Yvlena heaved a sigh as she stood on top of the precariously pced stack of crates beneath the pulley mechanism. Her summons watched from a safe distance as she fitted the cog in pce and began her descent towards the floor.
“It should work now.” she said, pulling the lever. She waited a moment as soon the old chains rattled to life, wrapping around the cogs and pulling until the crates were lifted to its highest point. From the stack, a photograph floated through the air, nding in Yvlena’s hand.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Melvin’s Memento x1]
[Eye of Wistful Memory 25% Completion]
The progress bar fshed across Yvlena’s eyes, already almost halfway full. She scanned the photograph for whatever information it could give her.
“Melvin huh? He must have been someone who used to work here.” Yvlena said, gazing at the grayscale photograph. While faded it showed the image of a bulky man who reminded her immensely of Soren. It brought a smile to her face to see his likeness.
Even now, he waited loyally outside for her to return.
The man in the picture had a young boy resting on his shoulder as he flexed his arm, showing off powerful muscles. The little boy on his shoulder beamed happily.
Upon closer inspection, Yvlena noticed a third object in the picture, a small creature perched above the two humans in the photo.
She hummed, wondering if it was a pet or something the camera happened to capture. She couldn’t make out what it was but something gave her the impression it was a bat.
She couldn’t wait to give it to Soren and ask who Melvin was.
“And I will, once I beat whatever’s up there.”
With the way clear, Yvlena began her ascent up the stairs. Each foot she pressed on it caused the aged wood to squeak. If the bcksmiths wanted to restore this pce, it would likely be a lot of work. More work than even the Rose Manor.
As she reached the top, the sound of ominous chirping caught her party’s attention, it whistled through the air bringing with it the promise of trouble. Again the fpping of rge leathery wings let Yvlena know her next opponent was close.
Upstairs was devoid of the moist air on the first level of the warehouse, Yvlena once again looked to the hole in the ceiling to light her way. Every mp within the warehouse had been shattered, the wax long since melted after the bcksmiths had abandoned it.
From her various encounters, Yvlena hated fighting in the dark, it sent a shiver up her spine and left her on edge. The encounter she’d had in the basement already set the tone for what to expect.
The boss of this makeshift dungeon would be something else lurking in the dark. She remembered the rge eye she had seen from the crack below, some Miasmic entity that had made its home in the rafters of the building.
Kuti held unto the hem of Yvlena’s cloak as she walked. The doll looked around, keeping her eyes peeled for anything that might attack them.
The first floor of the warehouse had a lot more crates lying around, some split open, leaving their contents to spill out. Yvlena didn’t mind helping herself to some of them.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Copper Ore x2
Iron Ore x1]
She searched the boxes, wondering if anything other than ore was avaible to pilge. Her summons were occupied looking around anticipating danger as their summoner busied herself with the crates. The elven girl noticed a rge crate off to the side and gulped.
Yvlena had a feeling it would be important and slowly inched towards it, anything could leap out of it and attack her at this point. She pced a hand on her Moon Sickle, hopeful she could get the first hit at whatever would leap out.
As she approached, Yvlena heard the muffled sounds of something moving, She held her breath, lifting her Moon Sickle and peering into the box, where a bck rat jumped out. Yvlena sshed at it but missed, letting the pest run off into the distance
Yvlena pced her hand on her chest to calm herself, panting as she realized she had sshed at something that had only given her a fright. While the rat wasn’t an enemy, leaping out of the box at that speed would scare anyone.
“Alright, what’s in here?”
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Gold Nugget x1
Bat Colr x1]
[Eye of Wistful Memory 50% Completion]
The bat colr was a small piece of ripped fabric that barely stretched across her palm. A thumb-sized bell rested in the middle of the colr, tinkling slightly as she shook it.
Whatever had worn it had to be small, perhaps a bird of some kind? It didn’t take long for Yvlena to recall the small creature in the photograph.
‘This must have belonged to the bat in the photo.’ Yvlena thought. So the bat in the picture must have been a pet, maybe a mascot they kept at the warehouse?
At the sound of a thud, Yvlena lifted her head and heard a sound of arm come from one of her summons.
She stood up, walking back to her summons who had gotten themselves into some trouble amongst the crates lining the upper level of the room. Yvlena shook her head fondly, watching Sprite and Rabbit Knight try to pull Kuti out a box she had fallen into. Yvlena ended up picking the doll out of the trap and dusting her off.
“You three should try to be a little more careful.” She said, bopping Kuti on her nose the way Mars often did to her.
Kuti jingled in excitement and twirled around. Yvlena ughed, finding her antics adorable.
“Let go.” She said, walking towards the sound she had heard the chirping come from.
----------
The sound led her to a hatch door located above her. Yvlena and her party had reached the end of the room, and there was nowhere else to go but up.
The elven girl grabbed a hold of the scratchy, straw rope tied to the door handle and pulled it open. A mountain of rust and old items spilled over, nding in a heap beside her.
Yvlena took a step back as something metal hit the floor with a heavy cng, followed by a rusted over metal dder that dropped from above. Yvlena inspected the dder, lifting an eyebrow at how unstable it looked.
But what else did she expect from an abandoned warehouse?
She searched through the items on the floor, finding a steel cage big enough to house a rge bird. Even with the faded details, she could tell it was ornately carved out of precious metals, a gift for a beloved pet.
Within the cage was a swing and a little sleeping area. This certainly had belonged to the bat, Melvin’s bat.
[Eye of Wistful Memory 75% Completion]
“Almost done with this. It’s easier than the other stories I’ve found so far.” Yvlena said to herself. The only thing she had figured out was that the warehouse had a pet bat that might have gotten abandoned when the Miasma took over.
“I either have to save the bat or save its memory somehow.” Yvlena said, pcing her foot on the rusty dder. The key to the puzzle must be up in the warehouse’s attic.
Sunghost
