. And just like that, the six hunters had become corpses.

Those kills, along with all the wraiths they’d slaughtered over the past few days, pushed Elijah to level ninety-six. Extra attributes were always nice – even one point each level tended to add up – but he was far more interested in getting new spells or chances to evolve old ones.

“One step at a time,” he told himself. It wouldn’t do to become impatient. If he kept reaching for more and more power, there would come a point when he took it too far. The better route – at least as far as he was concerned – was to let it come to him. He wouldn’t refuse opportunities to grow stronger – and in fact, he would seek them out – but he’d come to realize that trying to grow more powerful for its own sake was unappealing to him.

He needed other goals.

Other priorities.

Otherwise, he might fall prey to some serious pitfalls.

As those thoughts flitted through his mind, Elijah shifted back into his human form and rifled through the hunters’ belongings. There wasn’t much there – just a few spears, some decent armor, and a bag full of rations – but he took what he could, shoving it all into his Ghoul-Hide Satchel before heading out.

He circled his companions’ camp, spending the next hour or so ensuring that they hadn’t inadvertently set up shop right next to a powerful foe. However, other than a few clumps of semi-dormant wraiths, he found no more threats. So, he returned to the camp and, after explaining everything to the others, slipped into his tent and went to sleep.

As he lay there, two things kept going through his mind. First, he thought about how absolutely filthy he was. The way the blight dragon killed was far less messy than fighting as a draconid, but he’d been completely unable to avoid a few splashes of blood. Those had stained the clothes he wore beneath his armor, and gotten into what hair had returned to his head. In addition, his armor needed a good cleaning, as the padding beneath smelled like a high school locker room. In short, he looked forward to getting back to the Nexus Town, if only because it would give him the opportunity to clean up a bit.

Second, he thought about Sadie.

Or more accurately, about the way she kept looking at him. At times, Elijah was admittedly clueless, but he was not a complete fool. He knew what those looks – which had begun when she’d seen him bathing beneath a waterfall – meant. However, despite her obvious attraction to him – and the fact that she was quite attractive herself – he hesitated to make a move.

Not because he was afraid of being rejected. That was a distinct possibility, because she obviously didn’t care much for him, despite her clear feelings. In fact, if he did take that route, he fully expected to be shut down. Which was fine. He’d dealt with that kind of thing often enough that it wasn’t a big deal. A blow to his ego, maybe, but that had taken enough of a battering through the years that he barely paid attention to it.

No – his hesitation was twofold. For one, Delilah was still in Nexus Town, as far as he knew. And while they weren’t exactly a couple, there was something there. Maybe it was no more than what it had appeared to be at first glance – just a one-night stand between a pair of consenting adults. Sure, it had extended to a couple of nights together, but that didn’t mean it was a real relationship. Still, Elijah had come to look at things a little differently.

Was he willing to take that step with Delilah? Maybe. Maybe not. Was she? Almost assuredly, she would refuse. And yet, Elijah felt that pursuing another woman before figuring that out would be a betrayal of a sort.

It didn’t make sense. He knew that. And if he’d brought it up with Delilah herself, she likely would have laughed in his face. But one thing was certain – it wasn’t as simple of a situation as it seemed at first glance.

That was usually the case when it came to emotions and connections with other people, but knowing that didn’t make it any easier to navigate.

But that complexity was nothing compared to the fact that, on a most basic level, Elijah found Sadie’s whole demeanor off-putting. She’d gotten better. She no longer looked at him with naked disgust. Yet, that judgmental nature was still there, and Elijah had no intention of subjecting himself to that, regardless of how pretty she was.

Even if she was willing – and he didn’t think she truly was – it was better for both of them if they ignored whatever feelings of attraction they might’ve felt for one another.

Still, as he lay there, Elijah’s mind kept turning in her direction.

Thankfully, he didn’t have long to dwell on those thoughts before he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning came soon enough, and they once again set off across the jungle. Thankfully, the wraith attacks waned, and after another day of travel, they finally caught sight of the Nexus Town. However, when they entered, they discovered a couple of major changes.

First, there were a lot less people around. The decrease in the population wasn’t quite as dramatic as it had been during their last visit, but it was still noticeable. Elijah told himself that most of the people were probably out trying to conquer the various challenges or fighting the wildlife, but while he knew that was true in some cases, it wasn’t the whole story.

Some people had died. Others had fled. And slowly, the number of challengers in the Trial of Primacy was dwindling down to nothing. By the time it was over, would only a few remain? Would any?

It was a valid question, and one to which Elijah had no answers.

The other major change was that Elijah saw a lot more Immortals roaming about. Before, there’d been only a dozen, but by the time Elijah had reached the square containing the Branch of the World Tree, he’d counted at least thirty swaggering around in their masks and black outfits. There were even more surrounding the Branch itself, almost as if they were standing guard.

So, when they arrived at Atticus’ Consortium, Elijah asked his friend, “What’s going on here?”

“A lot has changed over the past month,” the slim arms dealer said. “We have a significant problem.”