Davin made his way into the city yet again, and thanks to his… date? It was a date right? With Jes, he was a little more confident about it than he would have been a few days ago. While he felt he was in a rush based on how excited he was, he didn’t rush through the city, he looked at everything he could, he wanted to get familiar enough with the city to where he knew where some stuff could be found without having to ask anyone. You would think that a city created by belief would have a lot more variety in its structures, but then you had to take into account that most of these worlds never experienced an industrial revolution, so they never had the need for the skyscraper and mass production. These thoughts floated through Davin's head as he walked, trying to pick out landmarks and mentally adding places to his to-visit list. The climb to the upper rise was still as breathtaking as it was the first time he'd seen it, but with it still being the brightest part of the day it didn’t have that romanticized feeling to it, yes, it was all still beautiful, but the feelings for it were muted, but at the same time, the city wasn’t lit up like the rainbow it gets its name from.
The cliché that all wizards lived in a tower seemed like it would be a stretch on the rainbow bastion, but as Davin climbed the last few steps on the north end of the tower that sat at eh edge of the bastion was massive, the closest he had seen to a skyscraper, that didn’t include the entirety of bastion itself, it rose impossibly which since the structure seemed as though it was carved rather than constructed. The trails of energy that pulsed over the surface of the tower looked as though they were holding the tower together in some places, cracks seemed to be covering its surface now that Davin had a chance to look. The hint of ozone permeated the air as he got closer, feeling the hair on his body start to stand on end, the doorway was what seemed to be the only place for smooth stone on the entire structure. The almost mirror finish that was on the door was impossible to imagine having something of this size polished to this level of brilliance, and the idea of pressing his hand to the space felt so incredibly wrong…. It was also the only thing that he could think to do as an option. Pressing his hand to the impossibly smooth surface felt more akin to dipping his hand into the water, that the surface let out a ripple, and the resonation that echoed through the air as if a gong was struck sent a shiver down Davin's spine, the feeling was unnerving. He attempted to pull his hand away from the wall, but in response, there was a pulling sensation, as if the tower was pulling him in.
The darkness that surrounded him was shocking, he felt as if he was floating in gelatin, but he couldn't feel anything against his skin, as if his mind was moving at full speed but his body wasn't. A buzzing hum filled his ears.
"What brings you to our tower?" The voice surrounded him as if it was coming from all directions at once.
"Uh, I'm looking for Hugh, I have some news for him." A nervous crack in his voice.
"We know of Hugh, is he expecting you?" The voice changed slightly and had a disapproving tone edging into it.
"He is, we discussed it yesterday out at Edges Rest." Craning his neck slowly to see if he could see anything in this strange space.
The lurch he felt as he started moving was unsettling like his stomach was dropping out of his back and he was being pulled. The blinding light hit him as he came to a sudden stop and he staggered through and just barely caught himself from falling over. The room he stood in was rather plain a heavy door was the only outstanding feature beyond the light that seemed to be coming from nowhere. The door slowly opened, and what looked to be an older elf stepped in, he started at Davin as if he was a bug on the wall.
"This way, Hugh will be down shortly, you can wait in here, don’t make any messes or I will forcefully eject you from the tower." They walked through the door into a living room, several luxurious couches littered the floor, each one seeming to be its own self-contained space.
Davin went to the closest set and sat down, and he felt as though he never wanted to get up again, it was the single most comfortable thing he had ever sat on. He let out an unintentional moan of pleasure. "Why is this so comfortable?" he groaned out.
Davin was nodding off when he heard a voice, "Davin? Did you already get the party started?" Hugh's voice broke the spell that the couch had on Davin.
"Hugh? Why in the HELL is this couch so comfy?!?!" Davin asked as he rolled off the couch hitting the floor with a thud and a groan.
"They're enchanted, it's mainly to keep others subdued while in the tower, but it’s a great place to nap all things considered." letting out a small chuckle as Davin pulled himself from the floor.
"Subdued? Have there been previous events?" Davin asked.
"Yes, apparently they used to have meetings here and some of the more… rambunctious individuals have caused some damage, I'm sure you saw the cracks outside?" Waving his hand toward the walls.
"Oh, those aren't just for mystique? I thought it was just a decorative choice so that they could use the pulsing and it not seem like it was pointless." Shrugging as he fully stood up. "But yes! The party is established, you just need to sign and pay the gold, and then we're a party." The Excitement in his voice climbed as the effects of the couch wore off.
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Hugh's face brightened, his smile widened, then he did a shuffle as his excitement rose. "Fantastic! Let's go now! And we can make plans for when we set out, you still have a little more in your rogue training right?" The words began to blend at that point and it was hard to follow.
Davin could only laugh, the excitement on his new friend and party member's face, it warmed his heart to see someone else that seemed as if they wanted to be an adventurer. "Woah, woah, slow down, I can tell you're excited, but we still have a lot to do before we set out, so let's start by getting the party set up."
That derailed the wizard rather quickly, "Good point! Let's go!" He excitedly grabbed Davin's hand and they headed to the entry chamber, the doorway from before was replaced by a translucent wall, and as they walked right through it that sensation of falling hit daven again before it was quickly over and they were on their way down the stairs.
The pace that Hugh kept up was impressive, just below a run, all of the stereotypes he had for wizards were quickly crushed as Davin struggled a bit to keep up with the taller man's pace. The Hall came into view once again, it was far more active in the later hours of the day. The doors almost kicked in by Hugh as he entered.
"Big Green! I do believe you have a paper for me to sign!" Quickly approaching the counter where the bartender was serving drinks.
"Hugh? Wait, you're going to be the one in Davin's party? Heh, well color me surprised!" Pulling out the stone tablet like before with a new knife. "sign here, press blood here." Pointing to where he was supposed to sign as he said it, then pulling out one of the small boxes that Davin knew held the whisper stones, repeating the same actions as before, the flash of light didn’t go unnoticed by the hall as a whole.
The cheer that was let out drowned out all other noises, which caused Davin's heart to flutter. The cheers that were just for the forming of a new party, and the potential that it held. It was all more than he ever expected or could have hoped for, it raised his spirits even more than the signing of his own name. He couldn’t wait to get out there.
The party that followed was unexpected, Davin was surprised by it all, as it turns out, Hugh had been asked by numerous individuals to join them as a party member, and each and every time he had turned them down, wanting to do more than just hunt the monsters and farm the dungeons that were speckled across the afterlife, apparently Davin was the first to get him to join, and knowing his own motivations, he could see why Hugh would have denied most of the other requests. The party went late into the night, pushing the last call further than most would have ever expected for a simple forming of a party.
Davin called it a night before Hugh had, he had been running around most of the day and he was ready to sleep, which played out just as one would expect, darkness engulfing him as soon as his head hit the pillow.
"Congratulations are in order."
"Thank you, it's not a full party yet, but it’s a solid start."
"Yes, he is a good choice, I see a lot of potential from him, and even your own has seemed to have risen, I am certain that you will do well together."
"Let's hope, now to find a decent healer."
"Healer? Hmmm, they are far less common than a world held together but what are recognized as gods, our power is not of the divine, we cannot do the same things that those of true godhood, we lack powers of the dominion over the domains, while we can borrow from them, it is not ours to give away.
This gave Davin pause. "You're not gods?"
"No, we are aspects of belief, we are not faith, we only exist here based on some of the gods, but we are not them, and many can only bring their faith with them, and those are rare."
"Oh. Good to know, so what if someone seeks faith after they come here?"
"They would need to find those that hold the faith from their life, and be taught the proper ways of that faith."
"So no blind faith here, so what if someone wants to worship you? What happens?"
"This is where it gets interesting, we cannot stop them, and many do, we just cannot grant any more power to them for being our protégés than we already do, we do not tolerate favoritism."
"Do the other patrons talk with their protégées as you do?"
"We aren't restricted in such actions, it is only in the power we grant as well as the energy we dedicate to the city."
"What about when I start doing work for you?"
"We grant the power to increase your level, so unless you wish to trade strength for something else?"
"What is on offer?"
"Nothing, we won't change it just because it has been asked, the best I can do is provide some information."
"What kind of information?"
"Things that at this time would mean nothing to you, but know that I feel you will be able to do much for the afterlife as a whole, and not just for me."
"You're not setting me up for a fall are you?"
"I am not! But you do bring knowledge of some of the things I have felt creeping into this world."
"What do you mean?"
"A flood is upon us, and I don’t know what to expect, the beliefs of your world are vast and many, and at this point, I think that is the only thing that is really holding them back, but I do know that the wilds have started to see its influence, it is very minor for now, but I do believe that we will see more as time goes on, I hope that you will be ready, I doubt that this will stay unnoticed for long."
"And the only thing you can do for me here in this world after the initial granting of your boons is just some information? I feel a little underprepared for this seemingly grand quest, I don’t even know how to use the magic that you did give me!"
"Hmmm, that is a good point, I do believe I can add a little to your spells, but it will take me some time, so for now, prepare yourself, I know not what your world will bring with it, but you'd know how best to prepare for it."
The voice faded, and darkness engulfed Davin once again, but tonight he dreamed…
The sounds of a gunshot rang out around him, shapeless creatures that hunted in the dark, the tapping of claws on tile floor, hunting, seeking….
The explosion rocked the plane, it began to shutter, the rattle of metal as the plane felt as if it was going to shake itself apart…
The low chuckle as metal dragged along the concrete floor, the dripping of something wet, heavy breathing….
Or they would be much closer to nightmares….