The Withered Roots
Feb. 19th, 2026 12:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerIt’s not clear who built the ‘village’, but given that it’s only slightly better than the ‘Golden Wigwam’ casino, the brothers really don’t like listening to Old Joe, and they’re indicated to have tried other money-making schemes before, I’m fully willing to blame them here.
The Chibaiskweda aren’t quite will o’ wisps, but they are swamp gas that’s considered a bad omen and often malicious, and some versions of will o’ wisps are related to Jack o’ Lantern (so if he didn’t have his fun earlier Jack would show up here) and/or the unquiet dead, so I figured it was close enough to mention. Even if the only swamp is near the Franklin Mansion.
The “thanks for letting me in” is only slightly paraphrased. I’d considered not doing this twist, but there’s a particular line that both said word-for-word, and I figured it was a sign.
Main Points: Assassin's Creed/The Secret World
Summary: Desmond and the others pursue Loki to the mine.
Word Count: 3203
Rating: Teen
On returning, it seems like Old Joe dozed off while he was gone. Desmond would be a little more put out if he thought the man’s part keeping the ritual going, rather than just in kicking it off, was more important (or if, maybe, there was no possibility this was the intended result). The rest are wide awake, though they definitely look relieved to see them. Lydia jumps up for a hug, and Alice isn’t far behind. “We tried to pull you out, but I wasn’t sure if we managed it. It felt like something happened, and then you we couldn’t feel you anymore. I’m happy nothing went wrong.”
“I would not say that,” Alice corrects sharply, and she’s probably closer to the mark.
“Loki was there, and he noticed me. For everyone else it’d started playing out the exact same way it always does; they’ve been reliving the fight against the Mayans, only I think they’re seeing their descendants and the townspeople as their enemy.” Desmond considers. “Loki could have been there just in the dreams causing this to happen, but I get the feeling he was there back then, too. He might’ve even been watching his handiwork, if he’s the guy that put invading into the Mayan’s heads.” It’s not like Desmond’s never heard of someone wanting to watch their carnage firsthand, and Loki’s the type to be manipulating people into doing his dirty work like this. He’d want to keep an eye on his handiwork, especially if he thought it might work and he might get through back then without any further effort.
“That is the kind of stuff he’s known for,” Lydia agrees, trying not to look too intimidated.
Old Joe wakes from his chair with a start, smiling when he sees Desmond back. “You’ve returned alive, and the nightmares have gone, for now. That was the best sleep I’ve had in weeks.”
“Yeah, no nightmares this time, not in your dreams, but we still have to stop the living ones,” Nate responds. Maybe a little grim, but that feeling that they’d had time to prepare is disappearing through Desmond’s fingers like sand. “Desmond, did you see anything that could help us?”
“Yeah. The lock’s in the mine. That’s where Loki’s headed now.” The other vision just helped him connect the dots of how the sword got from there to here. It’s interesting and useful and the kind of stuff that Shaun would love to hear, but as far as Desmond can tell it doesn’t seriously matter when it comes to dealing with the present day.
Nate turns to Old Joe again. “Anything you can tell us about the mine?”
“There I cannot help you. The closest any of us approached was protests in the woods outside, where Simon was killed, and as Annika pointed out, I did not join him. However, it is not far—you may want to avoid the ‘Authentic Wabanaki Village’ Young Joe and Frank constructed in one of their schemes to try to appeal to tourists, as if it was any less artificial than our current trailer park homes. The Giwakwa—you would know them as the wendigo—have made their home there, and you probably want to avoid more fighting. Go up past where you came in, but rather than making a left toward the casino, make a right. It will take you past the Chibaiskweda—I believe you would call them will ‘o wisps; they gather where men are not properly buried—and the ak’ab, but I’m afraid I can’t be more specific than that.” It’s still more directions than most people Desmond’s talked to so far have given him, to be fair.
“Thank you for all of your help,” Desmond tells him.
“You’re definitely more helpful than anyone else here,” Lydia adds, and that makes the old man laugh.
“That would not be hard, sadly, even in times of peace, but I am happy to have played some small part in this. Perhaps enough to turn the tide. I may see if the ancestors are still willing to talk, and if they will lend their aid as well.”
“I’d appreciate that.” In Desmond’s experience, the ancestors tend to be fairly useful, even if they don’t necessarily realize. He wonders if they’d end up seeing Tekakwitha or the other Norsemen. Probably, if there was any intermarriage after, but beyond that he’s not sure how it works. If she’d remember their encounter.
Fortunately, it looks like the shifts have changed, because Desmond doesn’t recognize the two now standing on guard duty and they don’t hassle anyone on the way out, which is for the best. The actual path there is mostly as Old Joe described it. Nate did make sure to take notes on the map, to confirm their heading, and from there it’s mostly a stealth game. They do free a few more Wabanaki, some of whom look like they’ve gotten stuck in their own bear traps, and a few more confused Wabanaki hurry past, with some ak’ab harassing others to provide a distraction. Desmond really hadn’t expected his negotiations to produce wildly successful results but he’s not going to complain either. Katherine actually turns out to be really, really good at picking out the paths that will bring them the least amount of attention, but, Desmond reasons, if she’s been wandering around on her own on the island all this time, she had to have gotten good at it, given that she’d survived. She occasionally wags her tail when they stop but otherwise is fully focused on getting them through without incident.
The wisps themselves are annoying but honestly not very dangerous. It’s lucky that’s the majority of what they have to fight; Katherine seems to be able to predict ak’ab movements better than the wisps. They go down quick, but their splitting act means that it’s just that much slower, unless they manage to take them out before they manage it.
Alice is definitely enjoying getting to practice what she’s picked up about stealth, and she’d definitely learned some from watching Kyra, who’s a lot more similar in size, do it. There’s one part close to the mine (and another Anima Well) where they actually have to basically jump down. Desmond actually searches through the rocks to find the easiest path for Katherine, though, rather than just a straight cliff. Alice waits until he’s close enough to supervise and then accomplishes it nearly effortlessly (and she pulls off an almost flawless Leap of Faith, too, though most of the time you’re not aiming to land in someone’s arms). She grins at him when he sets her down, though. Nate opts to skip the whole thing and just teleports to the Anima Well itself, even if it’s only about ten feet away. Lydia decides to climb down the hard way, even if it takes a little longer. The pressure of having people waiting must have gotten to her a little, because she slips a little on the way down, scraping some skin off her wrist, but fortunately that’s easy enough to heal up. Bob decides that he wants to be part of the fun and decides to jump, too. He actually sails for a bit, which answers Desmond’s question as to whether the wings are even functional for them anymore, given that he’s never seen a ‘death moth’ try to fly before, but the lift only lasts for so long and then he crashes. He gets back up and starts dancing around like he’s proud of himself and doesn’t feel any of the pain from the landing, wings drooping a little when Desmond insists on making sure to heal him up before they go anywhere.
Desmond’s not going to try to have them stealth past the metal golems making their slow, dangerous way around the outside of the entrance, though. He really doesn’t like the look of the saws and sharp edges. Things could get pretty dangerous if you put one of them to flesh, and yeah, sure, they could heal up afterward, but it’s better to conserve their strength until they’re inside and potentially facing down Loki. Fortunately, Katherine picks the right moment to bolt for it, so they manage to get past without attracting any attention. Once inside, there’s even more of the things, fresh shoe-prints in the mud, and red glowing circles with runes in them, alongside glowing mushrooms. Desmond has no clue if the last one is normal or not, but the rest of it definitely isn’t.
“I can’t tell you how fresh those are, but they’re magical booby traps. Don’t touch them,” Nate announces after an inspection, squatting down a little too close for even his comfort to examine the runes carefully. He quickly backs off the minute he can.
“I’d...say they’re fresh based on Gram’s experience, but also her idea of ‘fresh’ is within the last fifty years, so…” Lydia adds after a moment, having cast something of her own. To try to read it, presumably. “I don’t think it’ll kill us if we step in them, but it’s better just to avoid them, because there’s a whole lot of bad things that can happen that are still technically better than dead.”
It’s rare for her to actually show some common sense, so Desmond’s inclined to listen. He does happen to glance at Alice, who shrugs and then picks up Bob. Probably a good idea; in his enthusiasm it’d be easy for him to move a little too far and get caught in one of those things. He’s not as on board with the idea, squirming around, but with Alice’s strength he’s not going to get very far, either. “This is not one of the things I was taught. I cannot imagine why.” She’s also started learning sarcasm, it seems.
The path they have to go is to the right, according to Eagle Vision; the footsteps lead up to some sort of mechanical box Desmond can’t quite make out from here that’s also glowing gold. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like the golems here react to sound, and actually getting where they’re going isn’t too difficult—an elevator, turns out. Desmond hadn’t even known they had those in mines. He’s a little worried about cramming them all in on there, just in case they’re exceeding any limits, but he’s also not really a fan of the idea of leaving anyone behind, just in case Loki planned any extra ambushes or anything.
They’re all as quiet as they can be. Even Bob’s indignant squeaking has died down entirely, catching on to the heavy atmosphere. Probably because none of them want to be the one to give them away to Loki, even if it’s fairly likely he’ll know they’re coming. Other than the still-glowing footstep trail, the other thing that indicates they’re probably going the right way is the occasional Filth-creature attacking them. At this point Desmond can’t tell if these particular ones used to be human and are just further along in the line of corruption taking them away from their humanity or if the Filth is creating its best guess as to what humans actually are, but either way they’re disturbing. They deal with them as quietly and quickly as they can, stopping to cleanse the Filth now and then.
There’s lights at first, some from actual equipment left behind by the miners and some from the mushrooms. Those grow increasingly fewer and father between, until they’re practically just walking in the dark. It unfortunately makes it easier for the Filth-creatures to ambush them. At least them, and the footsteps, are still visible to Eagle Vision, and since for the most part normal vision isn’t doing a thing anymore Desmond just switches to it entirely. He suspects that Alice and Rukh are doing the same, if they even have to switch in the first place. The others are sticking close. Katherine might be able to navigate using only her sense of smell, but she might also just be using Desmond as her guide at this point. The Filth scares her, but that’s probably the most rational of her fears and at least it’s keeping her out of getting too much on her. Which...Desmond is starting to think that maybe he should have left her with Old Joe, if she’d even go along with it and not just sneak off the second Old Joe went to sleep again to try to find him.
At least the red magic traps are entirely gone, here. Maybe because anybody walking around down here doesn’t really need help to twist an ankle or take a bad fall if they take one wrong step. It’s not all straight tunnels; some have drops of a foot or two that would be pretty bad to stumble into unawares, or split off into a bunch of branching paths that would be confusing without some extra indication of where to go. Desmond’s hoping the drops aren’t tunnel collapses, because that would indicate it’s not stable and if they get caught down here with another one...he shivers. Then again, the alternative, that someone was driven by Filth whispers to open up a path down here and it wasn’t a path to excavate the iron for profit, isn’t much better.
Eventually, after what feels like forever stumbling around in the dark and damp, they encounter one of the Hounds. At least it’s a nice, big cavern, so it’s easy enough to dodge around in, even if most of them can barely see where to go to get out of the way. Nate’s blood healing does give off a little light, though from prior experience Desmond has to imagine it’s just giving everything an eerie red glow, which probably isn’t helping steady anyone’s nerves. They probably could tell it widened up earlier if they’d been running a hand along the walls. From the number of close calls, though, they absolutely needed that extra healing.
And then Desmond glances up and sees Loki in his Beaumont form, sword in hand, ready to plunge it into the middle of the next cavern. It looks like a Filth-infected oil slick in there.
“Wait, Desmond!” That’s...Altaïr’s voice. It comes a second too late. Desmond’s already teleporting into the cavern, putting everything he has into breaking every shield and protection Loki has to put his Hidden Blade through the god’s neck before he can move one more muscle. He dies just as satisfyingly as Desmond would like, falling lifelessly, eyes staring, but then the body disappears, and the entire world starts rumbling and shaking, dust billowing everywhere, coating his lungs. Desmond glances back just in time to see rocks fall, covering the entrance; what he can’t see is if it’s hit a larger area.
“Is everyone okay?” Desmond yells, but fortunately it seems like they’re fine, because he’s getting yells (and barking, and croaking, and growls) back. Muffled, like the sound is making its way through cracks in the rock. None of them sound like they’re in pain or got buried, just like they’re panicked. He hears the steps behind him less than a second too late, before he’s pinned, not by a collapsing rock ceiling but by magic. It’s even less movable than the ceiling. Unfortunately, it seems like Loki has learned some caution when dealing with him, too, because he’s not held in midair, where weirdly it felt like he had more grip. Here, trapped on the ground with his arms at his sides, it feels like he has less leverage and there’s more weight bearing down on him.
“Thank you for letting me in. I couldn’t have gotten through without your help. I mean that sincerely.” It was an illusion. And he’d been tricked into letting Loki in. Desmond struggles, but he’s held in place by whatever Loki had been using in the Archive. But it’s not the first time he’s dealt with something like this, as himself or as Altaïr, and he’s had more practice with magic lately. He can break this too. He just has to figure out how.
“I’ll stop you, Loki,” he spits, craning his neck to get a glimpse of his target, slightly gratified when Loki actually looks vaguely surprised.
“You really have done your homework, haven’t you? You might enjoy hearing that I’ve done the same. It’s rare that a former mortal actually gets me to pay attention, though I’ve tried so many tricks I didn’t recognize you at first. Tell me, are you still calling yourselves Assassins, or have you chosen a less conspicuous name by this point?”
Desmond’s blood runs cold. “You didn’t start the Assassins.”
When he starts speaking again, it’s with Al Mualim’s accent. He’s just showing off at this point. “Technically true. I just happened to play a role, get kicked out so that I could do as I pleased, and start my own little conclave in Masyaf. By the time I was done with it, our power certainly eclipsed that of the traditionalists back in Alamut.”
“You’re lying.” He’s not. This feels true. It’s not like a trickster wouldn’t have a reason to lie or a god wouldn’t just screw around with him for the fun of it, but Desmond really, really doesn’t want to believe he’s having to fight Al Mualim again. Even though technically it wasn’t him the first time. For Loki to taint this too, even if it’d only be true in this world. Had he just shown up and given himself a name and backstory, or had he killed the human and replaced him?
“Really? You can’t think of a single reason why a man like me would enjoy an army willing to kill the gods? By the look of you, you don’t take issue with that particular philosophy. And it’s not without precedent. Demigods have killed gods before; in fact it’s practically a tradition. It worked out well too, considering my disinclination to keep babysitting a bunch of brats, but without orders the soldiers marched on. Wind them up, watch them go.” He punctuates the last part of his statement by throwing Desmond into the air and then slamming him to the ground using magic. Which, given his own words, wasn’t necessary. He’s just showing off—or working out some aggression. Desmond feels one of his ribs crack.
“You’ll be happy to hear I don’t understand the full extent of your power, though. Which would mean it’d be an absolute fool’s errand trying to get this to stick. Fortunately, all I need, as usual, is to delay you, so there’s no problem there.” And then, just in case Desmond hadn’t gotten the message that yes, this is Al Mualim, Loki stabs him. It feels just as real, just as convincing, as it had for Altaïr. His vision goes hazy as Loki then uses it without even wiping off the blade on the ground itself, and he feels more than sees the Filth start to bubble up from the surface like blood from his wound. But he latches onto something. Sure, he’d fucked up, but Loki had too. He’d said ‘delay’. Not that it was too late. So there’s still a chance to stop this.
The Chibaiskweda aren’t quite will o’ wisps, but they are swamp gas that’s considered a bad omen and often malicious, and some versions of will o’ wisps are related to Jack o’ Lantern (so if he didn’t have his fun earlier Jack would show up here) and/or the unquiet dead, so I figured it was close enough to mention. Even if the only swamp is near the Franklin Mansion.
The “thanks for letting me in” is only slightly paraphrased. I’d considered not doing this twist, but there’s a particular line that both said word-for-word, and I figured it was a sign.
Main Points: Assassin's Creed/The Secret World
Summary: Desmond and the others pursue Loki to the mine.
Word Count: 3203
Rating: Teen
On returning, it seems like Old Joe dozed off while he was gone. Desmond would be a little more put out if he thought the man’s part keeping the ritual going, rather than just in kicking it off, was more important (or if, maybe, there was no possibility this was the intended result). The rest are wide awake, though they definitely look relieved to see them. Lydia jumps up for a hug, and Alice isn’t far behind. “We tried to pull you out, but I wasn’t sure if we managed it. It felt like something happened, and then you we couldn’t feel you anymore. I’m happy nothing went wrong.”
“I would not say that,” Alice corrects sharply, and she’s probably closer to the mark.
“Loki was there, and he noticed me. For everyone else it’d started playing out the exact same way it always does; they’ve been reliving the fight against the Mayans, only I think they’re seeing their descendants and the townspeople as their enemy.” Desmond considers. “Loki could have been there just in the dreams causing this to happen, but I get the feeling he was there back then, too. He might’ve even been watching his handiwork, if he’s the guy that put invading into the Mayan’s heads.” It’s not like Desmond’s never heard of someone wanting to watch their carnage firsthand, and Loki’s the type to be manipulating people into doing his dirty work like this. He’d want to keep an eye on his handiwork, especially if he thought it might work and he might get through back then without any further effort.
“That is the kind of stuff he’s known for,” Lydia agrees, trying not to look too intimidated.
Old Joe wakes from his chair with a start, smiling when he sees Desmond back. “You’ve returned alive, and the nightmares have gone, for now. That was the best sleep I’ve had in weeks.”
“Yeah, no nightmares this time, not in your dreams, but we still have to stop the living ones,” Nate responds. Maybe a little grim, but that feeling that they’d had time to prepare is disappearing through Desmond’s fingers like sand. “Desmond, did you see anything that could help us?”
“Yeah. The lock’s in the mine. That’s where Loki’s headed now.” The other vision just helped him connect the dots of how the sword got from there to here. It’s interesting and useful and the kind of stuff that Shaun would love to hear, but as far as Desmond can tell it doesn’t seriously matter when it comes to dealing with the present day.
Nate turns to Old Joe again. “Anything you can tell us about the mine?”
“There I cannot help you. The closest any of us approached was protests in the woods outside, where Simon was killed, and as Annika pointed out, I did not join him. However, it is not far—you may want to avoid the ‘Authentic Wabanaki Village’ Young Joe and Frank constructed in one of their schemes to try to appeal to tourists, as if it was any less artificial than our current trailer park homes. The Giwakwa—you would know them as the wendigo—have made their home there, and you probably want to avoid more fighting. Go up past where you came in, but rather than making a left toward the casino, make a right. It will take you past the Chibaiskweda—I believe you would call them will ‘o wisps; they gather where men are not properly buried—and the ak’ab, but I’m afraid I can’t be more specific than that.” It’s still more directions than most people Desmond’s talked to so far have given him, to be fair.
“Thank you for all of your help,” Desmond tells him.
“You’re definitely more helpful than anyone else here,” Lydia adds, and that makes the old man laugh.
“That would not be hard, sadly, even in times of peace, but I am happy to have played some small part in this. Perhaps enough to turn the tide. I may see if the ancestors are still willing to talk, and if they will lend their aid as well.”
“I’d appreciate that.” In Desmond’s experience, the ancestors tend to be fairly useful, even if they don’t necessarily realize. He wonders if they’d end up seeing Tekakwitha or the other Norsemen. Probably, if there was any intermarriage after, but beyond that he’s not sure how it works. If she’d remember their encounter.
Fortunately, it looks like the shifts have changed, because Desmond doesn’t recognize the two now standing on guard duty and they don’t hassle anyone on the way out, which is for the best. The actual path there is mostly as Old Joe described it. Nate did make sure to take notes on the map, to confirm their heading, and from there it’s mostly a stealth game. They do free a few more Wabanaki, some of whom look like they’ve gotten stuck in their own bear traps, and a few more confused Wabanaki hurry past, with some ak’ab harassing others to provide a distraction. Desmond really hadn’t expected his negotiations to produce wildly successful results but he’s not going to complain either. Katherine actually turns out to be really, really good at picking out the paths that will bring them the least amount of attention, but, Desmond reasons, if she’s been wandering around on her own on the island all this time, she had to have gotten good at it, given that she’d survived. She occasionally wags her tail when they stop but otherwise is fully focused on getting them through without incident.
The wisps themselves are annoying but honestly not very dangerous. It’s lucky that’s the majority of what they have to fight; Katherine seems to be able to predict ak’ab movements better than the wisps. They go down quick, but their splitting act means that it’s just that much slower, unless they manage to take them out before they manage it.
Alice is definitely enjoying getting to practice what she’s picked up about stealth, and she’d definitely learned some from watching Kyra, who’s a lot more similar in size, do it. There’s one part close to the mine (and another Anima Well) where they actually have to basically jump down. Desmond actually searches through the rocks to find the easiest path for Katherine, though, rather than just a straight cliff. Alice waits until he’s close enough to supervise and then accomplishes it nearly effortlessly (and she pulls off an almost flawless Leap of Faith, too, though most of the time you’re not aiming to land in someone’s arms). She grins at him when he sets her down, though. Nate opts to skip the whole thing and just teleports to the Anima Well itself, even if it’s only about ten feet away. Lydia decides to climb down the hard way, even if it takes a little longer. The pressure of having people waiting must have gotten to her a little, because she slips a little on the way down, scraping some skin off her wrist, but fortunately that’s easy enough to heal up. Bob decides that he wants to be part of the fun and decides to jump, too. He actually sails for a bit, which answers Desmond’s question as to whether the wings are even functional for them anymore, given that he’s never seen a ‘death moth’ try to fly before, but the lift only lasts for so long and then he crashes. He gets back up and starts dancing around like he’s proud of himself and doesn’t feel any of the pain from the landing, wings drooping a little when Desmond insists on making sure to heal him up before they go anywhere.
Desmond’s not going to try to have them stealth past the metal golems making their slow, dangerous way around the outside of the entrance, though. He really doesn’t like the look of the saws and sharp edges. Things could get pretty dangerous if you put one of them to flesh, and yeah, sure, they could heal up afterward, but it’s better to conserve their strength until they’re inside and potentially facing down Loki. Fortunately, Katherine picks the right moment to bolt for it, so they manage to get past without attracting any attention. Once inside, there’s even more of the things, fresh shoe-prints in the mud, and red glowing circles with runes in them, alongside glowing mushrooms. Desmond has no clue if the last one is normal or not, but the rest of it definitely isn’t.
“I can’t tell you how fresh those are, but they’re magical booby traps. Don’t touch them,” Nate announces after an inspection, squatting down a little too close for even his comfort to examine the runes carefully. He quickly backs off the minute he can.
“I’d...say they’re fresh based on Gram’s experience, but also her idea of ‘fresh’ is within the last fifty years, so…” Lydia adds after a moment, having cast something of her own. To try to read it, presumably. “I don’t think it’ll kill us if we step in them, but it’s better just to avoid them, because there’s a whole lot of bad things that can happen that are still technically better than dead.”
It’s rare for her to actually show some common sense, so Desmond’s inclined to listen. He does happen to glance at Alice, who shrugs and then picks up Bob. Probably a good idea; in his enthusiasm it’d be easy for him to move a little too far and get caught in one of those things. He’s not as on board with the idea, squirming around, but with Alice’s strength he’s not going to get very far, either. “This is not one of the things I was taught. I cannot imagine why.” She’s also started learning sarcasm, it seems.
The path they have to go is to the right, according to Eagle Vision; the footsteps lead up to some sort of mechanical box Desmond can’t quite make out from here that’s also glowing gold. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like the golems here react to sound, and actually getting where they’re going isn’t too difficult—an elevator, turns out. Desmond hadn’t even known they had those in mines. He’s a little worried about cramming them all in on there, just in case they’re exceeding any limits, but he’s also not really a fan of the idea of leaving anyone behind, just in case Loki planned any extra ambushes or anything.
They’re all as quiet as they can be. Even Bob’s indignant squeaking has died down entirely, catching on to the heavy atmosphere. Probably because none of them want to be the one to give them away to Loki, even if it’s fairly likely he’ll know they’re coming. Other than the still-glowing footstep trail, the other thing that indicates they’re probably going the right way is the occasional Filth-creature attacking them. At this point Desmond can’t tell if these particular ones used to be human and are just further along in the line of corruption taking them away from their humanity or if the Filth is creating its best guess as to what humans actually are, but either way they’re disturbing. They deal with them as quietly and quickly as they can, stopping to cleanse the Filth now and then.
There’s lights at first, some from actual equipment left behind by the miners and some from the mushrooms. Those grow increasingly fewer and father between, until they’re practically just walking in the dark. It unfortunately makes it easier for the Filth-creatures to ambush them. At least them, and the footsteps, are still visible to Eagle Vision, and since for the most part normal vision isn’t doing a thing anymore Desmond just switches to it entirely. He suspects that Alice and Rukh are doing the same, if they even have to switch in the first place. The others are sticking close. Katherine might be able to navigate using only her sense of smell, but she might also just be using Desmond as her guide at this point. The Filth scares her, but that’s probably the most rational of her fears and at least it’s keeping her out of getting too much on her. Which...Desmond is starting to think that maybe he should have left her with Old Joe, if she’d even go along with it and not just sneak off the second Old Joe went to sleep again to try to find him.
At least the red magic traps are entirely gone, here. Maybe because anybody walking around down here doesn’t really need help to twist an ankle or take a bad fall if they take one wrong step. It’s not all straight tunnels; some have drops of a foot or two that would be pretty bad to stumble into unawares, or split off into a bunch of branching paths that would be confusing without some extra indication of where to go. Desmond’s hoping the drops aren’t tunnel collapses, because that would indicate it’s not stable and if they get caught down here with another one...he shivers. Then again, the alternative, that someone was driven by Filth whispers to open up a path down here and it wasn’t a path to excavate the iron for profit, isn’t much better.
Eventually, after what feels like forever stumbling around in the dark and damp, they encounter one of the Hounds. At least it’s a nice, big cavern, so it’s easy enough to dodge around in, even if most of them can barely see where to go to get out of the way. Nate’s blood healing does give off a little light, though from prior experience Desmond has to imagine it’s just giving everything an eerie red glow, which probably isn’t helping steady anyone’s nerves. They probably could tell it widened up earlier if they’d been running a hand along the walls. From the number of close calls, though, they absolutely needed that extra healing.
And then Desmond glances up and sees Loki in his Beaumont form, sword in hand, ready to plunge it into the middle of the next cavern. It looks like a Filth-infected oil slick in there.
“Wait, Desmond!” That’s...Altaïr’s voice. It comes a second too late. Desmond’s already teleporting into the cavern, putting everything he has into breaking every shield and protection Loki has to put his Hidden Blade through the god’s neck before he can move one more muscle. He dies just as satisfyingly as Desmond would like, falling lifelessly, eyes staring, but then the body disappears, and the entire world starts rumbling and shaking, dust billowing everywhere, coating his lungs. Desmond glances back just in time to see rocks fall, covering the entrance; what he can’t see is if it’s hit a larger area.
“Is everyone okay?” Desmond yells, but fortunately it seems like they’re fine, because he’s getting yells (and barking, and croaking, and growls) back. Muffled, like the sound is making its way through cracks in the rock. None of them sound like they’re in pain or got buried, just like they’re panicked. He hears the steps behind him less than a second too late, before he’s pinned, not by a collapsing rock ceiling but by magic. It’s even less movable than the ceiling. Unfortunately, it seems like Loki has learned some caution when dealing with him, too, because he’s not held in midair, where weirdly it felt like he had more grip. Here, trapped on the ground with his arms at his sides, it feels like he has less leverage and there’s more weight bearing down on him.
“Thank you for letting me in. I couldn’t have gotten through without your help. I mean that sincerely.” It was an illusion. And he’d been tricked into letting Loki in. Desmond struggles, but he’s held in place by whatever Loki had been using in the Archive. But it’s not the first time he’s dealt with something like this, as himself or as Altaïr, and he’s had more practice with magic lately. He can break this too. He just has to figure out how.
“I’ll stop you, Loki,” he spits, craning his neck to get a glimpse of his target, slightly gratified when Loki actually looks vaguely surprised.
“You really have done your homework, haven’t you? You might enjoy hearing that I’ve done the same. It’s rare that a former mortal actually gets me to pay attention, though I’ve tried so many tricks I didn’t recognize you at first. Tell me, are you still calling yourselves Assassins, or have you chosen a less conspicuous name by this point?”
Desmond’s blood runs cold. “You didn’t start the Assassins.”
When he starts speaking again, it’s with Al Mualim’s accent. He’s just showing off at this point. “Technically true. I just happened to play a role, get kicked out so that I could do as I pleased, and start my own little conclave in Masyaf. By the time I was done with it, our power certainly eclipsed that of the traditionalists back in Alamut.”
“You’re lying.” He’s not. This feels true. It’s not like a trickster wouldn’t have a reason to lie or a god wouldn’t just screw around with him for the fun of it, but Desmond really, really doesn’t want to believe he’s having to fight Al Mualim again. Even though technically it wasn’t him the first time. For Loki to taint this too, even if it’d only be true in this world. Had he just shown up and given himself a name and backstory, or had he killed the human and replaced him?
“Really? You can’t think of a single reason why a man like me would enjoy an army willing to kill the gods? By the look of you, you don’t take issue with that particular philosophy. And it’s not without precedent. Demigods have killed gods before; in fact it’s practically a tradition. It worked out well too, considering my disinclination to keep babysitting a bunch of brats, but without orders the soldiers marched on. Wind them up, watch them go.” He punctuates the last part of his statement by throwing Desmond into the air and then slamming him to the ground using magic. Which, given his own words, wasn’t necessary. He’s just showing off—or working out some aggression. Desmond feels one of his ribs crack.
“You’ll be happy to hear I don’t understand the full extent of your power, though. Which would mean it’d be an absolute fool’s errand trying to get this to stick. Fortunately, all I need, as usual, is to delay you, so there’s no problem there.” And then, just in case Desmond hadn’t gotten the message that yes, this is Al Mualim, Loki stabs him. It feels just as real, just as convincing, as it had for Altaïr. His vision goes hazy as Loki then uses it without even wiping off the blade on the ground itself, and he feels more than sees the Filth start to bubble up from the surface like blood from his wound. But he latches onto something. Sure, he’d fucked up, but Loki had too. He’d said ‘delay’. Not that it was too late. So there’s still a chance to stop this.
