NABC Chapter 180: A Rank (3): NORTHERN TOWER
Chapter 180: A Rank (3): NORTHERN TOWER
The wind was still the moment Calenthir's portal snapped shut behind them
"that's the nearest i can take all of us" calenthir said.
Fianna stepped forward first, her boots crunching on damp soil covered in reddish moss. A rusted, broken tower loomed in the distance, almost swallowed by the crooked trees of the Red Forest.
They had arrived.
"That was... unpleasant," Kairos muttered, rubbing his arms as though trying to shake off the air itself.
"You're just nervous," Calenthir replied softly, her tone light but her eyes scanning the forest around them.
"No, she's right," Fianna said, her voice barely above a whisper. "The mana here... it feels wrong. Like it's trying to crawl up my spine."
Oliver chuckled, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"Well, that's comforting."
Lyrius adjusted the straps on his weapon as he surveyed the perimeter. "Northern tower is about 900 meters through those trees," he said.
Fianna pulled out a parchment—a faintly glowing map encoded with the Bastion's old structure.
"We can cut through that ridge to the left. Slopes are shallow there. Less chance of pressure runes or buried charms."
"Makes sense," Kairos nodded. "Also, less open space. Beasts love open lines of attack."
As they started walking, Calenthir drifted a little closer to Lyrius, looping her arm through his without a word.
"Cold?" he asked, glancing down.
"No," she said quietly. "Just... scared."
He didn't respond—just let her hold on.
After a few minutes, they saw the tower.
Half of it was buried underground, its only entrance a wide, moss-covered staircase leading below. Black iron reinforced the stone, and faint glowing lines etched into the walls gave away the presence of old, still-active magic.
"That's it," Lyrius confirmed. "Detection system should be inside that vault—three layers, one behind the other. If we trip even one..."
"Yeah," Kairos interrupted, voice low. "We don't make it to the main gate. Or worse—everyone else doesn't."
Oliver stretched, rotating his shoulders as he looked at the sealed door. "Guess it's on us."
Fianna took a breath, trying to steady herself.
"Let's go over it one last time," she said.
They stopped just short of the stairs, and formed a loose semi-circle.
Oliver crouched and traced a crude triangle into the dirt with a stick.
"Layer one: Mana-lock," he said. "It's old-school. Hardwired, stone-set. We break it using sheer brute force—fianna and I'll handle it."
Kairos gave a small nod. "No spells—manual pressure only. If we channel mana too early, we risk activating the second layer prematurely."
"Layer two," Calenthir picked up, "is an arcane cipher loop. I'll isolate the overlapping magic threads. I might need time, though—it's ancient logic, and it's probably rotting from within."
"Not too much time," Lyrius added.
Fianna looked at him. "Which brings us to Layer three."
He nodded. , we don't move."
He took a breath, then gestured toward the stone slab beside him — a flat map etched into enchanted crystal, showing rough locations of the five major teams and the Bastion's known structure.
"Once the signal comes in," he said, "we'll split as assigned."
He stepped to the map, his gloved hand hovering over it as he outlined the orders one more time — clearly, for everyone.
"Unit 2 – under Darian – and Unit 3 – under Vynesaa – will move directly toward the Bastion's central structure. You'll coordinate on breaching and destroying the Heart."
"That core is ancient. It's not just magic—it's bloodline-level suppression. We kill it, we kill their power."
He tapped the outer shell of the Bastion diagram.
"Unit 4 will act as outer sentries—flanking and providing long-range support. Your job is to keep beasts off Units 2 and 3. You don't engage unless necessary. Priority is buying time."
Then he looked northward, toward the broken hillline.
"Unit 5—your task is reconnaissance. You'll scour the eastern and western trenches for hidden passageways. The fortress has old servant tunnels. If we find one, that becomes our exit route once the core is destroyed."
Some heads turned at that. There had been no confirmed map of such paths.
"It's a gamble," Caspian admitted. "But if we stay on the surface too long, reinforcements from the beasts garrisons will corner us. We need a clean exit."
He pulled out a small, rune-etched disc from his side pouch — the transmission relay.
"Unit leaders — you'll report progress through these. Either by sound transmitter or direct link through the radio channel."
He passed smaller relay runes to Vynesaa, Darian, Lyria, and Alric — each representing a team leader.
"Keep messages short. Ten-second reports. Every five minutes."
The light breeze returned — cold and dry, brushing past Caspian's face like a whisper. His fingers closed around the transmission disc again.
"We wait for Unit 1 to disable the alert network. Once the trap net goes down... we move."
There was nothing more to say.
He looked across the others. Faces tense. Some afraid. Some eager. A few too confident. But all ready.
Some would not return.
But they all knew what they had signed up for
Then suddenly
WOOOOOOO.....! ALARM SHOUTED.