The shadow had a physical presence on Adam's shoulders, pushing him down, pushing him back, but it only lasted a few steps. He left the darkness and found himself once more in a dimly lit cave. The glow stone was still hovering behind Devon, though the light didn't reach as far on this side. As if it wasn't strong enough for the shadows lurking in the tunnel. Martin leaned against the wall, eyes closed, while Devon angrily paced a few meters up the hall, stopping at uneven intervals to stare intensely at something Adam couldn't see.

"Can't feel anything through the earth. We're alone as far as I can tell. Though something's blocking most of my senses," Martin said.

"The enchantments are active. Most of them anyway," Devon said, rejoining them.

"Is that bad for us? They recognized your blood, right?" Adam asked.

"It's not the worst case scenario but it means this will be unpleasant. If all of them were active I could use some tricks for maintenance and get us through. If none of them were active then this probably wouldn't work at all. But with only some it will be slow going, and there's no way around it."

"Lead on," Martin said.

They started off down the hall and it was as slow as Devon promised. They moved at a glacial walk, with Devon stopping every few paces to stare deeply at the wall. Everything was exactly the same from one section to the next. There were no forks, no interesting nooks in the rock. The ground didn't slope up or down. Adam would believe they had walked for days or no time at all when he realized his feet were getting sore. Not a world-shattering revelation, until he remembered that didn't happen to him anymore. Cultivating and constant exercise meant he was in the best shape of his adult life. After another stretch he paused to lean against the wall. He needed a break to catch his breath.

"Can't stop." Martin grunted, appearing at his side. He ducked below one of Adam's arms and pulled him back to his feet, and the endless trudge down the tunnel.

It was unfair. Adam needed a rest, they could stop for just a few moments. He was sleepy too. They had been walking for so long, a nap wouldn't be amiss. Even Martin was panting with exertion, stumbling every few steps while Devon drunkenly swayed from one wall to another.

"Duck on my mark," Devon said.

Martin grunted but Adam was too exhausted to respond at all.

"Now!"

They collapsed more than ducked. Either way it saved them from a gout of blue flame passing through the center of the tunnel. Adam had the distinct sense he should have been scared. But it was like his heart couldn't beat fast enough to summon the emotion.

The flames died out, leaving only the faint scent of smoke. He didn't bother getting up. It was comfy and safe down here on the floor. Once more, Martin refused to let him be. Adam didn't remember a cruel side to the other man, but what else to call it when hands hooked under his armpits and began dragging him across the floor.

Something flipped and Adam was scrambling for his feet and his dignity. He stood, feeling every hard bump he'd been pulled across. Visions of burning alive danced through his head at how close they'd been to the fire. A shaking hand touched his cheek and felt the lingering warmth.

"Fuck you enchanting bastards," Martin said. He was bent double, hands on his knees and breathing deeply.

Devon made a rude gesture but didn't otherwise respond.

"What was that?" Adam asked when it seemed neither of the others was going to bother explaining.

"Draining field. Hard to enchant. Even harder to make it mostly one way. Saps energy until you just curl up and die. Or a member of the sect comes to get you."

"That's –" he trailed off realizing he didn't have words for something like that.

"Yeah," Devon said. "Next part won't be as bad. Just traps for the most part."

"Why not have the draining field go the whole way?" Adam asked. As he recovered his energy, curiosity kicked back in as well.

"They're greedy enchantments. Takes at least an expert to craft something that won't be affected by a nearby draining field. Not great for putting next to a sect built around training new crafters. Besides, the field almost had Martin and me down already. Plenty of time for one of the sect members to come and deal with whoever was trying to sneak in."

"Huh." He was pretty sure there must be more to it, but now didn't seem the time to start pestering Devon for lessons in enchanting theory.

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"Wait, traps?"

"Fire, acid, poison. Not too hard to deal with."

"Of course. Poison. So easy to just walk right past."

"That's the spirit," Martin said, rejoining the conversation. "Nothing to worry about."

"We have to move anyway. The fire will be recharged in a few minutes."

Adam sighed but followed along behind the others. Their bodies could probably handle taking a few baths in acid and then heal right back to full strength, they could go first.

He was right. Most of the traps Devon could point out, and they either avoided them entirely or got out of the way when they were going off. It all felt far too easy. When he pointed that out he just got the equivalent of a pat on the head from Devon, who had to remind him that only a gifted enchanter would notice the traps in the first place.

Finally, the tunnel came to an end, ballooning into a wide room with low ceilings. The way things had gone so far, Adam half expected the walls to start closing in, or the floor to drop out, but neither did. Devon walked fearlessly into the room leaving Martin and him to follow.

"The sect kept some giant salamanders down here," Devon said.

"As a deterrent?" Martin asked.

"No, they secreted some useful compounds and this was an easily accessible cave. Helped visitors forget it was an emergency egress if it was just a livestock pen."

They were gathered once more around a flat wall, presumably hiding a door up into the rest of the sect.

"As quiet as possible from here on out, sound and magic," Devon said. He plucked his glow stone out of the air and did something to it that dropped the light levels to almost nothing. Just enough to watch Martin work. Then he opened the cut on his arm and smeared more blood that sank into the stone.

"This will take a while if I'm trying not to be noticed," Martin said.

Adam spent the time patting down every scrap of his gear and ensuring it was still in place. A gun he had only fired in practice, and a sturdy knife sat on opposite hips. A glow stone of his own along with a length of rope were strapped to his torso. If he made sure everything was in its perfect place, he just might stave off the panic. He was so focused on the task he didn't notice Devon was right in front of him until he spoke.

"Hey. I know I've been hard on you the last few days, but it's a bad idea to go into a battle without clearing the air. You've been doing great."

Adam really did not know how to respond to earnest compliments. Make it stop.

"Take these." Devon didn't give him a choice and thrust two objects into his hands. The first was an intricate brass cube. Holding it right next to his face in the dim light, Adam could see hundreds of tiny pieces, woven together in an intricate pattern. The second was actually a bundle of metal rods, bound together with straps of leather.

"This," Devon tapped the cube, "is your last resort. If you get separated from the two of us, and are going to be taken, push some mana into it and then throw it as hard as you can at your attacker. Then run."

Adam gulped as visions of what that might mean danced through his head. He very carefully slipped it into his right pocket.

"And these," Devon continued, "are the best I can do for you for armor. Take them apart."

He followed instructions and was left with six short sticks and a mess of straps. Without bothering to explain, Devon plucked the first rod out of Adam's hand and used one of the straps to tie it to his shin. When it was secure, Adam fed it a bead of mana, and felt something change in the connection. He could tell the leather wasn't the only thing holding it to his leg anymore. They repeated the process with his other leg, his forearms, and his ribcage.

"Awkward, but it will have to do. Don't bend over too much while we're doing this." Devon said.

"I don't think that will be a problem. But what exactly does it do?"

"I hate armor," Devon responded. "It's always been a pain to make. There are so many things to shield against, anything you come up with is either using so much mana that you're basically immobile while wearing it, or doesn't protect enough to be worth it. Not to mention cultivators toughen up as they advance. Once mana saturates your entire body, any armor you add on top is only doing so much, unless you spend an absurd amount on the enchantments. Worse, bullets are a thing now. That's a lot of penetrating force to try and handle."

Adam coughed to get them back on track.

"Anyway, they'll bleed off some of the force from incoming attacks. Not a lot, mind you, but enough. Might keep out a bullet or two but not more than that, and I wouldn't count on it. The cultivators are trash, so if they throw some actual techniques around, you'll have time to dodge. It's the best I have with what your control can support."

This was so much worse than the 'last resort'. Now the visions morphed into Adam running away from Laskarians hurling magic and bullets at his retreating back.

"Almost there," Martin said.

"What about you two," Adam asked. If his control couldn't support anything stronger, surely both of theirs could.

"Don't worry about us." Devon did something Adam couldn't quite track, and then his clothes changed. It was the same outfit but it glittered in the low light. He squinted and saw metal flecks sewn into the fabric that had absolutely not been there before. Thousands, maybe more. For the first time on their trip Adam thought Devon might actually be the worst of them to face in a fight.

"And Martin's practically made of rock. Bullets will just bounce right off."

Adam startled and glared accusingly at Martin.

"Not quite. And a lot at once can still overwhelm the defenses. But yeah I'm pretty sturdy."

"So I'm just the fleshbag relying on sticks."

"The sticks are better than anything the enemy has," Devon said.

Martin cut the bickering off before it could get started. "It's time."

This time the stone didn't melt away into an eerie gaping abyss. Instead a flash of light outlined a door before the slab of stone toppled towards them. Adam hastily backed up but Martin, still braced, caught the rock and lowered it to the floor without making a sound. They stepped through into the true heart of the Thousand Hands Sect.

It was a bit of a disappointment. He knew it had been over a millennium, and that this was basically an archeological site. But he had still hoped that after coming all this way there would be some exciting remnants of magic lost to time. It was another cave. A cellar. No life-changing secrets jumped out, the walls weren't covered in gold or jewels.

Devon took the lead carrying lengths of chain, wrapped around his forearms and draped over his shoulders and around his waist. Chain he must have pulled out of storage too quietly for Adam to notice. The trio stalked through a labyrinth of dusty halls. Or the others did. Adam was painfully aware that his footsteps were the only sounds breaking the crypt-like silence.

This time there were dozens of turn offs. His imagination filled in store rooms and research labs. Safety bunkers or hot springs. He supposed most actual smithing or other crafting had been above ground.

Devon didn't hesitate. Not to mourn. Not to search out a hidden treasure. They took a winding path, never faltering.

The progress was steady and smooth, and Adam almost missed when it ended. Devon pulled up short and Adam stutter-stepped to avoid crashing into his back. He eased to the side while Martin did the same.

The vault door was impressive. A massive slab of metal, half again as tall as he was, with every square inch glistening with glowing runes. Late summer sun slanted into the area, cluing him into the caved-in ceiling pieces scattered around the room. None of that was important. In front of them stood a statuesque woman with a haughty expression.

"Really boys, did you think you were being clever?"

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