Lanek dismissed the notifications and went into the mist to help his companions. He would worry about leveling up when the fight was done, his companions were still facing off against a horde of spiders. However, without the summoner to call forth new creatures or to attack his companions’ minds, the lesser Void creatures didn’t stand a chance. Within minutes the fog began to dissipate, revealing the scattered monster corpses and ruined village.
Hmm, why isn’t the quest updating? The timer next to the Cult of Xancre is still counting down… Is there something else here?
He began poking through the various buildings, looking for anything out of place when he heard Sanguineus bark in the distance. Lanek walked over to find the wolf staring intently at a small shed behind one of the houses. As he approached the door, he felt freezing cold and whispers surrounding him. Having felt far worse in recent weeks, Lanek shrugged off the effects and flung the door open, sword at the ready.
Within the room was an intricately carved idol that hurt his eyes to stare at, its shape seeming to change from moment to moment. Even the symbols carved into the idol seemed to shift and move along it. Lanek closed his eyes and focused on the idol with his other senses, leveraging [Etheric Presence] as much as he could.
Damn… Lanek cursed as the whispers resolved into screams within his mind, the idol filled to the brim with screeching and tormented souls. He would never know if the souls were those of the villagers or of travelers passing by or even voluntary sacrifices, but he did know that the idol was the core of the Void’s hold on this area. With a grunt, he thrust his hand forward, piercing through the idol.
The idol fought him every step of the way, but without its guardians it could not resist Lanek’s will. The more Lanek focused, the more the souls began to break free from the Void’s grip, slipping out of the statue and fleeing to whatever afterlife awaited them. He could feel eyes locked on him, hate and rage focused on his very being, but he did not care. This was unacceptable even if the Void hadn’t already pissed him off. Finally, the idol exploded, shards of stone embedding themselves into the walls.
Quest updated.
Cult of Xancre eliminated.
You have received 40 reward stones.
Is that a lot of reward stones? Lira told me what they were used for, but I never did find out what each stone was actually worth. Well, it doesn’t matter that much, I trust Eldros to not screw me over.
Satisfied with the death of the cult, Lanek called out to his companions and ventured forth from the ruins. He didn’t want to spend a moment longer in that foul place than he had to and he was in a bit of hurry to find a suitable camp. Not only did he have to deal with his notifications, but it turned out that all of his companions were ready to evolve. Three evolutions at once? Just two of them knocked me on my ass last time and that was only for their first evolution. Maybe I can just evolve one at a time and leave the others on guard duty?
The group journeyed south of the village rather than back to the north and the sparse forest. Not only had Lanek never been this far south, but he knew that there wasn’t any place in the sparse hills and forest to the north that he trusted to be safe enough if they were all unconscious from the evolutionary process. The only place he would trust in that general direction would be Eldros’ grove to the northeast, but that would require several days of backtracking and he wasn’t going to do that.
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Moving further south, the hills became much rockier and the few trees that he saw were small scraggly things that seemed more like large bushes than proper trees. Lanek was worried that they would find nothing, but atop a hill in the far distance he spotted a structure. Due to the landscape, Lanek knew that it would take hours to reach the structure, but he didn’t really have any other choices. Not exactly inconspicuous either, but if it’s empty then it should be good for one night.
Lanek and his companions pushed themselves hard, not wanting to risk being exposed in this terrain when night fell. It wasn’t just that they would feel exposed to potential enemies but that the wind blowing through this area was already cold and would no doubt reach freezing levels when the sun set. Even worse, without the trees to provide cover, there would be no respite from the biting cold.
As they traveled, Lanek’s companions took turns leaving the party to go hunting. He left them to it as he had plenty of food for himself, but none of it was really suitable for carnivores like his companions. They would probably be able to eat it without suffering ill effects, but they certainly wouldn’t enjoy it like they would meat.
Reaching the base of the hill that supported the structure, Lanek could make out in the fading sunlight that it was an old stone watchtower. To his surprise, the metal-banded door of the tower was still intact and closed. Without prompting, Kazuma took to his mist form to enter and unbar the door for his companions.
Once inside, Lanek ordered Sanguineus to keep watch at the door while Maximilian took refuge within Lanek’s soul. He would have left the demigryph out, but Maximilian was far too large to fit through the door. With Kazuma at his side, he proceeded to explore the tower. It turned out that the tower had five levels and reminded Lanek of the lighthouses back home. One of the five levels was a simple cellar that had clearly been used for food storage in the past.
The main level was relatively bare and Lanek wasn’t entirely sure how it would have been used. It would have been a simple area to store supplies or a place to meet visitors. The second level was a long room filled with multiple single beds with footlockers, very much resembling a barracks and had a single large fireplace at the end of the room. The third level appeared to have been a kitchen and mess hall judging from the large hearth, pots, and long trestle table.
The fourth level was comprised of four bedrooms, all filled with fur blankets and storage space for clothes and equipment. He was surprised to see that each room was also home to wood-burning stoves, their pipes disappearing into the walls and presumably exiting the building a short distance away to allow the smoke to dissipate. At the center of the fourth floor was a circular staircase that went up to a hatch in the ceiling.
Lanek opened the hatch and nodded, finally having an idea as to what this tower had been used for. The roof was flat, with waist high metal fencing along the edges and a large metal bowl in the center. Yeah, this was a warning beacon. If that thing was lit in this terrain, people would be able to see it from an incredibly long ways off. I’m guessing the four bedrooms were for whatever poor bastards had been assigned here all alone like lighthouse keepers and the barracks looking room was for when their people sent soldiers through here.
Lanek walked out onto the roof and peered around, not being able to see too much due to the setting sun, but he did spot something on the roof with him. Walking around the large metal bowl, he found a single skeletal figure in armor sitting with its back against the bowl, staring off to the south. When he glanced into the bowl itself, he looked at the body in pity.
“I’m sorry, you had a hard time, didn’t you?” Lanek said quietly, reaching out with [Etheric Presence] to make sure that there were no souls or spirits stuck here with him and found none. The figure was unharmed, but in the metal bowl were blackened fragments of metal and bones. That explains why this place was locked up from the inside, the poor bastards never left.
Lanek wondered if the keepers had locked themselves in for safety from monsters or if they had been awaiting reinforcements that never came. Either way, it was clear that the skeletal figure belonged to the last one standing and he had used the beacon as a funeral pyre for his fellows. How long were you alone after they passed? And why are you looking to the south? Was that where your home was?
Saddened by these thoughts, he left the figure to its eternal vigil, confident that no souls were trapped in the body. Descending back into the tower, he closed the hatch behind him and said a quiet prayer to whatever higher power might be listening to look after the souls of these men.