Aveyad shrugged, “There is no escape through there, it leads only to the deeper mines. Down there, the champion will be trapped between the citadel and us. If we fail to find it in the northern tunnels we shall return and search there.”
“Very well,” agreed Tyeliss. The conversation between the two ended and was followed by the rustle and tread of a large body of creatures moving about. The hunting party, Kyran realised. With a sense of foreboding, he activated show hostiles. He watched, horrified, as his map lit up with a flood of red dots. There were at least a few hundred hostiles in the cavern. The mind boggled. All that to hunt me? thought Kyran.
Making doubly certain not to attract notice he watched as the hunting party manoeuvred out of the cavern. Peculiarly, there were no shouted orders or commands as the party split itself. But for the sounds of shuffling feet, it was all done in uncanny silence.
As the last of the red dots disappeared into the northern exits, Kyran berated himself. He had been foolish and had underestimated the intelligence of his foes. He should not have attacked the skeletons. In hindsight, he realised, that despite the Overseer’s warning, he had fallen into the trap of treating this world like a roleplaying game from Earth, where one could attack isolated groups of enemies without drawing the attention of the remaining forces. Clearly the citadel undead were not all witless, but some possessed both cunning and awareness. His ambush had drawn swift responses – first from the wraiths and now this hunting party led by their mysterious commanders, Aveyad and Tyeliss.
From here on, he resolved not to take his foes lightly again. He would give them the same respect he would human foes.
He stayed in the cocoon a few minutes longer to be certain the undead had left before shimming down his rope to the cavern floor. He looked up at the silk strand still dangling from the spider’s web. He hated to leave it behind as evidence of his passage here but he could see no other choice. Besides which, the undead had been able to track him this far and so would likely be able to do so from hereon as well. Leaving the rope behind would make little difference. Speed was more important now.
If the two creatures were to be believed he was trapped. He looked down the eastern tunnel, it was his only option. He could only hope that Aveyad and Tyeliss were wrong and that somewhere in the deep mines was a means of escape. So thinking, he set forth.
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For the next few hours he maintained a steady pace as he hiked down the eastern passage. He disguised his tracks as best he could. Looking back, he saw no signs of his passing but that meant little, given his lack of tracking experience. Thus far he had not sensed the approach of any undead. He could only hope they were still searching the northern tunnels.
As he walked, he had time to think. He reflected back on the conversation he had overheard. The undead were clearly not the mindless creatures he had initially assumed. Aveyad and Tyeliss had both sounded intelligent and rational. Why then, were they hunting him? Surely, he was no threat? Was his attack on their guardroom the cause of this hunt? Had it earned their ire? Or did they simply hate the living? He berated himself again for attacking the guardroom. At the very least it had drawn the undeads’ attention. At worst... he had made an enemy where none existed before. And the name of their liege, Zarr... That name was familiar. He struggled to recall where he had heard it... That’s right! It was the name of Crotana's king, when it had fallen. But that was supposed to have been six hundred years ago! Could he still be alive, or whatever passed for living amongst the undead, after all this time?
He was pulled from these troubling thoughts by changes in the tunnel. Increasingly it angled downwards. The air became dank and heavy and gave the tunnel an oppressive feel. Kyran felt as if the weight of the world was pressing down on him.
He struggled to keep up his spirits. This was his third day in Myelad, all of it depressingly spent underground. He longed for the sun and open spaces, more so as he travelled deeper into the earth. Things had been going so well too. He had handily defeated the beetles and even survived the spider's ambush. He had dared to hope he would soon escape this trap. Only to fall foul of the undead, hunted and pushed deeper into the earth, farther away from light and escape to the world above.
Lost in his internal musings, Kyran did not see the open shaft before him. It was nothing more than a black patch on the tunnel floor, innocuous. He stepped into the gaping hole, expecting solid ground but found only empty air.
He fell forward soundlessly and tumbled headlong into the shaft. The shaft was three metres wide and plunged vertically downwards, its walls smooth carved rock. Wildly, Kyran windmilled, seeking to halt his rapidly accelerating descent. Heedless of bruised limbs, he scratched desperately at the walls but could not find any purchase. His downward spiral transformed into free fall, as he bounced off the far wall into the shaft’s centre, cruelly positioned out of reach from any of the walls. He plummeted down rapidly. Dizzy and lightheaded, he struggled to act. To cast a spell, any spell, but his thoughts were too scattered and his concentration shattered repeatedly.
A huge roaring assailed his ears, further confounding his senses. He thrashed about desperately searching for the source and caught only a split-second glimpse of a raging river before crashing into its foaming waters.
50 falling damage sustained, 20/70 HP remaining.
His momentum pushed him far into the underground river’s depths. With little forewarning, his lungs were all but empty. The river surged violently about him and pounded him against the jagged rocks hidden in its depths.
5 minor damage sustained, 15/70 HP remaining.
Mercilessly, the currents pushed him back and forth, refusing to let him escape its grasp.
3 damage sustained, 12/70 HP remaining.
Battered and bruised, and beaten near senseless, Kyran struggled to remain conscious. The surface, I need to get to the surface, he told himself. Turned repeatedly about by the currents, he was unable to distinguish up from down in the river’s lightless depths. Knowing he had very little time, he strained his senses, struggling for some clue as to which to direction to head towards. On his right the violence and noise of the river seemed greater. That way must lie the surface, he thought. Out of time, he did not second guess himself but swam swiftly in the chosen direction. The river swirled violently and fought him at every turn. He struggled valiantly against the turbulent current and despite its hindrance, propelled himself forward. Just as he began to fear he had chosen wrong, he spotted the foaming waters of the river’s surface. With a final surge of adrenaline, he broke to the surface, gasping for breath.
Relentless, despite its defeat, the river surged furiously, seeking to plunge him within its depths once more, but, able to breathe once again, Kyran easily shrugged of its attempts. With heaving breath, he dragged himself through the angry river to a rocky outcropping near one of the enclosing walls. Holding fast, he panted heavily, grateful to be alive. He paused and took stock of his surroundings. He was trapped. The river was fully enclosed on all sides by impenetrable rock walls. There was no escape from the water’s clutches. He had no idea how far downriver he had been carried already. He searched his map, and saw that the shaft through which he had fallen was long distant. There was no going back.
The water was icy cold, and he could feel the cold starting to seep into his bones. He could not stay in the water much longer. He would have to find some means of escaping its clutches, but first he needed to heal himself.
You have cast restore health (self) 9 times restoring 63 health to yourself. Remaining health: 70/70. Summary Cost: 288 Essence.
Restored, he released the rock and let the current bear him onwards. He tried, mostly successfully, to keep himself near one of the rock walls, where the flow was minutely slower. He hoped that he found an exit from the river soon, else the river would yet win this contest.
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Kyran had lost track of how long he had been in the river. He had resorted to casting flaming hands in an
effort to generate some body heat. For a while it had staved off hypothermia but his essence pool had been depleted hours ago and since then it had set in with a vengeance. He shivered uncontrollably and slipped in and out of consciousness. Each time, it took more and more effort to remain awake. He was dying but couldn’t seem to care much. This apathy, he knew, was a symptom of the cold. Knowing this however, did little to change his circumstances.
Delirious, he felt a change in the river’s rhythm. In his confused state he almost disregarded this as a figment of a delusional mind but the little glimmer of hope it provided sent a jolt of adrenaline through him, rousing him slightly. He looked up blearily, searching for what hand changed.
The river had slowed. It was no longer the gushing torrent that he had fallen into. Calmer now, it lazily flowed into an underground lake. From the cavern roof above the lake, a forest of stalactites grew glowing gently from some hidden light source. The surface of the lake was still but for the occasional ripple from his frail movements. To Kyran it was a heavenly sight and salvation. Finally, he was free of the river’s grasp. On his left, he made out the outline of a rocky shore. Reinvigorated, he swam weakly towards it. Reaching it, he dragged himself out of the lake and collapsed onto the rocky shore, utterly exhausted.
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In complete darkness, the undead hunting party marched tirelessly through the ancient mine tunnels. Aveyad was at the head of the party, keeping pace with his battalion of skeletal warriors. There had been no sign that the champion had passed this way. He could only hope that Tyeliss had better luck. Even though, he had not admitted it to Tyeliss, Aveyad too, was tired. He wearied of this existence, and wanted nothing more than for it to end but duty was a heavy burden, one not lightly abandoned. Nor would he so easily abandon Zarr, his king and friend. Nonetheless, he resented this hunt, the champion who prolonged it and the Gods who caused it.
He mulled over the hunt. Aveyad felt that he was missing something. The unusual battle tactics employed against the guards, the glaringly obvious trail that ended so suddenly, the presence of the shadow spider... Aveyad stopped. In lockstep, the skeletons stopped instantly as well. Of course. The champion had dominated the spider. Not the tactics one typically expected from champions, but well within their capabilities. That explained the spider's presence. And shadow spiders, Aveyad recalled, were known to nest in elevated locations, their preferred hunting style, to spring down on their prey from above.
The central cavern. That must have been its lair. Angrily, he realised that the champion must have been there all along. It must have listened in on their conversation. It explained why the trail had ended so suddenly. But how had the champion concealed its presence? Before this, Aveyad would have sworn that no champion could so completely mask their divine scent, that it escaped his detection.
He waved this mystery aside. He would find out soon enough. Without delay, he turned the hunting party around, and headed swiftly back to the spider's cavern, to exact his revenge on the champion that had played him for a fool.
✽ ✽ ✽
The Lake
Other than the gods, demons are the only other known immortal race in the cosmos. They are the first life forms that the cosmos gave birth to and precede the gods themselves.
Demons are primordial beings and are thought to be living essence, sentient incarnations of essence itself. Their very nature is chaos and diametrically opposed to all order and the confinement imposed by it. They consider the cosmos their rightful property and seek to remove all other races from existence.
Unlike Gods, that are sustained by divine essence, demons feed off natural (raw) essence, which they require to manifest (take corporeal form). Since the essence wells trap natural essence everywhere except Myelad’s dungeons, without outside help, demons are effectively confined to them.
Sadly, mortals being mortals, such outside help is not impossible for demons to attain. Many a would-be mage has traded their own essence in exchange for chaos magic, a unique and powerful magic wielded only by demons. Such mortals, known as demon worshippers, are widely despised and hunted by the gods and their followers. Yet despite this, the demon city states still thrive – from The Origin of Myelad and the Gods’ Game by Silenheim Librarian, Marcos Aurclasy.
Sometime later, Kyran woke up cold, wet and shivering. Grateful he was not dead, he set about trying to warm up. He dragged a stone beetle shell out of his inventory and piled loose rocks into it. He activated flaming hands and heated the rocks until they glowed brightly. He huddled as close as he could get to his stone fire, gradually warming up. Being warm again was the most important thing in his world right now. He could not find the energy to care if he was attracting unwanted attention.
Eventually Kyran thawed out and no longer felt half-frozen. Hungry, he removed some rock beetle steaks from his inventory and proceeded to eat. While he ate, he looked around with interest at his surroundings. His scattered recollections from the previous day were accurate. He had washed up on the western shore of an underground lake. It was a narrow rocky strip of lifeless land. The lake was enormous and from where he camped, neither it’s northern nor eastern shore was visible. The southern end of the lake was bounded by cavern walls of sheer rough-hewn rock and but for the river mouth through which he had entered, the walls continued in an unbroken chain, in both directions, as far as the eye could see. Kyran fervently hoped that somewhere beyond his range of sight there existed an exit from this cavern. He did not relish remaining trapped here until the end of his days.
High overhead, stretched the roof of the cavern, dotted by countless stalactites, all of which gave off a gentle white light. So he had not imagined that either yesterday. The source of the light remained a mystery. The cavern gave every appearance of being a natural formation, hewn out over the ages by the passage of time and the underground river. Exploring the cavern and its lake would be a priority.
But for now, he turned his mind to other matters. He opened his player logs and checked his status.
You have slept 8 hours. Will, essence and stamina completely restored. The date is 04 Jul 2603 AB, and the time 08:23.
Even though his essence, will and stamina pools were full, still Kyran felt emotionally and mentally drained from his ordeal in the river. An entire day had passed since he had left the spider cavern and fallen in the underground river. He wasn’t sure if his situation had improved or not. On one hand, it was highly unlikely the undead would be able to track and follow him through his wild ride in the river. On the other, he was thoroughly lost and quite possible trapped within this cavern.
He could not detect any nearby signs of life and he had sufficient food to last him for some days yet – provided he continued on a steady diet of rock beetle. All things considered, he was relatively safe for now.
Kyran decided to explore the lake first. Perhaps he could find something else to eat. He walked to the shores of the lake and scanned it with both his sight and show hostiles. Both revealed nothing. He took off his armour and clothes, and storing them carefully in his inventory, waded a few steps into the lake. The lake was as uninvitingly cold as he remembered. Steeling himself, he plunged into the lake, swimming to the bottom. The lake was only a few metres deep, its water crystal clear. Given the quantity of water filling into the lake from the river, Kyran knew that somewhere in the lake there must be another underground river draining it, but given the size of the lake, finding it would be a daunting task.
Dive after dive, Kyran found nothing but barren rock and empty waters. Yet he persisted. Surely, he thought somewhat desperately, the lake cannot be completely barren, some life must exist here. Countless dives later he found something. Nestled between the rocks scattered on the lake floor, he spied a motley growth, that at first, he mistook for strangely coloured pebbles. On closer examination, it proved to be a form of fungus. He scooped up a handful and returned to the surface to inspect them more fully. Upon which he received a message.
Found: Cave
Fungus.
Type: Food.
Weight: 0.1 kg.
Special properties: None.
Description: Edible source of food.
You do not have the requisite skill to safely harvest cave fungus.
The discovery encouraged Kyran. While he might not have been able to harvest the fungi, it was proof that life existed in this deep cavern. He held out hope that he would be able to discover further sources of it.
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Kyran began his exploration of the cavern by systematically scrying the surrounding areas. He started from the south west corner of the lake and gradually worked his way to his current position on the west bank and then outwards, moving north along the western shore. When he hit his scrying limit, he relocated his camp, moving in a clockwise direction around the lake shore. He spent the next few hours in this manner, progressively scrying the lake and its environs.
By noon, Kyran had finished scrying the western end of the cavern. He had reached its northern tip and depleted his essence in the process, but had naught to show for his efforts, except rocks and more rocks.
You have cast basic scrying 37 times (2,775 XP gained: 4,800/6,000 Civilian XP). Summary Cost: 1184 Essence.
He took the opportunity to rest, eat and recover some of his essence before continuing. After lunch he laboured on. Whereas the western shore of the lake was a narrow strip of rocky ground throughout its length, the northern and eastern shores opened up substantially.
Two hours after lunch his efforts finally bore fruit. Sitting cross-legged at his new base camp on the northern shore of the lake, he scryed the eastern end of the cavern. Beyond a wide-open plateau of strewn rocks and boulders, he spied another tunnel. Containing his excitement, Kyran studied the tunnel closely. It was a jagged wound in the cavern’s eastern rock face and was large enough to accommodate a whole crowd walking side by side. Like the cavern itself, it looked to be a natural rock formation. Almost hidden within its mouth was the bleached bones of a creature he could not identify, and near it a discarded arrowhead.
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