When dusk begins to settle and cold wind howls through the forest, through which the dungeon lies. More and more soldiers filled the area, from dozens to a hundred. The monsters from the veil that sought human flesh were eradicated the moment they were spotted. Very soon, mages set warding stones from each corner of the camp, preventing any unnecessary nuisances from disrupting their work.
Just at the entrance of the dungeon, Natalak finally emerges. Through his eyes, the invisible barrier that was erected by the mages could be seen from the realm he was in; even the ward stone emitted a strange force that even he himself was affected by. But even in the Echo of the spirit and living, Natalak felt he was being watch. True enough, one of the priests stand, narrowing his eyes at the dungeon entrance. He could not see Natalak, but senses something was lingering. And before things could escalate, Natalak swiftly left the area, doing his best to endure the pain.
More than an hour after Natalak had left the place, three scouts emerged from the dungeon.
"Commander." One of the scouts said.
"Any reports?" The commander urges.
"We have some reports."
"And what of the cube?" Whispers the commander.
The scout slowly shakes his head. "We did find bodies of some researchers, but there's no use in getting some information. They've already been dead for weeks or months. We did find a teleportation marking in the lowest cavern that connects with the dungeon. What shall we do with it?"
The commander gave a frown. "Did you uncover where it linked to?"
"Yes, Commander, it goes to a nearby village. Their signatures are those of the Adventurers' Guild from Keshoval."
"Kesh—" The commander pauses. "Send a mage to sever the link. And bring a priest of Adra too, to see which person took the cube. I'll see what I can do with the Adventurers' Guild." He adds before entering his tent.
"Right away." The scout nods, and three mages quickly go behind, followed by two priests of Adra.
Upon entering the place where Natalak had taken the cube, the priests of Adra saw not Natalak but the essences of Chifya's party scouring through the area.
"What do you see?" The scout leader implores.
"There's no cube or someone taking it." The priest responds. "I see only adventurers cleaning up the place."
"What do you mean?"
"There are many possibilities; either the cube was taken many weeks before us. And the adventurers replaced the essence of the ones who took it. As for the other… I presume a powerful entity or someone with a relic managed to hide its essence from us seers, but that's beyond possibilities."
"I understand. Take the report back to the commander." The scout leader looks at one of his subordinates. "My other subordinates will guide you through from the other levels. I'll go lead our mages to the cavern." He adds, and the group immediately separates.
When dusk takes its leave, and nightfall soon enters, Natalak looks for any place to rest. Without any good hiding spot, he sends the whip coil through one of the tree's branches. As the whip slowly rolls around the branch, it manages to pull Natalak. After ten times of unbearable pain and sweat, Natalak finally reached near the top of the tree, and with that, he could finally rest.
"I need a rope," Natalak mutters, searching through his satchel.
He created a crude harness, enough to prevent him from falling to his death, before tying it to a tree.
"You forgot your neck," Amaragnum said.
"Or you could possess me, and let's do a double suicide," Natalak answers, creating a makeshift weave to the branches, allowing Natalak to relax his broken legs and muscles.
"I need a drink," Natalak follows, as he searches for dried meat and a bottle of ale for the night. "Tell me, ah Amaragnum was it? What kind of unholy sins did you commit for you to end up in that prison?" He adds after taking three bites and a gulp of the ale.
"Playing with the gods, and beating the shit out of someone, who I can't remember, for becoming a god."
"That's a wholesome way to tell a story. For children, of course." Natalak gave a slight laugh.
"It is. You might not believe it, but what I said is all true, depending on what stories you've heard."
"Hmm-mm, so what's your goal now that you are free?"
"A rematch," Amaragnum responded seriously. "Since that old man is still alive, I really want to give back what he did to me, that cheating bastard."
"You mean Azageis?"
"Yes, but with the state I'm in, I'll need time to gather back my powers."
"And how are you going to do that?"
"It's quite complicated, but for a brain like a toddler's. It's just as simple as fishing, just like what I did to you at the prison realm. You fish, you eat, and you gain your strength back."
"And what happens if you finally gain your strength?"
Amaragnum went silent, and after more than a minute—
"I sense scouts; let's speak another time," Amaragnum said before returning to his book.
Quickly, when Amaragnum went back, Natalak stuffed the book back into his bag. And an hour later—a hundred feet below the man, dozens of soldiers spread out from the camp. Searching for anything or anyone that still lingered in relation to the dungeon. Luckily, the thick branches, leaves and the darkness of the night managed to hide him from the eyes below. And after consuming another ale, tired and cold, sleep quickly engulfs Natalak.
Of such a time when tomorrow emerges—before the first sunlight enters the land, there, in the dungeon deeper through the cavern, hundreds of spheres clad in bronze plate, as glowing red light peers through the crevasses of the plates. Not only in the cavern, but throughout the whole dungeon.
On the surface, the once-hundreds of Endregar soldiers are now reduced to dozens, as some are being teleported back through portable devices. And when only ten men, including the commander, are the ones staying a hundred meters away from the dungeon's entrance—
The commander orders, "Do it," directing the order at one of the mages. In her palm was a red pulsating orb.
Giving a slight nod, the mage then clasped the orb, which triggered the plated sphere mounted throughout the dungeon. Within ten seconds, the explosion devastated the underground. Moreover, the surface ground begins to sink, compressing the chambers and caverns with stones and soil.
"That should prevent the Adventurers' Guild from further investigating." The commander signals to the others and quickly leaves the area, clearing the place of their presence, their essence, and even the lingering essence of teleportation energy.
Just two miles from where the dungeon lies, Natalak felt the shudder of the explosion. Yet the comfort of the blanket and the slow approach of the sunlight pulls him back to sleep for another couple of hours.
In the other far places of Dolvadish, Sheila's sleep was disturbed by someone shuddering her shoulder.
"C-Chifya?" Sheila groans, her voice tired. "It's still early morn—" She stops when she sees that it was already past morning.
"The report." Sheila rushes out of her bed.
"I already finished the report," Chifya said, giving her ten pages of the report, and after analysing the papers, Sheila gave a sigh of relief. "I'll let Sei deliver our reports to the stronghold. We'll set of once I'll prepare myself."
Chifya doesn't speak; instead, she gives a slow nod.
Seeing her worried expression, Sheila exits the room, giving the same worried face.
As the hours pass, Sei arrives at the stronghold by teleportation, carrying with him the reports, the bounty and a folded cloth. Once inside the guild's branch, Sei quickly heads toward the administration desk.
"Good morning. I'm here to present you with our reports," Sei said, placing the papers on the desk.
Thank you, fellow adventurer. I heard about your actions last night. Could you please wait while we process your reports?
"Certainly." Sei nods.
"Thank you, adventurer." The office lady answers, grabbing the papers and the bounty paper. "You seem alone today."
"My companions stayed behind in search of our fellow friends back at the dungeon," Sei answers as he places the folded clothes. And when he reveals what was inside, the clerk's expression turns blue.
Dozens of crests, dozens of adventurers have given their lives to the blight. Two golden-crest adventurers, and the rest were silver and bronze; each had a story to tell, each had a future up ahead, but fate and death don't choose.
"We still don't know whether there are more crests remaining, but I hope there won't be any additional ones to retrieve."
"Thank you, fellow adventurer. I hope so too. And I hope that your companions may find your friend." The clerk replies, then folds the clothes and respectfully places them in an ornate chest.
Back to the village—two hours before midday, Sheila unrolls a teleportation scroll, and when she triggers the spell, the glowing light from the scroll quickly fades.
"Is there something wrong?" Riya implores, for she could tell the teleportation didn't work.
"My markings… It's been severed." Sheila whispers.
Right away, when Chifya heard Sheila's words, the half-elf swiftly sprinted towards the dungeon. Covering one mile of thick forest in less than a minute. Upon arriving at the scene, there was no longer a dungeon, no entrance to be seen, only collapsed land, stones and leftover human structures. And she could tell it had been done recently.
"How foolish of me!" Out of frustration, Chifya bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. "I shouldn't have placed Hackrash's marking on that idiot. No, I'm the real idiot." She adds, apathetic to the dungeon's state.
While her lips bled, she took a stroll around the area, searching for anything that might give her a clue. And by the time midday set in, she couldn't find any traces, not even a lingering scent of any mortals who were involved. Even in her wolf form, she wasn't able to pick up a single scent of the soldiers of Endregar or Natalak.
"Seems like I've got no choice," Chifya said after reverting to her human form.
She walks to the nearest tree and places her hand on the tree trunk. The mark on her palm begins to illuminate, and when she closes her eyes, her vision enters the spirit world. Now every tree was like her nerves, her very eyes, giving her vision throughout the vast forest. Until she could see, Natalak was barely struggling to walk, and he was heading toward the village.
"Found you—" She stops when suddenly she collapses, panting heavily as her eyes grew weary. Her vision blurs as fever seeps through. Even her skin begins to fade to a pale colour.
Without wasting any time, she pulls a vial that holds not liquid but blue essence. And, with a single crush of her hand, she releases the essence, engulfing her, seeping through her body until she could stand. And when she finally reaches Natalak—
"Boss?" Natalak said, gazing at Chifya. "Is, is that you?"
In their reunion, Chifya didn't speak a word, and neither of them moved. And for a moment, the forest was silent.
Chifya stood before him, trying her best to hide her heavy breathing, not from exhaustion but from her desperation to find him. Natalak remained several steps away, barely able to keep himself standing. Between them, the cold wind passes through the trees, carrying dead leaves across the ground.
In that breezy wind, one leaf brushes against Natalak's boot. Then another drifted between them, but neither of them uttered another word. The wind howls again, stronger this time, sweeping through the forest and carrying leaves from a distance.
And then—
Somewhere through a secret chamber, a group of mortals enters and gathers around. Their faces are covered by shadows, and some are hidden by masks. And once gathered—
"We lost the cube, and now we have to deal with the Adventurers' Guild?" A robed person said, voice calm and frustrated.
"That won't be necessary. Endregar's Legion have already taken care of the evidence. As for the cube, that is another thing to settle." Replies the other; behind him was the elf watching the mortals in their heated
"Another thing to settle?" A voice called through the shadows. "It put me through quite the troubles and a lot of souls to obtain that cube in the Dwarven Realm." The man added as he emerged from the dark.
At first, he seems to be ordinary— a man, perhaps in his late thirties, with a narrow, angular face. His black hair fell loosely around his forehead. Particularly concealing his right eye. His skin was clean, but from his serious look lay many years of combat.
What's interesting about the man was the right side of his face. From his temple down to his jaw, a portion of his flesh had been replaced by a dark metal object that fit perfectly to his face. Golden strips of light flowed through the metal plates into his flesh, sometimes pulsating. And even with his hair curtaining his right eye, one could see an eye not of mortal origin but something born from magi-tech.
Its iris glowed in an intense golden radiance as he focuses on each person in the chamber with unsettling precision, especially towards the High Elf.
"I lost men, I lost years. And I nearly lost my life obtaining that cube." The man steps forward.
"Lord Livaran, I didn't know you had returned from Maginum."
"I've left you all for just a couple of months, and suddenly this is the report I get?" Livaran said, marching towards the Elf.
Then, when Livaran was just a few meters from the Elf, time slowed down. But immediately, Livaran was surprised when the elf wasn't affected. Unpredictably, Livaran was the one being slowed down, but for the surroundings, time seemed to be frozen.
"I… See…" Livaran said, though his voice slackened. "So, you're also a Time Resonance, and a higher one at that."
"Tell me, isn't it strange for a high elf to make an alliance with people like these?" Livaran shifts his eyes towards his colleague. "Oddly, what if you are the one who caused the loss of the Cube?"
The elf gave a smile. "Dwarven relics aren't of my interest, Lord Livaran. And I can assure you that the cube is not the only one left."
Just as the elf's words ended, time resumed its original pace. He unveiled a similar relic, but this one was a sphere.
"It was not easy to obtain this artefact from the Adventurers' Guild. But I think this should make a great substitute while we retrieve the cube." The elf said.
When the elf gently places the sphere at the centre of the table, the room felt silent, and the atmosphere turns heavy.
"And what of that damn Thieves Guild? They've been sabotaging our plans left and right."
"We'll have to stay low for a while…" Livaran respond. "I have a friend at the Maginum who might aid us with the Thieves Guild." He adds, eyeing the elf with distrust.