The Land: Forging (Chaos Seeds Book 2)

by Aleron Kong

  With those last words, Sion’s head dropped back down to the floor of the tunnel. He kept his eyes on the face made of roots, but he was completely exhausted. The face just smiled, though, and then the roots unraveled, leaving the way to the next chamber open. A prompt filled his vision.

  You have just completed the secret Quest: The Wisdom to Tell the Difference. You have delved deep into your worst pain. This trial by fire did not destroy you however, it tempered you into a better version of yourself. In every life, there will be sorrow. Some choose to run from it, others assume responsibility for that which was always out of their control, many hide behind excuses, and still more try to force an outcome that is beyond their ability. You have taken a finer path. You accepted both the good and ill that you have committed. You have proven that you have the ability to face the truth. May your insight serve you well. Reward: 5,000 experience. Personal reward: Wisdom +10. Personal reward: A new Ability.

  You have received the Ability: Know Thyself. You faced your internal demons and controlled them. As such, you will be much more resilient against spells or effects dealing with the Enchantment School of Magic, ie Charm, Daze, Compulsion.

  He had barely finished reading when he heard, “Sion? Sion?! SION!!! Yoshi! Daniella! I can see him! Come quick!” Then he was moving backwards. He would move and then stop, move and then stop. He realized he was being pulled by the forgotten rope Richter had tied around his waist. He also realized for the first time that he was not about to die. The emotional drain of his ordeal had let him ignore the demands of his body. Now that he again had hope, though, that separation from reality dissolved. He began to feel every ache that his prolonged immobility had caused. Also, the dry parchment that comprised his throat felt like daggers sliding against each other when he swallowed.

  In no time at all, Richter had pulled his Companion free of the tunnel. In no time at all after that, he was peppering the sprite with questions.

  “Where have you been? What happened? What’s with this secret quest? Are you alright? WHY AREN’T YOU TALKING?”

  Sion just stared up at his giant of a friend. Richter was sitting on the ground, half cradling his friend. The sprites legs sprawled across the floor while his back leaned against Richter’s chest. The support was welcomed because otherwise he would be probably just be lying helpless and flat on the floor. Despite that, after everything he had just gone through, Richter’s exuberance was a complete overload of the senses. Not having the strength to curse his friend’s attentive but irritating behavior, he just let the twitch in his left eye communicate that for him. He also decided to succinctly verbalize his most heartfelt desire. “Waaater,” he croaked.

  Richter immediately reached into his Bag, and brought out a water skin. Placing it to Sion’s lips he let a slow trickle of water flow out.

  Sion hacked and coughed up that first sip. It made the pain in his throat increase exponentially. A few scant drops were swallowed though, and some was even greedily absorbed by the tissue of his pharynx. The small amount of moisture he retained let him swallow more of the next sip, though he still coughed some up. It was as if his body refused to believe in a world that he wasn’t dying of thirst. By the third sip, he was able to keep from coughing and a few precious drops slid down his throat. When he drank a fourth time, he swallowed a whole mouthful and a sensation that could only be called bliss permeated his every cell. He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh of relief.

  When he opened his eyes, he saw his three comrades staring down at him anxiously. For their benefit, he gave a weak smile. They all visibly relaxed. He closed his eyes again, and Richter put the water skin back to his lips. For a while, that’s all he did. Slowly sip water, and enjoy the sensation of bringing his body back from the brink of death. When he had his fill, he looked at the rest of his party and said, “I have been on a journey. Several in fact. And while I will eventually tell you everything that happened, I can’t right now. The experience is too fresh, and sharing it might break my heart.” Daniella reached out and held his hand, squeezing lightly.

  “Besides,” Sion continued, “I seem to be lying in my own feces. Would you help me,” he asked Richter, somewhat embarrassed.

  “Of course,” his friend said. Moving slowly so as not to jostle his Companion, Richter stood and cradled Sion, carrying him to the pool of water. With a wry smile, Richter said, “I was trying to be polite and not mention the smell.”

  “Oh, is that why you looked like that? I thought you were just constipated,” Sion replied. Richter gave a small chuckle and started walking toward the underground lake.

  Sion looked up at his best friend and thought how lucky he was that in only one lifetime, he had found two men who were like brothers to him. Then another thought occurred and he said, “If you tell anyone you carried me like this, I will literally cut your balls off.”

  Richter just laughing and kept walking.

  CHAPTER 25

  After Sion was cleaned, he promptly fell asleep. He drifted in and out of consciousness over the next day or two. While he was awake, he told his group about how he had been reliving the past. He didn’t include every minor detail, but he did share the salient points. He answered their questions as best he could, but much of what he had experienced was indescribable. When he was done speaking he further explained how the events of those long lost days had contributed to his initial animosity towards Richter for being a human. He asked for forgiveness. Richter, of course, said it wasn’t necessary, but thanked him for the apology and looked away. Sion saw a faint glisten in his friend’s eye before he turned his face.

  Daniella was feeling much improved and had more color in her face. Yoshi still looked wan, but at least was able to walk and talk. He wouldn’t discuss exactly what the demoness’s last spell had done to him, simply saying he would be fine.

  Sion also explained the secret quest. Apparently all of the party members had been notified that the quest had been completed and gotten the experience, but not the personal reward. Richter complained jokingly that next time Sion finished a secret quest to let him drink a Potion of Clarity first next time. Right after that though, he shared with a big smile that the quest had let him reach level 17.

  Sion received a shock when he was told that he had been in the tunnel for almost three days! It was no wonder he had almost died of thirst. Daniella told him that through the entire first day, Richter had barely looked away in hopes that he would reappear and he could be pulled to safety. Daniella had tried to convince him to leave the hole the next day by saying she would watch. Yoshi had awoken so he offered to help too. Richter still wouldn’t agree until Yoshi pointed out that standing around wasn’t helping his friend.

  That reasoning apparently worked because against both Daniella and Yoshi’s protests, he had walked up to the sigil-inscribed door and walked in. Yoshi was mustering the strength to go in after him when, surprising both sprites, he walked back out five minutes later with a key in one hand and a tube in the other.

  “What happened,” Sion asked. “How did you beat the last door so quickly?”

  Richter smiled, “It was a riddle. When I walked through the first door, it shut behind me and vanished. All that was left behind me was a blank wall.” Sion nodded in sympathy knowing exactly what that was like.

  “In front of me were two more doors. Each door had a sculpture attached to the front. The one on the left was a blond haired angel, dressed in white. The door on the left was a redheaded succubus. Dressed in nothing,” he gave Sion a wink. Daniella sniffed in the background.

  “Well, they both started talking in sync. The jist of it was that one door led to safety and the other led to certain death. No matter what question was asked, one statue would always tell the truth, and the other would always lie. Trick was, I didn’t know which statue was the liar.”

  “Sooo,” Sion asked drawing the word out. “How did you figure it out,” he asked impatiently.

  “Well,” Richter ex
claimed, clearly enjoying torturing his friend a little bit by drawing the story out. “I just asked one what the other would say if I asked what the right door was. Then I went through the door opposite to what she said.” Richter’s tone was offhand as he relayed the solution, as if such logical leaps were commonplace.

  Sion face screwed up as he tried to work his way through his Companion’s reasoning. It had obviously worked or he wouldn’t be here, but thinking through the various permutations was starting to make his head hurt. “How did you figure that out so quickly,” Sion asked.

  Richter laughed loudly, then extended two fingers on both hands in what he told Sion were called ‘peace signs.’ He slapped his fingers together twice quickly, and said in a gruff voice, “Hashtag DavidBoweLabyrinthBitch!”

  He reached into his Bag, and pulled out the pipe he had found, showing it to Sion. It had four grooves cut into it, and the handles of each the three keys they had collected fit perfectly into one of the grooves. One end of the pipe had a lens, and the other end had a stylized eye etched into it. When he had gone through the door (the succubus one, Richter added with another wink), there had been a small room with just the key and the pipe. He had then walked back the way he had come. The door back to the central chamber had reappeared by the time he tried to leave.

  “So you just sat around waiting for me to come back? I guess you missed me,” Sion said with a little grin on his face.

  “Well! I did take the finish my first Lore book, and I gained the skill. I also, cough, took the time to do some training,” Richter said examining his nails.

  “He’s been casting nonstop! Light spells, his Grease spell, moving around hasted! The worst has been that damn fire spell,” Yoshi snapped. “He would shoot one of those icicles, and then melt it. Over and over! It’s not like the smell in here was that great to begin with!”

  “So that’s why it’s so muggy in here,” Sion said with a laugh.

  “What else was I supposed to do with time to kill and an entire village mana pool to play with,” Richter said laughing too. Then he sat down next to Sion, and the levity left his face, “That just leaves your key. After we pulled you out I tried to crawl into the tunnel to get to the chamber on the other side. When I put so much as a hand inside though, the tunnel starts closing shut. I looked at the writing around the hole again, and it had changed. Now it says, ‘Only the proven may pass.’” He looked earnestly at his friend, “I know you have been through lot, but will you try to get the key again?”

  Sion nodded, “I don’t think there is anything left to fear. Let me try now.” His health and stamina were back to full strength; the pile of salt icon had disappeared after the first day.

  Sion walked over to the open hatch and climbed into the shaft. He couldn’t lie and say that his heart didn’t start pounding harder when he reached the halfway point, and he couldn’t help but steal a glance backwards. The tunnel remained open though, and the roots remained in place. He made it to the end of the shaft and saw a brown key hanging from the wall. There was nothing else in the room. He climbed back into the tunnel and was soon standing with his party again.

  Richter took the key and put it with its brothers in the pipe. When the last key was in place, all four moved of their own accord and locked into position perpendicular to the pipe. Two keys stuck out from each side. They all walked up to the banded door, Alma draped over Richter’s shoulders. He held one end of the pipe up to his eye as indicated and looked down the length, through all four keys holes. Richter gave a surprised grunt and walked up to the right side of the door. Choosing a spot somewhere in the high middle, he raised one hand, the other still holding the pipe up to his eye. After moving his hand back and forth slightly as if looking for the exact right spot, he pushed his bare palm against the door.

  Both Daniella and Sion reached forward in protest. Clearly Richter had forgotten about the deadly shriek venom. He didn’t fall to the ground screaming, though. In fact, his hand seemed to disappear into the metal of the door up to his mid-forearm. Richter strained for a second and then gave a grunt, turning his wrist slowly the right. He kept up this slow rotation until his wrist had turned ninety degrees, then pulled his arm back out. Immediately a large clanging could be heard. Richter quickly stepped back.

  The bands of metal vibrated, and then the entire door started turning to the left. The grinding sound of metal continued. The movement of the door acquired an upward component, and it became clear that what they were seeing was a giant sphere. After minutes of watching the slow rotation change direction several times, it finally stopped. A doorway was set into the part of the sphere they were finally presented with.

  Four key holes were present in the door. Each one followed the next making a diagonal. The keyholes were distinct colors making it easy to see which key went where. After removing them from the pipe, Richter placed each key in the correct slot. When all of them had been turned, there was a loud thunk, like a bolt drawing back and the door swung open.

  Congratulations! You have finished the quest: Unlock your Power II. As you have already mastered Air Magic, you may now choose another of the Powers that comprise your domain. Your options are Life, Dark or Water. Which path will you choose?

  Reward: 11,250 (base 9,000) experience.

  Choosing a Power will give you a +50% effectiveness increase to spells of that branch. You will also have +50% resistance to spells of that Power. Unique to being a Master of a Place of Power, however, is your access to each Power’s specialized ability.

  Life Ability: “Bounty of Life” +30% growth for the physical manifestation of your Place of Power

  Dark Ability: “Hidden Treasures” +30% yield from treasure

  Water Ability: “Tranquil Soul” -30% mana cost for spells

  Richter had already made his choice before he started the quest. Tranquil Soul was obviously tempting. He wouldn’t always be able to rely on his village’s mana pool. In the upcoming fights with the bugbears, it would be a real boon to be able to cast more spells. Water magic was not his choice, though. Similarly, Hidden Treasures was a hard offer to pass up. What mattered though, was preparing his village, and the people in it, for the future. He chose Life.

  You have chosen Mastery of Life!

  Congratulations! You have obtained the Ability: Bounty of Life. +30% growth for the physical manifestation of your Place of Power.

  Congratulations! You are a Master of Life Magic. All Life spells cast by you are 50% stronger. You have 50% resistance to Life magic. You can teach the skill Life Magic to anyone with over a 50% affinity for the skill. You can teach specific Life spells to anyone with the appropriate skill level to learn them.

  Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Courage! Improves your Fighting Spirit by +50. This is a spell of Life. Cost: 25 mana. Duration: 15 min. Range: self. Cast Time: 1 second. Cooldown: 15 min.

  Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Minor Life Armor! Defense of all armor pieces increased by +1 (+4 vs Death attacks). Cost: 40 mana. Duration: 30 min. Range: self. Cast Time: 1 seconds. Cooldown: N/A

  You have been awarded 12,500 (base 10,000) experience for your new Mastery.

  Congratulations! You have unlocked the Quest: Unlock your Power III. Your village will increase your power, but you must care for it in turn. Currently, there is a local dungeon that needs to be cleared out. Reward: Unlock one of the Powers. Yes or No?

  TRING!

  You have reached level 18! Through hard work you have moved forward along your path. As a Chaos Seed, you gain 6 points to distribute to characteristics instead of the usual 4. You also get 25% advancement to the skill of your choice! Crush your enemies, honor your allies, LIVE!

  You have either characteristic points or skill percentage points to allocate from the previous level. Now that you have progressed again, you must allocate your points within the next week or they will randomly be assigned for you.

  Richter didn’t know what was more exci
ting. The boost his village was about to get, all of the new points he had to allocate or the fact that they were finally getting out of this dungeon. Freedom! The idea of it almost made him giddy. All of the party was ready to see blue skies again! He quickly chose ‘Yes’ to accept his new quest, and got moving. He would ask Futen about it later.

  They wasted no time and started walking down the narrow hall. Richter was pulling up the rear and was about to enter, when Futen spoke.

  “Are you sure that you wish to leave the column behind, my Lord?”

  Richter looked at the remnant from the doorway, “You mean I can take it with me?” That thing would pay for the portal construction all by itself if he melted it down! “Hold on guys,” he called out.

  He walked over to the column, and lowered his center of gravity by bending at the knees. His dad had warned him early and often of the dangers of lifting with your back. He wrapped his arms around the column, and then heaved!

  “My Lord,” Futen began.

  “I got this,” Richter wheezed. He stopped his pull, and reset his body. Taking a deep breath, he tried to pull the column out of the ground again. Veins stood out in his neck and his face turned red. The other members of his party delayed their exit to watch.

  Richter tried one more time. If this didn’t work, he would invest his twelve free characteristic points into Strength. “Cooommeee onnnnn!” He pulled with everything he had. He felt like he was squeezing the column so hard that something was going to shoot out of it. Turns out, he had it backwards. He straightened quickly, just hoping no one had heard.

  “Futen! How am I supposed to take this thing? It weighs a ton! It’s like when you asked me to grab the altar…,” Richter’s lips pressed together in an embarrassed moue. “Never mind. I’ve got it.”