The fog was heavy, hiding all in its swirling depths. Even sound was eaten whole: though the grass rustled in a gentle breeze, it was muted and dull. Like he’d plugged his ears with wax.
It made the trial feel timeless — endless, like reality itself simply stopped outside the bounds of Kaius’s senses.
Despite that, he was having the time of his life. Porkchop was here. They were on the path to discovering their final aspect, together. The trial itself had said the secret lay in their bond, and to have their unity of purpose enshrined in something so integral felt right.
He did wonder when their first challenge or obstacle would arise. They’d left the circle of standing stones an hour ago, wandering along the path. Absolutely nothing of interest had happened since then. A simple dirt track, winding over gentle hills as they crossed a grassland that was dotted with stone.
Mostly, they spent that time plastered as close to one another as they could manage. It was partly simple sentimentality, but also a reality of the fog that surrounded them. There was no way that it was natural. Porkchop had said that he could only see a bare twenty strides or so in any direction, and even with Truesight he couldn't see much further than a hundred longstrides himself. A poor showing, for someone who could count the leaves on a tree from a league and a half away.
Walking side by side, with his arm on Porkchop’s shoulder, Kaius couldn’t help but feel that his brother would vanish if he lost track of him in the fog. It was one thing to deal with the blocking of their bond when they were apart from each other, but to not feel Porkchop’s mind when right next to him? It grated. Made it feel like he was an apparition — a mirage that was liable to burst.
No amount of checking with Truesight ever quite managed to shake it.
The worst bit was not knowing if Porkchop felt the same. Logically, he knew his brother would. They’d been attached at the hip for nearly two years, he knew Porkchop almost better than he knew himself. He could feel it in the tension of the muscles in Porkchop’s back, see it in the way one ear stayed swivelled — pointing directly at him at all times.
But to not experience it? It rubbed at him like a hangnail — left him stiff and tense as his eyes roved the fog for threats.
Kaius wasn’t an idiot. Sure, he was a flagrant risk-taker, but he could connect the dots as well as any other. It seemed obvious to him that the tension he felt, the lack of easy reliance on his bond, was a part of this trial. Some test of unity, as it related to Animus, perhaps?
It was hard to say — hells, the whole thing could have just been his nerves making him overly suspicious. Still, it didn’t make it easier, nor did it stop him from keeping Porkchop in his sight.
“Bloody fog is doing my head in,” Kaius muttered, tapping Porkchop on the shoulder for what had to be the thousandth time.
“At least you can see somewhat. I hope this trial isn’t about overcoming boredom, because I'm about ready to claw my eyes out. We better run into something to do soon.”
Kaius snorted and shook his head. At least Porkchop was as dramatic as always — the sliver of normalcy helped.
Refocusing on the path ahead of them, Kaius came to a dead stop a few steps later as they were faced with change. Porkchop bristled at his sudden halt, claws digging into the dirt as he readied himself for a threat.
“Danger?”
“No,” Kaius replied. “At least, not yet. It looks like you’ll be getting your wish, though.”
Right at the edge of what was visible through the fog, their path split into three. Two routes peeled off to the left and right, while another continued on. Since leaving the standing stones, it was the first bit of variation from their endless trail through the grasslands.
If it wasn’t an obstacle for them to overcome, Kaius would eat his boot.
“Come on, let's check it out. The path splits up ahead.” Kaius took the lead, drawing the comforting weight of his blade as he waved for Porkchop to follow.
After a dozen or so strides, they crossed a threshold. The fog retreated — pushed back by an invisible force to create a dome of clear space.
“Fog’s gone for you too?” Kaius asked, his eyes staying locked on the now revealed obstacles ahead. face. Still, it was the principle of the matter — even if it was the quickest and best way to ignite his aspect, it was still cruel.
He banished the thought. There had to be a way — the bloody system itself said that they had to understand their bond. How could they do that if they split up when their connection had been blocked?
A shove knocked him out of his thoughts. Stumbling to the side, Kaius heard a snicker.
“Rude!”
“Stop being a worry wart and let's go check it out — there has to be something we’re missing.”
Kaius rolled his eyes and punched Porkchop in the shoulder. “I wasn’t worrying. I was pondering — weighing our options, and planning our attack. You should try it some time — it’s very masculine and serious.”
“Yeah, yeah, tough guy. Now come on.”
Reaching the crossroads, Kaius was surprised to see a system notification jump into view.
**Ding! Choose a path! Cooperation is sanctioned for the middle route alone!**
Kaius eyed the message. An oddity, after two trials where he’d only been offered information at the very start — but he wasn’t one to turn down additional help.
At the very least, it pointed towards their assumption about the trial being correct. He’d bet his left boot that Porkchop wouldn’t be able to get a clawhold on the central cliff — that the central route would force them to rely on their partner to have any hope of passing. Likely, this would just be the first of many obstacles — if he was right, at least.
The other two paths presented an easier option; one that would mean abandoning Porkchop. He snorted — as if.
Honestly, why even offer the flanking routes? In what universe wouldn’t they work together? There had to be something more to it, but he couldn’t see what.
After the ordeal that was his last trial, he was happy to give it time. No doubt it would become clear as they progressed further.
“So, the cliff then? Hopefully the rock is soft enough for me to climb.”
Kaius nodded. “Let's go.”
Taking the central road, they approached the rock face. Standing at its base, he had to admit it was more imposing than he had first given it credit for. Thirty longstrides, and sheer, its handholds were little more than paper-thin divots and hairline cracks in its surface.
Well within his capability. Gods knew he’d climbed worse in his Mentis trial, and this one wouldn’t be full of traps. He hoped.
Porkchop looked far less confident. He frowned, craning his neck to look up to the top of the cliff, before he narrowed his eyes at the sheer rock in front of him.
A heart beat later he surged into motion. Mana flared within Porkchop’s chest as he swelled in size and a ghostly haze wafted from his skin. As an apparition of antlers sprouted from his head, he reared up and let out a challenging roar that hit Kaius in the chest like a war hammer.
He punched out claws first, hard enough to splinter a full grown oak.
Kaius managed to cover his ears a heartbeat before an earsplitting crack filled the air. He didn’t flinch — watching closely as the razor sharp tips of Porkchop’s claws hit the stone.
And stopped fast. There was a small puff of dust — a little shower of chips, but that was it.
“Drat.”
Porkchop dropped back down, shrinking back to his normal size as he dismissed Gladespirit.
“That stung,” he said, shaking his paw.
“Huh,” Kaius leaned forward to inspect the barest divots his brother’s attack had left in the stone. “Y’know, it seemed obvious that you wouldn’t be able to dig through it, but that’s still impressive. Bloody tougher than steel.”
Rapping his knuckle against the cliff, it was obvious how dense the material was. While he wasn’t yet strong enough that mundane stone shattered like porcelain, he could break it with some effort. Not this though.
“The real question is how in the hells am I supposed to climb up it?”
Kaius paused, thinking for a moment. Neither of them quite had the skills to make this easier. For a moment he considered reinscribing with a full pool of Shunts. He was strong enough to lift Porkchop, and surely if he chained enough of them it would work.
Still…as fun as it would be, it felt like an inelegant solution — and one that could break more than a few of their bones if he lost control or overshot their target.
He paused suddenly, an idea coming to him. He glanced at Porkchop out of the corner of his eye — who was still staring up at the cliff — as a wide smile split his face.
This would be good. Perfect, even.
Kaius pulled what he needed from his storage ring.
“Hey, Porkchop?”
Porkchop looked over to him and froze, staring at the lengths of ropes in his hand.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”