Spire of Blood: A Cultivation Gamelit Adventure (Spellheart Book 7), page 8
The temple was tall, part pyramid and part obelisk, built into the shape of a hexagon. It stood higher than the massively towering trees, which meant there must have been over a hundred floors. Each floor was slightly smaller than the one below it, making the entire thing look like a massive six-sided staircase.
The two wizards were standing at the top of the tower. I looked at them both a second time to make sure I had missed nothing.
Ancient Tree Temple Priestess (Late Wizard, Level 38)
Ancient Tree Temple Groundskeeper (Mid Wizard, Level 35)
The two of them were strong, as far as wizards went. Technically, both of them had cultivated further than I had myself. But level classifications were not a complete analysis of combat strength. Between the World Titan Fiendbody at the Silver Realm and my unique aura fragment at the wizard realm myself, I had complete confidence in my ability to deal with both of these wizards.
I used Unearthly Movement and popped out of the ground at the base of the temple. There were a few mage acolytes and true mages reacting to my sudden intrusion, but I ignored them.
“The orc invaders are attacking the temple! Secure the area!” An elf shouted.
“One of them is already inside the temple grounds, look!” Another yelled, no doubt pointing at me.
The temple was built from many levels, each like a step built for a giant and as tall as three elves. But I bounded up each of them in a series of mighty leaps like I had springs on the backs of my legs.
In mere moments, I was at the top of the temple. There was no door here for me, but I kicked in a piece of wall and entered for myself. I entered through the impromptu door and found both wizards blinking at me in surprise as they held each other in a tight embrace.
The priestess was on top of the groundskeeper. Just a moment ago she’d been straddling the other elf’s face as they both lay in the center of the room surrounded by ceremonial candles. That both of them were naked while they did this cast no doubt on the nature of the activities they’d been engaged in mere moments ago.
“T-this is a religious ceremony!” The priestess said as she pulled herself off from her seat upon the groundskeeper’s face. “I swear!”
“...Right... my apologies for the poor timing,” I said. “But I’m here to conqueror this temple of yours. Tell you what, I have a pair of collars for the two of you. Put them on and I’m sure the orcs outside will be happy to have the two of you keep doing what you’re doing.”
“The orcs that have been trampling all over the woods?” The priestess, covering her mouth in surprise. “They’re here? Oh no, this is terrible timing. Please tell them to go away.”
I’d come in here ready for a fight, but I suddenly found launching spells or throwing punches rather difficult. These two wizards hadn’t made a single aggressive move against me, and their naked state was sapping my battle-lust. I was perfectly willing to punch a woman in a fight, but punching a naked woman enjoying the pleasures of the flesh? I know I certainly wouldn’t be happy to be attacked during such activities.
“I’m afraid I’m not going to go away. Nor will the orc horde outside your temple gates go away.” I said. “If your leaders hadn’t led an invasion into Deania, I might feel differently. But they did, so their temple has to pay the price.”
“You’re Chief Blackgorge, aren’t you?” The groundskeeper on the ground said as the elf sitting on her finally let her get some air.
“That’s me,” I said. “I’m surprised you’ve heard of me.”
“You’re nearly as famous as the Patriarch of the Hearthwood Clan.” The groundskeeper said.
“You need to leave. Now.” The priestess said as she stood up. “We’re supposed to watch the temple and make sure no trouble comes up while the high priestess is away. The Cult of the Unblinking Eye is having a very important meeting right now.”
My blood ran cold at the name of the Cult of the Unblinking Eye. I knew they’d have a presence in the Ancient Tree Temple since they ultimately orchestrated the war against Deania. But to hear they had people in the temple now lit a fire in my belly.
“Now isn’t that a pleasant surprise?” I chuckled darkly. “I’m eager to hear what the Cult of the Unblinking Eye is up to. In the meantime, I have to insist that the two of you put these zeal suppressing collars on before I leave.”
The groundskeeper looked between me and the pair of collars I produced from my Dimensional Storage, blushing furiously the entire time. “If half of what they say about you is true, then we stand no chance in a fight. Just... say you took us down in battle, please.”
Enemies defeated! +1000 points.
Both the priestess and the groundskeeper accepted a collar. They took turns placing them around each other’s necks. With the two of them safely secured, I went to go find out what the Cult of the Unblinking Eye was up to.
The two wizards gave me directions through the temple. The Cult of the Unblinking Eye was hosting a meeting. Naturally, I was extremely curious to see who they tricked into joining up with their next set of schemes. Perhaps the cult was sending yet another nation to fight Deania on their behalf.
I felt my smoldering anger grow at that thought. When I neared the door where the two wizards told me the Cult of the Unblinking Eye was having their meeting, I kicked down the door and entered with a scowl.
A pair of hooded elves in brown robes greeted me. Between them, a human male sat in a chair before a coffee table. He’d been in hushed discussion with the entity sitting across from him until my sudden entrance.
“I don’t know you.” The human male said. “But this is my assignment. Go play with James and his bunch in Deania instead of interrupting this important deal with the Satyr King.”
I examined both the human and the entity sitting across from him.
Human Unblinking Eye Cultist (Early Wizard, Level 31)
Satyr Ambassador (Level Unknown)
Note: You have not discovered any information about the World of Woods and Wild’s magic.
I noted both elf bodyguards were wizards, but I also saw they had the same dazed and distant look in their eyes that Tim’s mind-controlled minions had. They didn’t even look like they were aware of their surroundings.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’m not here on cult business.” I said. “I’m here on orc business.”
“What is the meaning of this?” The Satyr ambassador snorted. “You humans don’t even have your own house in order and you wish to enter an alliance with my king?”
Any sort of alliance between the Cult of the Unblinking Eye and anyone else would mean trouble for me and Deania, so I had no intention of letting this discussion continue any longer, whatever it had been about.
The human glanced at his elf bodyguards before waving his hand in my direction. “Don’t just stand there, kill him!”
The two wizards closed on me with doll-like mechanical movements. One of them prepared a wind-aspect spell while the other manipulated the earth under my feet.
The latter was entirely outclassed when it came to casting earth aspect spells. She tried to work her spell, but I flooded the area beneath my feet with my earth zeal, wiping away her spell like washing away a drop of water with a bucket.
I produced another pair of zeal restricting collars from my Dimensional Storage and held one of them out in my hand as the wind-wielder prepared to cast her spell. I slipped to the side just as a burst of wind shredded the wall behind where I’d been standing a moment before.
I closed the distance between me and her in an instant. She tried to prepare another wind aspect spell, but I used Magical Shattering and punched the nascent cloud of energy with my fist, shattering it completely. Then I slipped the restrictive collar around her neck and cut her magic short. The elf continued to attempt casting her spell. In her dazed state she didn’t even realize I had cut off her power, and simply continued holding up her hands and thrusting them in my direction.
The earth aspect wizard followed soon after. She pointed at the stone floor and a spike rose from the ground. She swung her hand in my direction as she tried to fling the spike at me, but I cast Gravitational Control to bring both elf and projectile to heel. The stone spike clattered to the ground, and the elf collapsed with her face pressed against the stone. I snapped the collar shut around her a moment later.
I turned to the human and the satyr. “By all means, don’t let my intrusion halt your discussion. Do keep talking about whatever it was you were up to.”
The human cultist took a step back after realizing how quickly I’d taken care of his pair of elf bodyguards. “You’re one of the sleepers. You’ve got some sort of special thing, don’t you? What is it, a device that negates zeal? A ring to hide your true cultivation level? I assure you, the cult will pay you handsomely if you sell it to us.”
As the human cultist spoke, I watched the amber strands of mind magic around him stir. He did his best to look casual and keep his gestures non-threatening, but he was preparing to attack me with mind magic.
But I never would have entered a room filled with cult members without first activating some defense against them. I had Mind Trap already cast and active. The moment the cultist let his spell loose, it bounced right off of me and was deflected into his mind.
“Argh!” He howled as he clutched at his temples. He bled from his ears and eyes, which was a clear sign whatever he’d been trying to do to me had been designed with lethal intent.
“I could use a cooperative prisoner from the Cult of the Unblinking Eye,” I said to him as he clutched his head. “So do try to be cooperative.”
I would have said more, but I sensed movement behind me. The Satyr ambassador wasn’t content to sit still. He rose to his feet and reached for a weapon slung over the back of his chair. He drew it in one smooth motion, revealing a long slender blade made of something that could have been a distant relative of elven ironwood.
I drew Spell Eater, tempering myself with caution. I didn’t know what this Satyr could do, but I wanted to find out.
The Satyr swung his blade at me experimentally and I ducked to the side with Spell Eater. His sword swung past me harmlessly and I darted in to stick my point against the Satyr’s throat. Judging by his earlier swing, he’d be too slow to dodge a lunge powered by the World Titan Fiendbody. He’d need to do something if he didn’t want to lose his life to Spell Eater’s tip.
Just as my weapon was about to cut his throat open, the Satyr’s body faded from sight. He shifted backward, just like I’d seen Sava do on occasion, though his familiarity with the ability reminded me more of Princess Tivana.
“Spatial magic?” I muttered aloud, not expecting an answer. "What kind of zeal do you cultivate?"
But the Satyr heard my utterance and replied with a sneer. “You think we satyrs have time to waste gathering energy ourselves? Don’t be ridiculous. We’re centuries ahead of the primitive elves or orcs. Our Sacred Groves do all the cultivating we need on our behalf, leaving us free to enjoy the pleasures of life.”
“How interesting,” I replied. “Not needing to cultivate does sound rather interesting. Would you care to show me how?”
The Satyr scoffed. “I don’t think so. But I’ll give you the honor of experiencing the power I’ve grown in my grove.”
The Satyr pressed his hands together, and a clear viscous fluid leaked out from between his fingers like sap from a tree. The fluid struck the ground and immediately a mighty tremor ran through the building beneath my feet. A chasm opened up beneath me, threatening to swallow me whole.
“You’ll need to do better than that!” I said, as I jumped sideways and rolled out of harm’s way. An instant later, tendrils shot out of the crevice. Something had been lurking in wait in the room below. The tendril was made of roots as thick around as my arm but was no doubt enhanced with magic to possess incredible strength. One of them shot forward and wrapped around my leg with incredible speed.
But it would take more than a plant to bind me. I brought Spell Eater around and severed the vine wrapping around my ankle with a single swing. Then I cast Corrosive Touch and Return to Dust using my free hand and grabbed the severed stump. My magic traveled up the vine like poison. The plant rapidly blackened and browned at my touch. It tried to pull away to save itself, but I hauled on the appendage I’d grasped.
With a mighty heave, I pulled the ball of roots out from the crevasse it had been hiding in. It looked like a ball of roots, but it squirmed and sprouted many insect-like eyes that stared at me before the creature flung all its tendril-shaped appendages in my direction.
That only accelerated its demise. I let my two death-touch spells run through my body and each tendril that touched me withered and died in an instant. But the Satyr didn’t waste the time his plant bought him. He was preparing another surprise for me.
Two flowers had sprouted at either of the Satyr’s ankles. The Satyr himself held a knife in his hands. He’d recently split open both of his palms with that knife and let blood drip off his fingers onto the flowers to either side.
The flowers, which had previously been white, were now stained a crimson red with the Satyr’s blood. They grew with incredible speed until both flowers were the height of a man. The Satyr grabbed one of the two disabled elf bodyguards and tossed her to his new creations. The flowers sprouted teeth inside their pedals and tore into the elf’s flesh. She was still trying to figure out why her magic wasn’t working when her body dissolved into motes of white light which were then sucked into the carnivorous flowers that killed her. The flowers grew larger and more powerful, and their petals soon had teeth the size of my arm. When their transformation was nearly finished, they lunged at me with their newly formed jaws.
I pivoted and threw the root ball monster at one plant. Then I took Spell Eater and severed the stem of the other in one swing.
“Impossible! You’re only a wizard, how can you... is that orcish body cultivation as well?” The Satyr squinted at me as golden light emanated from his eyes.
“I’m disappointed.” I chuckled. “With your air of superiority, I thought this Sacred Grove magic would be more impressive.”
The Satyr opened his mouth, but what came out of it was not words. A swarm of bees flew out of him like he’d opened a portal in his mouth to a massive hive. They quickly filled the room, flying so thick and so dense around me that I couldn’t see the walls or my enemy.
They tried to sting me, and I was shocked to find some of them getting through despite my World Titan Fiendbody. I put a stop to that by casting Unbreakable and summoning my Everlasting Jade armor. Between the two of them, the bees could do nothing but obscure my vision.
The surviving carnivorous flower lunged at me from the shadows. Whatever method is used to see wasn’t affected by the swarm buzzing around me. It latched onto my head, sucking me into his tooth-lined maw.
That was uncomfortable, to say the least. I gave up any notions of holding back to see what Satyr magic could do. I was ending this right now.
I cast Might of a Giant, and my aura poured out of me with it. My expanding size swallowed the flower and most of the cloud of bees. I pulled my Sword Storm blades out of my Dimensional Storage and sent them flying in a spiral around me as I tugged the plant off my head.
I felt a blade strike against my armored chest several times, only to bounce off harmlessly. Once I had my face clear of the flower bulb, I saw the Satyr stabbing me with his sword. I grabbed him by the throat and my combination of death touch spells withered his flesh just as easily as they had his plant monster.
I lifted him off his feet and ran Spell Eater through his heart. There was plenty of zeal in his body, despite not cultivating after the manner of orcs or elves. He struggled to tear my weapon-free as it siphoned away both his life and power.
Then I dealt with the bees. I cast Titanic Force and clapped my hands together. The shock wave that resulted rang through the air and knocked many of the bees to the ground. Then I spread my aura further from my body and began siphoning the zeal out of the bees, even as my weapon pulled it out of their master.
Moments passed and the buzzing of the swarm went quiet as bees died one after another. The Satyr on the ground gasped his last breath, and his swarm dispersed out the windows, no longer under his control.
Enemies Slain! +2300 points.
I glanced around for the Unblinking Eye cultist, but he was gone. He must have slipped away during the fighting. One of the two elf bodyguards was still alive, so I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder.
I ran my hands up and down the Satyr’s corpse, looking for a bag of holding, and quickly found a small leather pouch. Inside, I found a vast quantity of plants and plant materials, some exotic animal bones, what looked like a honeycomb, and a few books on gardening. The books weren’t intended for the kind of gardening I was accustomed to, because they carried advice like ‘don’t let the plant bite you’. Based on the number of carnivorous plants the Satyr had thrown at me, I wasn’t surprised this was his area of interest.
I’d have Mac scan the books to find any information about Sacred Grove magic, and I sent the Satyr’s corpse back to the Hearthwood for examination as well. His body was dissolving into motes of white light, just like elven or orcish remains. It was slower than the former but faster than the latter, so I suspected Sacred Grove magic invested some zeal into the flesh, but not as much as orc body cultivation.
I swept the rest of the temple for anyone in the wizard realm. My fight had not been quiet and elves all over had realized there was an intruder on the upper levels of the temple. The temple’s true mages trickled in, but that proved to be a mistake on their part.
“There’s the intruder!” The leader of a group of true mages said. “Where are the Priestess and the Groundskeeper? He’s a wizard, and we’ll need their help to deal with him!”
“I’m afraid it's far too late for that,” I said as I gestured to the pair of wizards in charge of the temple. They sat on the floor behind me, collared and naked. They waved to their true mage underling, and I tossed her a zeal suppressing collar. “Put that on for me and sit over there.”
