Book 5 - Chapter 6 - Hidden Spaces

Searching an inhabited planet for hidden dimensional spaces was much harder than examining a relatively empty one. The sheer volume of dimensional spaces on a mid to upper-tier world was simply mind-boggling.

Just dimensional artifacts alone made it difficult to find what I was looking for. So, to make things a little easier, I started my search on Davrim by focusing on dimensional spaces that were anchored to a location instead of an item.

I expected to find black markets and other illegal locales, and I was not disappointed.

The sheer number of such locations surprised me a bit, but I just made note of everything and moved on since there were no non-Alliance races present.

There were a few areas where humans and other non-demi Alliance races had holed up, likely hoping to wait out the war. But I wasn’t concerned about those who decided to stay put. I was looking for races that didn’t belong at all.

It took a while to comb through the entire planet, but by the end of my first sweep, I was still nowhere closer to finding the hidden base than I was when I started.

Instead of moving on to Morkin, I started my search again. This time, I looked for gaps in my Spatial Sense, which required me to physically infiltrate the wards protecting the areas in order to determine what was inside.

I considered shifting my search for dimensional spaces anchored to items instead, but there were too many storage items floating around to make that a viable approach. At least, not unless I’d exhausted all other options.

I was a little shocked at how many more locations I uncovered when I looked for gaps in my perception. But after a bit of consideration, I realized it was stranger than I’d found so many during the first scan.

Either my Spatial Sense was just that much stronger than the people responsible for finding such illegal dens, or the people looking weren’t trying very hard.

It was probably a mix of both.

Of course, not every hidden or obscured space was an illegal hideout. Many were storage spaces, armories, and other such spaces that were perfectly legal to set up.

Nobles, in particular, liked to hide their treasuries in dimensional spaces hidden by several layers of obscuring formations.

I was checking one such location when I realized there were far too many individuals moving in and out of the area where my senses couldn’t reach.

They were mostly kastets – Void affinitied kastets, to be specific. There were a few exceptions, but I estimated about seventy percent of the kastets heading into and out of the heavily obscured space had a Void affinity.

I vaguely wondered if they had any relation to Niall but quickly dismissed the thought. My former party member was still in the dungeon as far as I knew, and I got the impression that he wasn’t on the best of terms with his family anyway.

With so many people in the vicinity, I had to be extra careful during my search. While I was there on assignment from the Council, I really didn’t want to have to explain what I was doing to an irate noble if I got caught.

I didn’t really suspect the noble might be harboring Collective invaders since all nobles had to swear system-enforced oaths of one sort or another, but I couldn’t risk being wrong.

And depending on the wording of such an oath, it might even be possible to betray the Alliance without actually being in violation.

I shook my head at the thought.

It didn’t really matter what the circumstances were or who owned the space. I had to check everything. I just needed to ensure nobody realized that I was there.

I teleported as close as I could get without setting off any alarms.

With Arcane Stealth active, I carefully made my way to the area hidden by the layered obscuration wards.

Having crossed such wards many times, I knew how to slip through without being detected. I had no idea how others without my particular combination of affinities managed to breach such protections, but by Phasing with both Time and Space, I was easily able to slip inside behind a group of apparent kastet soldiers.

As soon as I crossed the final ward threshold, the entrance to an underground space became visible.

Standing guard at the top of the stairs was a pair of armored kastets. One wore a deep purple sash, marking them as a Space Mage, while the other was obviously a Void Mage based on their navy blue fur.

The latter looked so much like Niall that I was really starting to suspect they might be related. But since it was pretty hard to tell full-blooded kastets of the same affinity apart, I didn’t feel comfortable making any assumptions.

Considering the situation, I frowned as I realized that my abilities might not be enough to get past the duo.

If I tried to teleport, the Space Mage would almost certainly sense it. And trying to sneak past with just Stealth was a huge risk, especially if the Void Mage was using any form of Null Field.

My Stealth might hold since it was powered by Tier Nine mana, but without getting closer to determine how strong the Void Mage was, I couldn’t be sure.

Deciding it would be better to wait and observe for a while, I slowly made my way to a corner where I hoped I would be mostly out of the way and settled in.

= = =

Hours later, I finally felt confident enough to try sneaking past the guards.

I’d watched two shift changes, so I felt like there was a good chance I could slip through during the upcoming change. There would be a momentary gap when the old guards were leaving, but the new guards hadn’t activated all of their perception skills and protective spells where it should be possible.

It hadn’t even taken all that long, all things considered. There was only so long a normal mage could maintain a spell without draining their mana pool, after all.

The only reason I was able to maintain Stealth for as long as I had was because I was being careful to remain still and silent. Even then, I had to slip into my demesne to recharge once.

Had I been relying on a Space or Time spell, I would have lasted the whole time. But Arcane was my weakest affinity, and that was reflected in how much mana I used to fuel the spell.

Thankfully, slipping into and out of my demesne was impossible to track unless someone was right beside me and knew exactly what to look for.

I didn’t keep a micro-portal open since that would have been noticeable by any strong Space Mage trained for such things.

It would have been different if there were a lot of spatial enchantments or distortions in the area. But since there was nothing to camouflage my portal, I couldn’t risk it.

Even so, I was able to come and go without much difficulty. And once I got beyond the guards, I’d be able to come and go from within their perimeter as well.

Making use of the seconds where no Null Field would potentially disrupt my passing, I slipped by the shifting guards and carefully made my way down the stairs.

The stairs went deep – far deeper than I would have expected for a normal basement or bunker.

Twice, I had to slip into Phase as groups of stern-faced kastets made their way up or down the stairs. None looked happy to be there, which struck me as a little odd.

It wasn’t the normal discontent from being at work or being part of a militia. There was an underlying frustration and anger that seemed to radiate off of the troops, especially those leaving the underground space.

I’d noticed it before, but being so close while they passed made their discontent all the more apparent.

When I finally made it to the bottom of the long stairwell, I noticed the tell-tale glow of a portal at the end of the wide hallway.

It wasn’t a normal Portal, or even a semi-permanent portal like the ones used to travel between locations. This one was similar to a rift portal but lacked the color identifiers that would have marked it as a genuine rift.

With barely a brush of my senses, I was easily able to recognize it for what it was: a dimensional space created by a capable Space Mage and anchored to the physical location.

Chances that I’d found what I was looking for were high, but without entering the portal, I couldn’t be sure.

The problem was that it would be hard to enter without the creator of said portal knowing.

With Stealth active, they might not realize I’d entered if I shadowed another group, but I wouldn’t be able to enter on my own.

Similarly, I wouldn’t be able to leave on my own either – not unless I wanted to announce my presence.

Thankfully, the rift’s existence made it possible for me to enter my demesne while leaving a micro-portal to monitor the hallway.

With how small and stable my micro-portals were, it wouldn’t be noticeable next to the larger portal unless someone was specifically searching for it. The larger portal would almost completely hide it.

That was a good thing since I’d expended more mana sneaking past the guards and down the stairs than I expected. I didn’t think I’d make it past another group without regenerating.

I managed to refill my mana before the next group of kastets descended the stairs. Having sensed them coming, I was prepared to slip out of my demesne and through the portal when they stepped past.

Ready to flee back through the portal if I was discovered, I stepped through right behind the last kastet.

It was time to find out if my search was finally over.