Chapter 61: Escape

"Well first things first, an Ascendant like Omkhu doesn't have the same perception of time that we do, so it might be a hundred years before we see her, and it might be a thousand."

Xerev had a frown on his face as he spoke.

"Ascended? What do you mean by that?" Kothar asked.

"Well, it's a very loose definition. Any being able to traverse planes is technically an Ascended, but the title is usually reserved for those who have the power to do so without external assistance or hold dominion of notable planes." Xerev fiddled with his belt, thinking over something.

"I'd not be counted as one of those Ascended, since my people have developed these nifty things." Xerev pointed to a bulky square attached to one side of his belt.

"You'd be the same, thanks to your artifact. That's the issue, most of the prisoners that Omkhu takes aren't beings who'd be concerned with being trapped for hundreds of years, if anything, they see it the same way as having to wait for an appointment. Most of them are here by choice, waiting to pledge allegiance to Omkhu or here to trade with her." Xerev let out a long sigh.

"Beings like us are a dime a dozen, if we shrivel to a husk in here, then so be it. They'll think it likely that we had little value, since we couldn't wait to be seen without dying." Xerev scratched at the waxy ground with his finger.

"How much bigger do you think you could make that thing?" Xerev pointed to the ball of lightning floating above Kothar's head.

"Probably at least ten times." Kothar understated, not fully trusting the strange man.

"That won't do. I'd need thousands of times the energy to power my transportation device, what about your odd artifact that sent you here?" Xerev had a hint of hope in his voice.

Not removing the device from within his cloak, Kothar sent a tentative strand of spatial mana toward the diamond shaped artifact, but to no avail, there was no resonance, nor was there no pull of mana.

[The explorer in the book said traversed multiple worlds, but we can't be sure if it was due to the artifact or his own capabilities to go to new worlds.] Silane projected the relevant passage they had read earlier over Kothar's vision.

[Reading more of Artus' book would help, but I'm not sure that I want to reveal it to Xerev, I'm not sure if I trust him.] Kothar replied.

[Alright, we'll see if we can piggyback a ride off of him back home.] Silane mused.

"No luck Xerev, looks like the both of us will be here a while." Kothar gave Xerev a shrug, before leaning against the side of the prison shaft.

"Unless you come along with me when I break out?" Xerev said tentatively, raising an eyebrow at Kothar.

"Tell me more." Kothar sat up from where he was leaning against the side of the prison shaft.

"All I need is an energy source powerful enough to power my plane traverser, and according to my readings, there are a multitude of possibilities." Xerev pulled yet another strange device from his jumpsuit, this was a disk like object.

The disk had many rings on the side Xerev was looking at, and the rings spun as Xerev turned the device, making a soft clicking sound.

[Seems like his people didn't develop screens.] Silane said snidely, noting the absence of any form of digital display in Xerev's devices.

Xerev looked to Kothar, waiting for his response.

"Sure, if you're telling the truth, then my other choice is to die of old age in this hole or to get out of here. Let's go." Kothar stood, reaching to his side to rest his palm on the hilt of his sword, forgetting they were back in Anteris' mansion on Eclat.

"Follow my lead." Xerev pulled a pair of dark glass goggles from the seemingly endless pockets on his bright jumpsuit, and tweaked a dial on his belt, which changed his jumpsuit from its original orange to a grey, mottled color, camouflaging him against the waxy walls of the shaft.

"I've been carving out some handholds." Xerev climbed up the walls with ease, followed by Kothar. Kothar found that the substance was not smooth and slick as it appeared from afar, rather it was made up of numerous tiny fibers bound together.

"What is all this stuff made of anyway?" Kothar asked Xerev in a hushed tone as they climbed the wall.

"Ah, it's actually a secretion from some of Omkhu's children. Quite the pleasing image, sin't it." Xerev let out a soft chuckle, anticipating Kothar's disgust.

[Just like massive, solidified spider webs, then.] He said to Silane.

[Yes, I speculate that Omkhu's greatest strength would be the seemingly endless manufacturing ability her children seem to have.] Silane showed Kothar images of the various structures, and tools they had seen, all made of the same secretions that supported the walls.

"Hug the walls, and make as little sound as possible from here on out." Xerev whispered to Kothar, as he led him out from the wide circular cave their prison shaft had been in, emerging into tunnels that looked almost identical to the earlier network they had been in.

Xerev stared at the disk as he led Kothar through the maze-like tunnels; they mostly avoided the insectoids. There was one close call, where a huge group of insectoids rushed past the opening of a tunnel they were crouched in, all making loud whistling sounds as they ran.

"We're here." Xerev said quietly, as they emerged into a huge cavern, stacked haphazardly with a multitude of strange objects.

They were massive weapons, axes, spears and swords all far bigger than Kothar, bigger even than the largest insectoids that he had seen before he had been captured.

Massive chests, bound with black metal were stacked all around the rooms, a rolled up bolt of silk sat in one corner, and piles of gems, glowing with inner fire, were scattered everywhere.

It was a treasure room that would have put even an emperor to shame.

Xerev ignored the valuables, and led Kothar to a purple cloth sack that lay beneath a massive golden spear that towered over the pair of them.

"This'll be it." Xerev reached into the sack, and an almost blinding green light almost immediately shone out from the tiny gap.

"Look away Kothar!" Xerev yelled. There was a bright flash, and a glowing green portal stood where Xerev had been moments earlier. While Kothar looked away, Xerev flicked a tiny beetle-like device towards Kothar, which latched tightly onto his cloak.

"Come on!" Xerev called out, at the entrance of the portal.

"Follow me!" Xerev said, stepping through the portal.