97

--The Enclave--

It being close to seven in the morning a day or so after the dungeon opened, the field was far less crowded than it had been when she logged off. Still, there were an impressive number of people in the area. A dozen or so groups were trying to talk to the re-spawned Captain Othren, and about twice that number looked like they were getting ready to head into the dungeon itself. With a quick scan of the area’s occupants, she took stock of wary reactions to her appearance from the guards and from Othren himself. Fire was in his eyes when he saw her, and he gripped the hilt of his sword a little tighter. Guin bowed her head to him, but didn’t break eye contact. As she rose, he turned back to the group he’d been speaking to.

The damaged reputations for their fight was sure to have a penalty — if not now, then later. Guin sighed, and sat on a nearby rock under the watchful eye of a nearby Imperial Spearman. No sudden moves, I guess… she noted to herself as she opened her pack.

Right at the top of her inventory was the scroll that Othren had dropped. The Imperial seal of the Noble clan embed on the wax that held it closed was an unnaturally bright purple that almost looked like it was still wet. She carefully undid the seal and unrolled it.

Captain Othren —

This marks the third day since my men and I entered this Tree of the Damned. Our rations fair well, as does moral — though I bid you to send fresh troops when you can afford it, to aid me and to keep the enemy’s numbers down. The accursed things to not stop coming. I am sending my squire back with a few wounded, as well as this message along with my most recent… ‘acquisition’. I have given him orders to take it to the druids. I trust that you shall provide troops as an escort. I cannot fathom what the monsters of the darkness would be doing with such a thing, but it cannot be left loose in our fair country. At best, the druids can cure it. At worst, I shall be its executioner.

Upon interrogating what few creatures have the wits to speak, I have learned of a mighty creature that dwells in the depths of this corrupted labyrinth. They name it ‘Diamorti’. It seems to be their lord, as they call it by such titles as ‘The Dimension Blade’ and ‘The Keeper of Worlds’. They speak of strong and powerful magics and say that it shall be my doom.

I think not.

But as my men would have me err on the side of caution, please send a request the Magician's tower to send us a reliable team of mages. I should be enough to take down any such beast, so give them any reassurances they require.

As always, I thank you for your continued loyalty and support,

Crown Prince Octarius Impriori

So, he’s in the dungeon… Snorting at the arrogance that bled from every line of the Prince’s impeccable handwriting, Guin read it a second time before calling out Liorax. The blue-grey fox sat on her shoulder as she let him read it. He ‘hmm’ed loudly a few times as he read, but otherwise remained silent.

“Well?” she asked him.

“It’s a letter,” he replied. “From a fool.”

“What do you know about Diamorti?” Guin asked, rolling the letter up and sticking it back into her pack. A quick look at the rest of her inventory told her it was also high time she sell her excess materials as well. “Is it the so-called ‘Corrupted Rift Dweller’ that we are supposed to fight at the end of the dungeon?”

With a thoughtful expression, Liorax floated up as she stood and checked her map. With the guard's reactions just to her presence, it was clear that trying to sell any inventory to them would only end up with her getting short changed. They’d have to go back to the city — a good ways out, by the looks of it.

“It’d probable,” Liorax said. “Diamorti is type of spirit the earar call the Mord, the garuli call the Jaa, and the tivarys call the Shinkai. As his titles suggest, he has the ability to travel in between dimensions, or rifts in space. Very powerful, they are — but in the way of gentle giants. They have a symbiotic relationship with the environments they pass through, similar to plants. They are beloved.”

Guin frowned. “What could a Corrupted Rift Dweller do?” she asked, but regretted it almost at once as she saw Liorax’s usually grinning face turn grave.

“Such a creature could destroy the world as we know it,” he said. “This development is… unexpected. We should consult with the spirit masters; the druids and their like. This is beyond you and I,” Liorax told her.

“Return,” she said. “I’ll need you as a speed buff. After I sell at the marketplace, we’ll try to see the spirit masters.” He nodded and turned into a buff. Beyond the Harbinger of Death? At this point, even Guin understood that, power-wise, his title was mostly empty, but he still seemed to have plenty in the way of connections. That he was sending her to a Che source of information rather than to a Veil one seemed… odd.

Fox forming, she took off towards the city. In total, it took her about half and hour to get into view of Miala De’Ri’s gates, which only left her about an hour of play time to finish up. She figured that she’d at least get through selling what she needed to, and then she could try to log on as soon as she got home to talk to the spirit masters before meeting with the rest of the group. A few of them might have needed to sell and take care of their own errands too, which might buy her a little time. This kind of information might mean the difference between finishing the dungeon and not.

Whereas the glade had been only reasonably busy, the market street was shockingly crowded. She had thought that she wouldn’t find too many people to sell to, but it seemed she had more options than ever. After taking a moment to gape at the unexpectedly bustling road, she scanned the area for familiar faces. If there were this many people who had the same idea that she did about morning errands, then it was possible that she’d be able to find her usual buyers.

Standing on the tips of her toes, she spotted Cynth and Miko standing on a bunch of barrels. Miko held up a sign as Cynth shouted and interacted with customers below. She tried to see if she could spot Katsu and Hammer, but if they were there, they were obscured by the crowd.

Guin started to make her way to them, trying as best as she could to not run into people. Several other sellers and buyers were shouting their respective interests at the top of their lungs. It was refreshing to hear, given that the last time she’d been in the area there had a tragedy. At least Cynth and Miko seem to be holding up, she thought, thinking again of poor Ollie Bear. She’d have to make sure she touched base with Grim soon.

“You.” Suddenly, someone grabbed Guin by the wrist and pulled her around. “I found you.”

“Hey —” she started, then shuttered as she got a good look at the person who had grabbed her.

“Why are you different?” The eararian man in a black jackal mask asked, tilting his head. “Why are you not like the others?”

“W-What are you… talking about?” Guin asked, tugging her arm back. He released her, but the blood red glass eyes of his mask shone with eerie intensity that made her unable to move away. “By ‘others’ you mean…”

The man was standing almost oddly still, and with the mask hiding any expression, she wasn’t sure how to read him. “Have you seen the magician?”

“‘M-Magician’?” she asked, rubbing her wrist where he had grabbed her. “Not ‘magicians’?”

He scoffed. “One is enough,” he said gravely. “But you haven’t seen him, have you.”

It was more statement than question, but Guin shook her head anyway. “At least, I don’t think so…”

“Why are you different?” he pressed again.

“I… don’t…” Guin started — but suddenly there was a wooden sign in her face with the words ‘herbalist’, ‘potions’, and ‘salves’.

“Back the frick off, dog man!” Cynth Syzer’s voice came between them. “Take you’re weird hobby somewhere else! I’ll call the GM’s on you!”

To Guin’s left, Miko was looking at the jackal man, his dark eyes defiant. “You okay, Guin?” he asked without looking back. Guin nodded, then looked down at her feet, ashamed that while ‘Guin’ had slipped into ‘Dassah’ just the night before, ‘Dassah’ had slipped into ‘Guin’. ‘Guin’ shouldn’t have needed to be saved from a situation like this.

“Hear my words, girl,” the man on the other side of the sign said. She heard him as if he were standing right next to her. “You life is in danger, and I can only do so much. If there are those who would believe you, tell them, lest you lose it.”

“I’ll show you who’s in danger!” Cynth sneered. “Get out of here!”

“Huh?” Miko then went. The sign went thunk! as a corner of it hit the ground.

The earar man in the jackal mask was gone.