Chapter 7: Surveillance Countermeasures
High Priority Target - Research Team
Robert stood, breathing in the damp air of the Esterland Bog. He looked up, and saw thin strands of mana billowing in the wind. Their path was chaotic, spinning in endless twirls and circles, but slowly, oh so slowly, they drifted towards his destination.
He had been tracking the mana flow for more than a week now, and started moving the moment he realized a dungeon core was forming. The scrying chamber was meant for far more important purposes, but a few kind words can get you behind many locked doors. Especially when you had been doing it for so long that everyone forgot what a scandal it had once been. 15 years as a [Paladin], and as a [Delver]. One of the most respected Classes mixed with one of the least. A choice based on a mystery told to a small child. If only he tried hard enough, he could figure it all out. Years and years of work without answers. The whole thing had become routine by now. A new dungeon, just like all the others. A new hike into the middle of nowhere. Although it was rare he took someone with him.
He glanced at the young woman following him. Ivy, a promising young [Squire], if a bit abrasive. Mana clung to her like morning dew. Apparently being here was more than just a chore for her, if she was starting to gain a level. But he had to keep his mouth shut about that. It had taken him almost five years of practise to even vaguely sense mana outside of dungeons, and it had absolutely wrecked his ability to level. He had figured out when it was starting to happen, and had gotten distracted trying to manipulate it by doing whatever random acts seemed to please it. Mana tended to fray as much as the person did, and so it had dissolved together with his focus. Took a while to figure out how to ignore that and act like he didn't notice the mana gathering around him. But in the end the solution had been to just laugh at it a little bit. There was something amusing about the mana gathering around him when he delved into a new dungeon, and immediately fleeing when he got hungry and started thinking about what he would have for dinner later.
He would have to ask later what levelling was like for her. For him it was like a soft whisper. Like someone infinitely smarter sharing a little secret about the world. Hadn't happened in a while, and wouldn't happen today either. Not since he started doubting if this was the path he should have taken with his life. There were many ways for a [Paladin] to do their work, but his had carried little fruit.
Ivy was struggling with carrying both their packs while walking in the soft soil. Sweat glistened on her forehead as she looked at him with a simmering anger. Just because he wouldn't tell her she would level, didn't mean he wouldn't try to manipulate it a little bit. People always wanted the fancy Skills, the ones that could burn down a forest or turn a piece of metal to gold. But she was going to be a [Paladin], spending her life travelling to ensure nothing displeased the gods enough for them to create an Avatar. A few extra provisions in your pack, a slightly thicker piece of armor, or simply being less tired at the end of a long day were more likely to save your life during your travels than any sharp cut of the sword or spell of destruction. There was already enough death in the world.
They kept walking for a while, before she finally had enough.
"Why am I the one in this goddamn swamp?" she complained loudly.
Robert pretended to think for a moment before answering "You told the bishop to go fuck himself, if I recall."
"A very serious offense" he added, faking a serious tone.
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"Well, he deserved it." she said, increasing her pace and glaring at him.
"Hah!" he chuckled in response, leaving Ivy bewildered. "Was it the 'Even the lowest of rats can be turned into something great' speech?". He smiled as Ivy tentatively nodded. "Did pretty much the same when I first heard it. Had to shovel horse manure for a month." The look on Ivy slowly turned to that of pleasant surprise.
"He didn't actually mean to call anyone a rat, you'll learn that when you speak to him more. He's just incredibly bad at speeches. Nobody actually knows how he kept his position after he accidentally implied the king was too fat to rule." Ivy laughed in response, and shouldered her packs more firmly, apparently in a better mood now. Some of the mana let go of her, flying away with the wind, but it was no matter. Skills born purely of anger rarely led to anything good.
He could see the mana thickening as they walked. It was strange to see it this far from an entrance. Their path leading towards a more forested area some distance away. He felt something as he approached. A flash of red behind his eyes. A warning of danger in those woods. Death.
Ivy seemed stuck in concentration for a moment, before she spoke. "Something dangerous and hidden in that forest. Killed three and almost killed more. Do not approach." she foresaw a question from Robert and answered before he could ask. "I have a level of [Tracker], but just one. I can read the signs others leave but little more than that."
Robert considered the situation for a moment. He needed to find out what was going on. He knew there was a dungeon there, and from the look of the mana, it couldn't have been more than level 3, although it should have taken far more time for the dungeon to grow this much. The dungeon had a surface floor by the looks of it. He had never seen one himself before now. "We leave the packs and everything we don't need." He looked at the soft soil around him, "Leather armor. You stick close to me and you don't run, I have a shielding Skill. If we see anything, we back away slowly and we keep our shields and swords up."
They approached the forest, their gazes focused in the direction of the forest. He could see dead trees and plants deeper inside it. Mana was circling the area, spinning around the dungeon, as it both gathered mana and expelled it. As they got closer and reached the edge of the forest, he noticed strange spikes of stone. He took an extra step, and suddenly the mana shifted. The mana vortex collapsed and imploded towards the dungeon entrance. He had seen it before. The core was panicking from their presence and spawning more creatures than it could handle. It should not have reacted this early. Especially because of his stealth Skills which would make him and even Ivy less noticeable to dungeons. He grabbed Ivy's shoulder to signal a retreat and started backing away at a quickened pace. Ivy backed away with him and noticed his worried look. She bumped his shoulder lightly, correcting his course to slightly better terrain.
They moved back to their packs, each grabbing their own this time. "What was that?" Ivy asked.
For the first time in the last couple of years, Robert could finally answer that question with "I have no idea." There was something both terrifying and exciting about that. He tried to remember any extra details about the area. "There's a village a bit north of here. They might have been the ones that left the warning." Ivy just nodded in response.
They went north, their path taking them in a wide circle around the dungeon. There was something incredibly wrong there, and he had no intention of risking their lives unnecessarily again. It was not long before they reached the other side of the bog and entered another forested area. This one having obvious signs of forest paths used by people travelling these woods. They made their way along the paths towards a village. Simple wooden houses stood in a glade with a river flowing through the middle of it. Fields of various grains grew further north, but the village was empty, not a single person wandering. They could hear something coming from a larger hall in the middle of the village. As they approached it clearly became the sound of loud arguing. Robert knew it was the sound of people that were scared and not quite sure what to do.
They entered the building. It looked like nearly everyone in the village had gathered here. The villagers slowly went silent as they noticed the two newcomers among them. They were gathered around a table, but keeping their distance from what was on it. In the middle of that table was something Robert recognized as nothing more than a simple goblin core. Something spawned by young dungeons before they could make anything actually dangerous.
It carried the marks of three kills.