Fortunately for us, however, we had Shelia and several other Adventurers that she had taken under her wing, who were all more than willing to aid those suffering in exchange for a chance to practice their skills.
“Thank you so much for your help,” I heard an unfamiliar Adventurer say graciously as she stepped out from behind a set of several blinds that marked the healer’s area of the camp, designed to give their patients some privacy. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“It’s what we’re here for,” Shelia replied a moment later, following the woman out from behind the enclosed area. “Do try and take care of yourself, will you? Perhaps avoiding the stinger of whatever beast you came across in the jungle would be a good start?”
“Believe me,” the woman breathed, letting out a small chuckle before departing, “I’ll try. I definitely don’t want to go through that again.”
“Hey, Shelia,” I called out as I approached the priestess, seeing her eyes shift off of the Adventurer and onto me.
“Ah, Lyrian!” she greeted, her eyes dropping down to look over my body as if expecting to see an injury. “Are you just stopping by for a visit, or…?”
“Just a visit,” I said quickly, not wanting to worry the woman. “We just got back from the Grove a few minutes ago, and I just wanted to check in.”
“That I am glad to hear,” Shelia replied with relief in her voice before motioning me towards a set of chairs that faced the camp.
“Was it a busy day today?” I asked once the both of us were seated. “Any problems?”
“Not particularly,” Shelia replied, after cocking her head in thought for a moment. “The camp is in good spirits overall. Though I did have a few unfortunate souls earlier in the day that I hope have learned to be much warier about what plants they decide to eat…oh, and another handful that will hopefully take much more care when fighting those Quillbears that I have heard about. I must have removed enough of those jagged quills to fashion myself a cloak from them all.”
“You know that may not actually be a bad idea,” I replied, having only heard stories about the bear-sized porcupines that inhabited a section of the jungle. “It would certainly deter anyone from attacking the wearer from behind.”
“Likely it would just fill the wearer’s backside full of the quills once he attempted to sit down with the cloak on,” Shelia said with a chuckle. “But how about your day, Lyrian? Was it a productive day hunting?”
“It was,” I stated, shaking my head at the mental picture the priestess had just painted. “We spent the day thinning out the Troglodytes on the eastern side of the Grove and eventually got word that a group discovered yet another Runestone, so we went to verify that.”
“And?” Shelia prompted, well aware of the strange Nafarrian artifact by reputation if not by sight.
“There was indeed a second Runestone,” I said, then followed it with a shrug a moment afterward. “I still have no idea what to make of it, but we took a few more sketches of the thing, and I was going to deliver them to the mages in the upper ruins before turning in for the night. I just wanted to check in on you and Jenkins before I left the camp again.”
“Well, unfortunately, you’ve just missed him,” Shelia replied with a shake of her head. “He, Ritt and a pair of Adventurers just left for Aldford less than an hour ago. He briefly mentioned something about a group finding a large vein of ore in the Grove and needing more tools before taking off.”
“Someone found metal?” I exclaimed in sudden excitement at the news. “That’s amazing! Did he say what kind it was?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Shelia answered, not surprised in the slightest at my enthusiasm. Having spent the last few weeks living with Jenkins, she was well aware of the shortages that Aldford faced when it came to the precious substance. “Given our needs…he was understandably excited.”
“No kidding,” I said, nodding along with her assessment while simultaneously feeling a sense of relief wash over me. A large vein of any type of metal would go a long way to meeting the demands that the rapid construction had placed on Aldford and perhaps allow us to use some of it for something other than building. Especially if we didn’t need to use the difficult-to-forge Æthertouched Iron that we had recovered. “That could change everything.”
“I think those were the exact words that came out of his mouth too,” Shelia commented with a laugh before her face turned serious. “We’ll have to see if the news bears fruit though; the metal has yet to actually be recovered.”
“Definitely,” I agreed, noticing a staggering Adventurer turn around a distant tent and begin to make his way towards us. “Oh, looks like you might have another customer coming.”
“Hmm,” Shelia replied, leaning forward in her seat to look past me, then stood up from her seat sighing softly. “More quills from the looks of it.”
Standing up to follow Shelia, I turned to look towards the Adventurer, the man having approached close enough for me to identify him as a half-elf, likely either a rogue or warrior based on what I could see of his armor - where it wasn’t completely covered in razor-sharp quills, protruding from nearly every part of his body.
“Hey,” the half-elf greeted us with a noticeable quiver in his voice. “So…I kinda fucked up.”
“I think we can see that,” Shelia replied, indicating for the man to step behind one of the blinds. “But don’t worry, I’ll have you fixed up in no time.”
“That would be great,” the elf replied, managing half a nod before his face contorted in a wince. “Shit, ow.”
“Did you win?” I asked the man as he gingerly turned himself to walk behind the blind that Shelia had pointed to.
Turning his head slowly to look towards me, the man flashed a happy smile. “Hell yeah. It was a rare creature too!”
“Right on, man,” I congratulated, prompting an exasperated sigh from Shelia.
“I’ll never understand you Adventurers,” she growled. “Anyway, I guess I’ll see you later, Lyrian.”
“Good luck,” I replied, waving farewell at the priestess as she and the quill-filled Adventurer stepped out of sight behind the blind.
I guess I’ll need to catch Ritt and Jenkins later then, I thought as I left the medial area behind, hearing a loud yelp of pain echo out from behind me as Shelia began to de-quill her latest patient. With my plans now changed, I retraced my earlier steps across the camp as I made a line towards the passage that would take me to the upper ruins, the same one that Freya and her party had explored when we had first delved into the dungeon.
I don’t blame him for being tired, I thought with a smile. We were out in the jungle for the entire day today as well as the day before that…and even the day before that too…
And likely for the foreseeable future, I added dryly, feeling my earlier grin fade away as I considered just how much of the cavern was still left for us to explore.
Letting my thoughts wander as I walked through the chamber and into the passage that led to the surface, I barely spared a glance at the damaged Nafarrian ruins around me, their novelty having somewhat worn off after several trips to the surface and back. Thankfully I had been able to convince the Nafarrian security system to permanently unlock one of the paths into the ruin, giving everyone an easy way in and out of the place. It also ensured that a portion of the ruin was completely blocked off from the regular Adventurers, ensuring that at least some of the Nafarrian technology wouldn’t be damaged or tampered with.
Eventually, my feet carried me to the upper portion of the ruins, and I found myself entering a room bathed in a
cool azure light, the familiar sight of an Æther Crystal hanging in the center of the chamber. Blinking as my eyes adjusted, I spotted both Donovan and Stanton standing on either side of the crystal with their outstretched hands pointed towards it. But despite their focus, the both of them spotted my presence and lowered their arms, turning their heads towards me.
“Donovan, Stanton,” I greeted the pair as I crossed the room and walked towards them.
“Good evening, Lyrian,” Donovan greeted, stretching his arms and shoulders as if he had been holding his pose for a substantial length of time. “How did the hunt go today?”
“Pretty well actually,” I replied, before waving at the Æther Crystal. “What were you guys just up to?”
“We’re trying to measure just how much Æther this crystal contains,” Stanton said, taking a step around the crystal to better see me.
“And?” I asked, suddenly curious.
“We don’t know,” Donovan answered with a frustrated sigh. “We simply have no comparison to form a rational measurement. The power stored in here beggars anything we’ve ever seen before, by several orders of magnitude.”
“That much?” I asked, looking over at the Crystal then back towards the two mages.
“Imagine one only ever having seen water in puddles all their lives,” Stanton said. “And assuming that is a normal quantity found everywhere in the world.”
“And then one day, stumbling unexpectedly on the ocean,” Donovan added, waving at the Æther Crystal.
“Hrm,” I grunted, somewhat better understanding the mental struggle that the two mages were experiencing. “What would the Ley Line itself be in that case?”
“The Sun,” Donovan replied with a shake of his head. “Even if that disrupts the water analogy somewhat.”
“It is apt regardless,” Stanton agreed, nodding at the mage before returning his attention to me. “Was there something that you needed from us, Lyrian? Or were you just passing through?”
“Actually, I had some news to share,” I said, pausing for a moment as I pulled both Halcyon’s and mine’s sketches out from my inventory, offering the both of them to the mages. “We found another Runestone in the Grove today.”
“You did?” Donovan shouted as he lunged forward to grab the sketch out of my hand, Stanton only barely managing to restrain himself from doing the same as he too took the proffered sheet of paper and inspected it.
Silence fell over the chamber as the two mages excitedly examined the sketches that I had handed to them, before almost simultaneously rushing over towards a stone table at one end of the room. Moving to follow the pair, I saw that there were several other papers scattered across its surface, one of them namely being the sketch of the first Runestone.
“This is part of the same spell as the first one,” Stanton stated, as he placed my newest sketch beside the one belonging to the first Runestone, unable to completely hide the sense of wonder in his voice. “Yet, looking at this…I still cannot fathom what it is actually supposed to do. It doesn’t quite make sense.”
“Me either,” Donovan added, his voice mixed with both frustration and excitement as the pair shifted to make room for me at the table. “However, this proves we are not seeing the whole spell notation, there must still be more out in the Grove to be found.”
“That’s what Halcyon and I are now thinking,” I replied taking a look at the two sketches before me, slowly working my way through the notation, having only had memory to compare against while sketching the second stone. After a few minutes, I noticed that a portion of the notation repeated itself, namely the trailing edge of one sketch, mirroring the leading edge of the next and said as much to the two mages.
“I had noticed that too,” Donovan admitted. “Though I am not certain what to make of it.”
“I think I do,” I said while tapping my finger on the sketch thoughtfully. “Halcyon and I copied the script exactly how it appears when they activate, as well as how it moves across the surface.”
“How do you mean?” Stanton asked, looking at me curiously. “I remember you mentioning that the script moves across the Runestone’s face, but I admit I cannot picture that in my mind.”
“It is hard to explain without seeing it yourself,” I said, struggling to find an example that the two mages would understand. “But I’m starting to think that the script on this sketch…”
I paused to indicate the newer sketches that I had just shown the mages.
“…travels over onto the Runestone that bore the first sketch,” I continued, pointing to the second piece of paper. “And repeats itself there.”
“Which means we can disregard the repetition in the notation,” Stanton said slowly, putting his hand on the sketch to cover a portion of it.
“That would certainly lend more context,” Donovan said, nodding slowly at our logic.
“Let me redraw it,” I stated, feeling a spark of excitement kindle within me as I grabbed a blank piece of paper and a stick of charcoal, then began to combine the two sketches together, removing the duplicate portion of the notation.
Paying special care to detail, it took me several minutes to combine the drawings as the two mages watched wordlessly over my shoulder. When I was finally done, I set the now shorter piece of charcoal down and took in the newly made sketch.
“It’s…a containment spell?” I asked aloud after staring at the script for a few moments and trying to piece together the incomplete script.
“I believe so,” Donovan replied, turning his head to the side as he stared at the paper. “But to contain what?”
“The Ley Line,” I suggested, my heart suddenly pounding in my chest. If this spell was capable of affecting the Ley Line, then we might actually have a way to seal it when we finally managed to cut a path towards it. “What else would there be to contain?”
“Well, yes,” Donovan agreed, but then pointed towards a section of the script located directly in the center of it. “But there’s something else too…I can’t make sense of it.”
The three of us paused as we inspected the area that the mage had indicated.
“It is certainly particular,” Stanton mused. “It seems to somehow allow the spell to…adjust itself without a caster’s input, but how, I cannot say.”
“If this were somehow used to contain or interact with the Ley Line, then it would make sense that it should be able to react automatically,” I reasoned, glancing between the two mages. “We have no idea how complicated managing a tapped Ley Line could have been, I can’t imagine that it was easy.”
“Or safe,” I added as an afterthought.
“You think this spell may have been a control mechanism of some sort then?” Donovan asked me.
“Maybe,” I replied with a shrug. “If the Nafarr were using the Ley Line for power, then having a way to control it would have been critical.”
“I am inclined to agree,” Stanton said. “All that we have uncovered about the Nafarr over the decades has pointed to them being thorough in their designs. They would not have left something like containing the Ley Line to chance.”
“Then I guess we’re going to have to go back into the Grove and find the rest of the Runestones,” I stated, looking down at my newly updated sketch. “This is the first lead we have in actually fixing the Ley Line; now we just need to actually find a way to get to it.”
“I thought you said things were going well on that front?” Donovan asked, sounding slightly concerned.
“They are going well enough, but slowly,” I sighed. “We haven’t even managed to make it halfway through the jungle yet, and that still leaves a substantial portion of it for us to cover, the creatures inhabiting it notwithstanding.”
“I don’t envy you and your guild in their task, Lyrian,” Stanton said in a grave tone. “I’ve noticed that many of the Adventures that pass through these chambers on route to the Grove always seem to have curses directed at The Beast at the edge of their lips.”
“For good rea
son,” I acknowledged. “That thing is the largest reason for our slow process so far. Sooner or later, we’re all going to have to try and hunt it down.”
“Do you really think you’ll be able to kill it?” Donovan asked. “From the tales we’ve heard…”
“I don’t know,” I admitted as I stepped away from the table, memories of the creature floating to the forefront of my mind. “But we need to try…because one way or another...”
I paused for a moment as I looked both mages in the eye.
“Aldford’s and maybe even Eberia’s fate depends on it.”
Chapter 44
Thursday, March 28th, 2047 - 5:58 pm
The Twilight Grove
A deafening shriek filled the air as a grey-colored blur slammed into me faster than I could react, the impact knocking me off my feet and sending me falling backward. Landing heavily, I felt the air rush out of my chest followed closely behind by a sharp stabbing pain in my hip as the grey shape leaped on top of me.
“Ah!” I barked in a mix of pain and defiance at the screaming creature now straddling me, the horror that was a Twilight Gloomstalker.
Resembling something akin to a Praying Mantis, the nearly six-foot-tall Gloomstalker towered over its diminutive cousin, its greater size lending it an infinitely more menacing appearance, which was only further enhanced by the presence of two wickedly serrated blades attached to its arms. But despite its massive increase in size, whatever passed for Mother Nature in the Twilight Grove hadn’t yet finished with the creature, deciding to cover the bipedal creature in an array of sharp and cruel looking barbs, making being in proximity to it an exercise in pain.
It was those very barbs that happened to limit the extent of my options at the moment, giving me the choice of accepting my fate and letting the Gloomstalker bury its sharp claws in my chest before feasting on my remains. Or to try and stop its claws, by grasping hold of its barb covered forearms before the blades began plunging into my chest, likely delaying the inevitable by a few seconds at most, at the cost of great personal pain.
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