Chapter Forty-Three

Harmony progressed room after room.

Chronostasis and [Recall] worked in tandem to align five clocks to strike thirteen simultaneously, opening the way. Each had a funny click when set to that unusual number.

The next room took timing without an object to weigh down a pressure plate that opened the exit. [High Kick] slid her through the door, taking advantage of her small size as it shut. [Stride Before the Fall] carefully kept on a trigger at the risk of the door cutting her in half.

[Dust] dug her through a sand dune to reach a buried exit.

There was a chance to run into other competitors. Enough that it occupied the mind to think of who she'd want to run into. In the room of mirrors, she could feel him, not sharing the room but nearby. Len or taking another shot with Max would have been better, but Rose and the old undead butler would have to do.

Hand on the mirror, she could feel him on the other side of the wall. Harmony's reflection twisted into a demonic visage, and her fist shattered the glass. "Enough of that."

The wail from the other Harmonies in the room at the mirrors' destruction was grating. "Sush." Each reflection stared back with a fresh wound and hatred in their eyes. "Break them."

Hyacinth resized and started shattering the mirrors behind her, causing a cacophony of hollow screams. With a reinforced dagger made from a spider's jaws and her vital body's strength, she carved a fist-sized hollow into the stone wall in the direction of Hargreams. As the last mirror broke, the exit was revealed, opening to the opposite of where she wanted to go.

Digging two of the crystals out of her armor, she placed them in the hollow. With an icy hand print filled with [Disintegrate] pressed on top of them, she dashed to the far side of the room. A safer way to detonate the crystals than using [Stride] to blow herself up. The seconds it took to set up that particular skill combination might not have worked in mimic wastes, but that didn't mean Tyler wasn't also right that it had been a risky choice.

The resulting explosion nearly threw her from her feet, but she weathered it and moved in, ready to catch them by surprise. She leaped through the fresh opening, "Princess Rosaline, it's time we had a discussion!" Authority and finality bled from the words, as she cleared the air with [Dust] for dramatic effect.

The explosive haze cleared to reveal one very scared young man sitting on the floor, as a calm and collected Hargreaves stood next to him, with only one arched eyebrow in perplexity. Who wasn't there? Heir Rosaline Highsmythe.

"Can I help you, Lady White?" The undead servant asked coolly.

"Where is Rose?" Harmony asked using [Poise and Bearing] to attempt to look less foolish. The attempt failed, but at least she tried.

"We ran into young Mr. Roth, and since he's a bit of a fool, my lady instructed me to make sure he gets to the center room so our tribe wouldn't fail the contest."

Smart idea. There were several in her tribe who could probably use the assistance. Kenny or the crew Eric schemed rarely managed to show excellence. Rosaline's undead servant was the perfect kind of companion for such escort missions. Competent, skilled, and sworn to follow Rose's orders to the best of his abilities. The princess would've been ideal to squeeze for information. Time to make do with the options she had.

"Hargreaves, I didn't appreciate you taking Adric and not returning him." The death in her voice was heavy enough that she swore the butler flinched for the barest of moments.

"I warned Heir Rosaline there would be consequences, but she now no longer wishes to heed or hear my opinion. I'm forced to act where the Heir's whims and struggles take her. Even now, I'm only able to have this conversation because it will aid Mr.Roth in reaching his destination."

"Are you going to kill me?" The man asked as he scooted away.

[Final Silence] shut Roth up. He paled even more.

Harmony stared up into the butler's eyes as he gave away nothing with his face. His words implied so much. Rose had discarded him. That seemed improper to the point of imbalance. The princess wasn't without emotion, as she'd shoved Harmony away in shock after an act of comfort. The implied level of restrictions was troubling. And what did he mean by whims and struggles? With Max sleeping with her, had Saccerate gotten her chaotic hands on the princess as well?

"Tell me what I need to know to allow you to continue."

"Adric's convictions keep others safe. I've already told you all you need to know." The undead servant winced in pain. "Now let us pass."

Harmony could feel his bond to Rose twist in him, like knots were being tied inside the spirit. He'd pushed it. "You are excused."

Turning on her heel, she headed back through the opening she'd entered under. Why couldn't this be simple? Adric's selflessness and willingness to stay and protect someone were part of his character. Harmony's thoughts chased her as she pushed deeper into the stronghold.

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Now she let the puzzles pull her away from the problem she couldn't even face until she had the major players available to pull the truth from. Having a room full of goblins to kill had allowed her to hammer some of her frustrations out just a smidgen. She dropped the last bleeding heart on the scale, bringing it to balance and opening the next doorway.

[Manipulate Dead] cleared the blood off of her before she stepped through.

Congratulations! You are the second contestant to reach the center of the stronghold.

Felix lowered the swords that had been raised and ready to strike. While he did so, the annoyance on his face twisted into a grin. "Lady White, come to join my Harem? After I win these silly games, I can take you back to the Isles and have you made into a lovely blade."

"You're not winning any friends, Felix. If I hear you've attacked any competitors, I'll make sure to shove your swords into you so deep that they break your heart." Here was a punchable face when she needed one.

"I'd like to see you try," Felix answered with a widening grin. Inside him, Harmony watched him activate a skill.

It was always going to end this way. The last meeting showed the man wasn't rational. He committed a crime when he nearly killed Kenny, and as a tentative leader, she was the law. A role that combined judge, jury, and, if needed, executioner. Not that she wanted it to go that far.

She'd practiced this battle a dozen times in her head. [Recall] and [Keen Investigative Awareness] pulling from what she saw during those encounters.

The legate blade's [Sliding Strike] was slower than Prince Adric's, and she'd played tag enough with her pet to know the skill's limitations and that she could beat it. A hop away put her out of reach of his linear attack. [Small Armor] blocked the expected surprise; the two swords not in his hands shot out towards her blind spot, independently borrowing the man's skills through the polyamorous bond.

"Not without skill. Show me some of that danger Lenny warned me about!"

Why do they always talk mid-fight? [Cold Touch] was already reaching out on the floating blades. The cold on the metal wouldn't harm them, but that touch of [Renew Spirit] around the casting would slow their movement as it crept inside the living energy powering them. Harmony launched herself at the independent weapons.

Felix's arcing strike aimed to interrupt that. A wave of cutting energy from the man's blade headed her way. A wall of [Dust] sprang up from the ground. It wouldn't stop an actual blade, but the energy sent out of one would be weakened and diffracted from the airborne particles. It didn't completely stop the attack, but it allowed Harmony to push through it. [Mend] sealing up the weakened slash as soon as the wounds were made.

Without the interruption stopping her, Harmony managed to grab each handle of the slowed blades, using her body's strength to wrench them under her control. They fought, but it also removed them as targets she needed to keep track of.

"My ladies don't play that way," Felix growled

"I told you what I'd do with your swords."

Swords were not a weapon she'd trained with. [Style and Grace] gave her enough body control that it was hard to be clumsy with anything in her hand, even living swords that fought her vital grip. Still, she wasn't a swordswoman. As Felix attacked, she was aware of the difference. It only helped that she was able to interpose her new hostages in the way of the man's movements. They danced around a bit as he held back other skills, but she could tell his frustration was growing at her hostages.

"Damn you. Let my lovelies go!"

"I thought five on two was a bit unfair?"

"Two?" Attention fully on her, [Final Silence] struck the man as [Keen Investigative Awareness] told her now was the time, all of which was projected through [Familiar Bond]

Hyacinth's tongue grabbed Felix, pulling him back and halfway into his jaw as it snapped down, pinning his arms and upper half, headfirst, inside the giant toad's mouth. The man kicked and twisted his wrists to try a better angle.

While the troublesome man hadn't let go of his swords, he was restricted in skill and movement. [Cold Touch] and [Mend] restricted his arms further to prevent any accidental swings at her partner.

Felix wiggled and fought, but that long silence was plenty of time to pry the blades out of the man's hand with the encouragement of [Disintegrate] on the tendons in his fingers.

"Grumm?" Hyacinth asked, his mouth half full.

"No, you can't eat him. Not this time. If there is a next time. Maybe."

Muffled, half-choked screams signified the end of the silence, where he could now fully scream at the horror of viewing the toad from the inside. Harmony had her toad spit him out before he used any potentially harmful skills out of desperation. Drenched in toad spit, Felix Campbell sat up fuming. "I conceded this match. No one else has died under my blade so far. You have my word that I won't actively hunt competitors if you give me back my women."

No oath skill to support it, though. She knew he had a fate-based skill he'd shown off earlier, a field level one. It was hard to say yes, because it was taking all of her strength to keep the four blades in check. Without having them as hostages early in the fight, this wouldn't have been as easy. Breaking the struggling blades before handing them back was an option, but that might be a step too far.

"Don't make me regret this." Harmony returned the swords by placing them at the man's feet.

Felix carefully picked up his swords, cradling each one before sheathing them while whispering sweet nothings. "Your restraint makes you less scary than Lenny described. But I did nearly believe my girls would be without their man for a moment. No one could take care of them the way I do. For that I will be grateful, even as I am furious for you putting me in that position in the first place."

Precedent. It was important to set the precedent of giving the man a chance to behave before ending his life. The crazy wasn't helping. What if someone died due to her leniency?

Hyacinth grew slightly bigger behind the man in response to her murderous considerations.

The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth contestants exited into the large center of the stronghold. This was no longer a private affair. Hyacinth quickly shrank to dog size and hopped by her side. Tribes quickly congregated together by color as more entered the stronghold's center.

[Poise and Bearing] might have her looking calm, but the pulses of stamina from her [Heart] made it hard to slip into socializing mode. It didn't help when groups literally started to wall off. Len set up an opaque barrier for his tribe. Malick created an earthen wall for theirs.

Max and Rose's arrival nearly drove her to action, but the lines were drawn, and they disappeared into their tribe's group without even a glance in her direction.

[The Red Tribe Wins!]

The notification brought cheers and scowls lasting a brief moment until Harmony and her tribe were whisked away. Moonlight cast light on the obelisk, and one of the building-shaped structures started to shake.

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