64 Cryptic

"Attie." He smiled before giving the little one a gentle pat on the head. 

In response, Attie moved her head closer. But it seemed that she wasn't satisfied. She grabbed his hand and hugged his palm. 

"You are quite affectionate, aren't you?" He told the little one. 

Attie did not answer, instead she had rubbed her cheeks on the calloused surface of his palm.

"If only your mistress would also warm up with me like that." He said wistfully. 

He really hoped that he could become closer with Atropa but unfortunately the lady was always putting up a wall between them. 

At his statement, Attie's eyes turn into cute little slits and her lips had curved into a rather clandestine grin. 

"I think it is time for us to move, before other enemies might pop out of nowhere." He said after a while. 

Briar recalled that with the phylactery still intact, there is a chance that the lich would summon another batch of undead and command those to attack them. 

He allowed Attie to climb on his arm and let the little one happily settle on his pocket. With that, they are set to move. 

The prince cast his gaze on the wreckage. He seemed to have destroyed a good deal of structure from above. Without the obstructions, several other hidden passages had appeared a few levels above them. 

However, before he could relocate to another spot, Briar could somehow feel the ground shake a little. Several pebbles and small stones had shifted and fell down as a result. 

"Looks like that did not finish you…" he muttered with narrowed eyes. 

So for an extra good measure, the prince knelt down and touched the surface. Then he allowed his mana to spread to the area below. 

As he did so, he could feel the rumbling of the stones and other debris. 

"Just as I thought… that thing could still move." He muttered to himself as he had spotted where his gigantic opponent had been buried with all the rubble. It was trying to free itself from the crushing weight. 

In order to make sure that the giant skeleton would not be able to get out of that massive pile, Briar had manipulated the earth to compress the stones and other minerals. 

He allowed the huge boulders to squeeze themselves closer to one another. He, then, compacted the area so that the skeleton would be crushed underneath. 

With the buff from his halberd, Briar was able to give forth a huge burst of mana which had transformed a part of the area into a plane. 

Save for the huge boulders, most of the ragged and uneven areas filled with rocks and stones became flat. 

"That would do it." He was quite happy that the movement bellow had ceased. It had seemed that his plan worked. 

So that he could move freely, Briar commanded, "dematerialize." Kaempferi had disappeared into thin air. 

Without the weight of his weapon, he would be able to make his way towards the other passages situated a few meters above that level. 

Using the remaining huge boulders and gravity as springboard, he leaped from one area to another and managed to land on a ledge which lead to one of the closest tunnel.

 "Do you think it is safe to explore this one?" he asked Attie. 

The little one tilted her head. Then a few seconds later her reddish brown eyes glowed. She motioned to the parchment which revealed the words "It is fairly safe. One of my copies had been here." 

Taking her words, he began navigating through passage. However, he could feel another presence, though a bit concealed, starting to emerge. 

It was very faint earlier but his instincts told him that someone or something was definitely watching his fights. 

"I know that you are in this place… why don't you show yourself." He called out while getting on guard. His hand automatically landed on the hilt of his estoc. 

In a flash of light, a woman in silken gown had appeared. Her three pairs of gossamer wings had caught the prince's attention. 

"A fae…" he mumbled as he somewhat lower his guard. 

"Yes, I am a fae. My name is Sylvia." The creature curtsied. 

In return the prince gave a bow. "Briar of Azalea." 

"Such a splendid display of strength and power…. to think that you would be able to defeat that one. I highly commend you." Sylvia said. 

With her words, Briar brought his guard up. "Were you the one who ordered those monsters attack me?" he asked as his hand inched its way back to the hilt of the sword. 

"Although you have invaded our turf and deserved to be punished, it was not us who commanded those creatures to assault you." Sylvia responded. "Those things had been here for quite a while and been preying on people who had gotten lost in our area."

"Why didn't you do something to get rid of them?" he asked in curiosity. 

"We are incapable of doing so. That was why I had to thank you for getting rid of those vermin." 

"You are going to give me a reward? Aren't you going to be my opponent?" he asked with a bit of precaution. He never had any inkling what this fae wanted. 

"I will have to give you a reward for killing those creatures of darkness. And no, I am not here to fight. I am only here to see your strength and if you are worthy give you a blessing." She honestly conveyed. 

Briar's eyes narrowed with apprehension, so he asked. "Why?" 

The fae smiled. "Child of Zale… the gears are turning. Several entities are already making their move. It is about time that the pact from eons ago shall be fulfilled." 

"You have the blessings of earth. But that will not be enough to aid that child of fate. So here is a little something for you so that you can stop her from going deep into the abyss." She said cryptically as she had raised her hand. 

Briar was temporarily blinded by the burst of light that showered on him. "Use it when the time comes." 

"What?" the prince was perplexed with the turn of events. 

When he opened his mouth to ask, Sylvia said. "They are about to finish up there. Your partner will arrive soon. Please take care of her." 

Then she disappeared without leaving a single trace. 

"What in the world was that?" Briar turned to Attie. 

The little one just shrugged her shoulders in reply. 

But in order to know if Sylvia was indeed speaking the truth, Briar put his hand on the ground. He made a tiny tremor and let it reverberate throughout the place. 

Through the tremors, he could feel a few life forms from several floor above him. Then he felt some that familiar bearing accompanied with some sort of trap activating. 

"Finally! Found you!" he muttered as he waited for the girl to fall towards the floor he was in. 

He run towards the area where he had predicted that Atropa would fall.

As soon as she was in sight, Briar wasted no time in leaping and breaking her fall.