Sen, I hope this finds you well, if at all. We aren't sure if your ability to block tracking effects would disallow the message to be sent. If it doesn't make it to you, I suppose I won't hear back.
I hope your quest is going splendidly. I have heard August Niles is an extremely capable adventurer, I'm sure he'll keep you safe.
A priestess of Knowledge stopped by my office. Her name is Marydeth Palona. She said you know her and asked to send you a message. "Sorry for the games." That was all she said.
I don't want to write too much, the more complex the message, the more it can take to find you.
Good tidings,
Vance
August, Zulli, and Sen all had enchanted snowshoes on their feet. They walked through frozen tundra, leaving the large city of Silverwind, the only city on the large island continent, behind them. Arty, the newest addition to the team, walked with them, though his light, loosely tied boots pulsed with a faint blue light with every step he took, leaving no footprints in the snow as he alighted on its surface.
Vance,
Great to hear from you! Yes, I got the message. Thanks for relaying that apology, I guess. Her god was indeed playing some games. I wonder if this is one as well. Who knows.
We made it to Silverwind, and we're on the last leg to our destination it seems. August is indeed very capable. I'll let you know how things go.
-Sen
Message Sent
Sen didn't let anyone know he was relayed the message; they were moving at quick pace, and he would have plenty of time to tell them later.
Sen was warm despite the cold, wearing his Heartswarmth Tunic, allowing him to trickle mana into it to create a warming effect on his body. It wasn’t a complete coverage of warmth, as his hands and feet still felt the bite of the cold, so he resorted to holding his hands in the baggy folds of the tunic to warm them. Zulli had pulled a comically fluffy coat from her dimensional bag and put it on, prompting a couple snickers from Sen and Arty. Zulli wasn't in desperate need of the coat, given her Celestial Body racial ability and iron rank resilience. But she felt more comfortable with it catching the snow, keeping her blouse and torso nice and dry. Zulli and Sen had delighted in snacking on a nice warm shawarma produced from Sen’s voidspace as they trudged along. Arty had refused their offer to have one as well, and joined August in consuming a spirit coin to fuel themselves.
“Arty’s short for something, right?” Sen asked Arty as they allowed August to lead the way.
“Arturo.” He replied.
“Arturo?” Zulli asked. “That’s kind of like that other guy.” She posited. “Arcturus?”
Arty scowled. “You guys know Arc?”
“You know him?” Zulli asked.
“He’s my brother.”
Sen and Zulli both perked up at the comment.
“He’s your brother?” Sen asked.
Arty sighed. “That’s what I said.”
Sen put on a confused expression as he thought of the implications. “That can’t be a coincidence. Could it be a coincidence?” He asked. “That can’t be a coincidence.”
“I mean it could just be a coincidence.” Zulli posited.
Arty shook his head in annoyance, obviously perturbed by the mention of his brother. “What do you mean? What did he do now?”
“He got into contact with us about joining his team. Well, not really joining his team. It was kind of like he was talking to himself when he wrote a letter to both of us and slid the letters under our doors.” Sen told Arty as they continued walking through the tundra behind the silent August, who was still perturbed at bringing Arty along on their quest.
Arty simply shook his head.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re very happy about being his brother.” Zulli said.
“He only cares about himself.” Arty told them. “After our dad died, he just left me and my mom high and dry to become some big time adventurer.”
August couldn’t help but let his eyes narrow at the comment, but he didn’t make any other gestures with his body language as he trudged along.
“Sorry to hear about your dad.” Sen expressed. “I lost my mom a while back.”
“I’m over it.” Arty told him.
Sen’s lips turned ever-so-slightly downward, and he nodded. “Well, anyways, got any idea why Dominick wanted you to come with us, or who he even is?”
“Maybe the guy knew I’d say yes. Maybe he was looking for any poor fool to help you with whatever mystery you’re trying to unravel here.”
“Why did you say yes, anyways?” Zulli asked.
“My mother’s been wanting me to do something better than peddling potions. With my skills, alone, I can’t compete with the big alchemists in Vitesse. I get by on the tourists that come through, but it’s a lot of work for absolutely no repeat business.”
“So, trusting some random guy was what you decided on?” Sen asked.
“Did you feel that guys aura, Sen?” Arty asked in response.
“I didn’t really get to. I don’t really understand that kind of stuff, yet. He pushed mine back, but I didn’t feel anything.”
“Well, I did.” Arty said. “There was something divine inside.”
“Divine? He said he wasn’t a priest.” Sen murmured, thinking back to his conversation with Dom on the bench.
“Not like that kind of divine. Like… bigger.” Arty stated.
Both Sen and Zulli, and even August, took a moment to think about what Arty was implying.
“Whatever he’s a part of, its big. I didn’t feel anything at first, but I think he gave me a peek at his aura just so I would know. Whatever he’s a part of I want a piece of it. So here I am. The newest addition to this gang of weirdos.”
“So, you know we’re outworlders?” Sen asked him.
“I guessed she was.” Arty replied, pointing at Zulli. “Kind of obvious. Nobody gets an ability that weird at iron, unless they’re from restricted essences. But I wondered about you.” He said to Sen. “It was weird that you were just a normal ranker hanging out with her.”
“Yeah. This whole us hanging out thing is kind of why we’re out here. You heard of Garrus Carbon?” Sen asked Arty.
“I’ve heard of Carbon Manor.”
Sen nodded, seeing that Garrus was in fact as infamous as he thought. “He claims to have an idea of why we’re here in this world. And he sent us here, to Silverwind, so August could show us where he left his sword.”
“And that’s all.” August interjected. His voice was authoritarian and unyielding, a warning for Sen not to say too much.
“We really don’t know much more anyway.” Zulli said. “Really.”
Arty looked between Sen and Zulli, and then at August. “So, we really don’t know what we’re doing out here in the cold?” He exclaimed. “Except of course, that you’re the one that needs to be escorted.” He said, rocking his head towards Sen.
“I… know a little bit more.” Sen said. He knew August was listening and wouldn’t poke the bear any more than he already had. August had been nothing but good to Sen since their night spent in Carbon Manor. He still had the utmost respect for August, and actually felt wrong about forcing his hand in bringing Arty along. “But it’s probably best if I don’t tell you. It’s kind of sensitive information, not really dangerous, just sensitive.”
“Whatever.” Arty said under his breath. “Just know if things get dangerous, I’m gone.” He told them.
“Can’t blame you.” Sen replied. “But if you’re in danger, I’ll help you.” He unabashedly said, almost as a challenge to Arty’s virtues.
Arty put on his first affronted face, directed at Sen, and then looked at Zulli. She shrugged. “He’s just like that. I’ll probably do that same as him. We figure it out as we go, and we help each other.”
Arty looked away from them as his eyebrows lowered. He wasn’t embarrassed but wasn’t proud of his flightiness either. It made him feel like his brother. He spotted something through the light snowfall, and made quick steps away from the group to get a closer look. Sen and Zulli watched him, slowing their pace. August noticed as well, but didn’t slow down, keeping his pace forward.
“No dallying.” August yelled without looking back, knowing they would hear.
Arty knelt over, reaching out a hand towards something in the snow. It was a flower, peeking a long, thick stalk out from the layer of snow covering the tundra. It had five petals of creamy white coloration, along with five other petals of a light blueish hue laid inside the white ones. The petals collected water dripping down as the light snowfall would come into contact with it, as if it exuded its own warmth. It had bright orange pistils extending from its center. Arty produced a tiny knife from his coat, slicing a few of the pistils from their nest, and leaving more still attached to the flower. Arty stood and placed the knife back into his coat, and with the same hand, then produced a small empty glass bottle, and placed the pistils inside.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Sen watched him and kept an eye on August still trudging forward, with Zulli between their distances keeping an eye on Sen. Sen came to a realization and then attempted to scan the flower. Sen had not even thought about scanning the flora in this world, only assuming that monsters, people, and creatures were the only things his interface would abide. This realization opened up a new dynamic to his understanding of the world as box opened in his vision.
- Angel’s Fervor (Bronze) – (Flower - Perennial)
- An uncommon flower seen only growing in extremely cold climates. After an arduous maturation stage as a bud in deep snow, this plant grows exponentially to reach out of its snowy cocoon, flowering as it breaches the surface. Its inner ovules produce pistils prized by alchemists for the inherent warming and healing properties. It gains its name from the coloration of its petals as well as the natural warmth it exudes to stay alive in harsh climates.
“Come on, Arty.” Sen told him, worried August was going to get too far away.
“Yeah, I’m coming.” Arty replied.
As the sun had now breached the mountains surrounding them on all sides, Sen made a glance back at Silverwind, which was now only a grayish silhouette of slender towers through the shimmering haze of the snowfall. He let Arty catch up with him before they both hurried to catch up with Zulli and August.
“How far are we going?” Zulli had asked, soon becoming bored. A few hours had passed since their portal to Silverwind, and they hadn’t seen as much as a trail in the snow, nor even a single monster.
August heard her ask the question but refused to answer.
“Are you going to brood the whole way?” She then pointedly questioned him.
More silence. August was certainly contemplating answers but found none that satisfied her questions.
“I wonder…” Sen whispered.
- Racial Ability (Voidwalker)
- Void Guidance: The void will faintly pull you toward a destination of your choosing. This destination must be known by heart. If it is a person or personal item, the person or item must be known and friendly to you. This effect can be circumvented using tracking stones.
Sen felt the pull. It wasn’t physical, but seemed to be a tugging at his soul as if there was something deep within him that knew where he wanted to go. He wondered if it was actually something inside him, or if there was something outside that was simply guiding him to where they wanted him to go, most notably the void itself. He wanted to believe that it was his own soul guiding him, something inside persuading him to understand it that way, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that guidance wasn’t intrinsically his. Through the pull, he was able to understand, to a minor degree, the distance at which his destination was from him. Given this was the first time he had successfully used the ability, he wasn’t sure if he could trust the distance he felt, either.
“Feels close.” Sen said. “At least, relatively. Maybe an hour?”
August stopped his movement and looked back at Sen. “He said you would know.”
The rest of the group stopped when August did.
“Who? Garrus?” Sen asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, it seems he was right.”
“How? One of your racial abilities? Or is it in your aura?” August asked.
“One of my racial abilities.” Sen replied. “Void Guidance.”
“This is one of those things, then.” Arty interjected.
Sen assumed what Arty meant, but gave Arty an inquisitive look, hoping he would elaborate.
“An adventure wrapped in mystery and quandary.” Arty said. “You guys came all the way over here for no other reason than that, didn’t you? Suckers.”
Sen and Zulli looked at each other and shrugged.
“I suppose I can’t blame you; I sort of did the same. You’re pawns in a game, and it looks like I am too. Difference is, I’m from this world, I’ve seen things like this happen here. Just remember what I told you before, when things get dangerous, I’m out.” Arty added.
August didn’t respond in any way to what Arty said. “I’m inclined to let you go the rest of the way on your own, Sen.”
Sen looked at August, then at the ground in thought.
“No.” Zulli said.
“No.” August agreed, slightly nodding his head. It seemed he had cooled off from his earlier irritability at least a little bit. A brief moment of sorrow crossed his face, his strength not enough to allow Sen to face the tribulation alone, and his bravery not enough to tell the truth. “We’re all going to see it through, even the barnacle.” August said, looking at Arty.
“Barna-” Arty chided, but didn’t finish, shaking his head.
“It may be a little longer than an hour. And you can’t make it through on your own anyway. I was just thinking of some other things. A minor lapse in judgement.” August told them before stepping off again.
The rest of their feet followed his heavy crunches of snow. In the distance, they were able to see the silhouettes of what looked like rolling hills. Overhead, a single black bird braved the cold, heading in the same direction.
***
“That’s it, there.” Sen said as they trudged over hills. The sun had risen higher, and the snow had ceased from its breaking rays. “It’s just a spike?” He wondered, hoping August would know more.
“We have to dig.” August said.
“Of course.” Sen said in a disappointed tone. “Digging.”
They found themselves under the spike breaching straight up from the ground in the snow-covered hills. It was covered in ice and its point was smoothed by the weathering of time, but it was a spike nonetheless, slender and tall. Only the tundra surrounded it. Some hardy bushes of thick stems were able to live in such a cold environment, but any animal or monster native to the land were either elsewhere or making themselves scarce enough to not be seen.
August set down his large knapsack and pulled a small scroll from it. He opened it to view its writings. “Hm.”
“Please tell me that’s a magical digging scroll.” Arty commented.
August lowered the scroll and picked up his knapsack. “Zulli.”
She came to attention at her name. “Yeah?”
“Perhaps it would be best for you to do this, I’m not one for rituals.” August said as he handed her the scroll.
“Uhhh.” She was hesitant, opening the scroll to see the writings and sigils upon it. “I can try.”
“Sen.” August said.
Sen came to attention like Zulli.
“Where do we need to dig?”
Sen use his void guidance and felt the pull of the void again, to localize its direction. He didn’t even know what Garrus’ sword looked like, but it seemed he didn’t need to. Either that, or there was something else underneath the surface that the void wanted him to find. “There.” He pointed a finger at the hill, a few meters from where the tall spike jutted out from the ground.
Zulli saw where he pointed and started to walk to it. August gave a stern look at Arty, who then stepped away with August.
Zulli opened the scroll again, looking at the ground and back at it. She began to mumble incoherent words, broken by different sounds that vibrated at certain frequencies. Rings set on the scroll started to brighten with an orange glow, starting from the center of the scroll and moving outward to its edges. Upon the fifth ring lighting and filling the scroll with its orange brilliance, the scroll ignited in flame, burning itself away. Zulli’s hands recoiled from the flame. “Ouch.” She murmured. Above her, a large ball of fire began to form. It got bigger until its heat could be felt on their faces. Its warmth felt nice to their chilled bodies, but the sound it made as it burned was violent. Once it stopped growing, it hovered in the air above the point where Sen had pointed and shot down bolts of flame, one after another into the snow, melting more as it pelted it. Five spears in total fell from the ball of fire before the ball of fire itself lowered into the snow. Steam rose above its impact point, quenching the orbs violent flame only a little. It lowered into the snow until it could no longer be seen, the sizzling sound of boiling water filling the area. The sizzling of water halted, and the fireball burned out, leaving a gaping hole where Zulli pointed the ritual.
August stepped forward, tapping the snow with his snowshoes to test its integrity. Once he got close enough to see inside the hole made by the fireball, he peered down and nodded. “Good. Be careful getting down.” He told them as he jumped into the hole.
The three followed him, careful as they stepped forward toward the hole. As they looked down, they saw August standing on steps of grayish black stone as melted snow coursed down the staircase and into the ruins below, cascading like a babbling brook.
Sen produced two icepicks from his voidspace and handed one to Zulli. “Can you make it down, Arty?”
“I suppose I can. What about coming back up?” Arty asked.
“We’ll figure that out once we get there.” Sen said. He lowered his stance and made a light hop into the hole, letting the icepick drag on the wall behind him. It didn’t arrest his fall as he expected, but once it picked up enough of the leftover snow-turned-slush it was able to provide enough friction that he didn’t break his ankles. “Careful, Zulli.” He called out, slightly wincing in pain at the pain he felt on the balls of his feet from the impact.
Zulli copied his movements in a different spot to catch her own purchase with the icepick. She landed lighter than Sen, who had his hands held out to catch her if she slipped.
“Nice job with that scroll. First try. Must be considered a magical tool. You just knew how to read it?” Sen asked her.
“Yeah.” Zulli said, handing him the icepick. “Just came naturally.” She took off her snowshoes, as did Sen, and he let the tools disappear back into his voidspace after Zulli passed them to him.
“Pretty cool.” Sen said to her.
“Pretty cool.” She replied.
Arty landed lightly on his feet, his loosely tied boots glowing blue as he drifted nimbly toward the ground. He gave the two an odd look before looking away and toward the descending staircase, now lit by a bright white crystal August had produced that floated next to him.
“Ready, then?” August asked them.
They all nodded their assent and began their descent, careful not to slip on the slick wet stone.
At the bottom of the stairway, purple glowstones reacted to the presence of the party as they entered a circular room. It was created from the same grayish-black stone of the stairs and rose to a domed ceiling. Columns rose on the walls in equidistant points around the circular room, eight in total, with the purple glowstones centered on the walls between the columns. The water from the melted snow filled the floor, splashing from their steps into the room. With the purple light emanating in the ominous room, the reflective image rippling on water covered floor looked like a portal to another, more sinister version of their world. On the other side from where they entered, an archway held a black stone door, with rune-based words transcribed along its arch. There was absolutely nothing else in the room other than a circular raised pad in the center of the floor.
When Sen looked at the alien text above the archway, his vision became blurred, as if a heat mirage covered the text, and he felt a pressure inside his head that didn’t hurt but forced him to look away.
“What’s that say, Sen?” She asked, looking from the text to him.
Sen was quiet about his struggle to read it, and Zulli didn’t see him look away from it, but he looked back at the writing, which contained two lines of text, one on the left of the archway and the other on the right. “From it came the birth of all things…” He said before looking away. Reading it had made him go cross-eyed this time, and he put a hand up to his forehead in an attempt to alleviate the pressure.
“Sen?” She asked, now seeing his struggle.
Arty looked at Sen inquisitively, now curious as to what the text said in its entirety. Arty had never been to any ruins. Though there were countless ruins in the whole of the world, it had always been left to the Adventure and Magic Society to explore them, and Arty was a part of neither, nor did he plan on joining. Ganging up with this trio gave him a free ticket to see what any normal person would go their whole lives without. He wasn’t fully convinced he was where he was meant to be, but he felt good about coming along. He still kept his wits about him, though, wary of any dangers that might lie ahead.
Sen waved his hand, implying he was okay, and looked back at the archway. “…Within it all things may find their end.” He quickly looked away. “Something like that. It’s hard for me to actually see it.” He told Zulli.
August kept a stoic face and walked toward the double-doorway within the arch, placing his bulky hands on each one of the doors. He paused for a moment. “Sen.”
Sen was already considering the words above the archway. He knew what it meant. He had been there. His own title proved it; Voidwalker. He knew the implications of where he was now. It had all felt like a silly adventure, even the part where he almost died. But now he felt the loneliness and solitude of the void once more. Was he going back? Could he bring his friends this time? Did he want to? Would he be able to just jump in and out of the void on his own? August’s voice calling out his name brought him out of his contemplation. “…Yeah?” Sen replied.
“I have to implore you to see this through to the end.” August told him. His hands were held firm on the black doorway, his eyes low, not looking at anything. “No half-measures.”
Arty and Zulli were silent and reserved. Sen was too.
“No half-measures.” Sen repeated after a moment.
August heaved on the heavy double doors, and they slid open slowly, even with August’s immense strength. The doors grumbled as they scraped against the floor until they came to a clunking halt. Behind the open doors was another staircase, this one made of completely black pristine stone, descending to a shadowy abyss below.