Minor ethical crisis aside, Kona, Serenity, and I each won a Knight Chest from the previous Wharf-fare Quest. Richter and Elsbeth tied for fourth but I give my Knight Chest to El, as a token of my thanks for all of her hard work. Besides, the Variant added a second notch to my Feat, Variant Hunter, and netted me another Jester's Box. The Quest regarding all of the Stalkers, entitled "Run Away Horde," netted each of us a funny little Stalker toy that would follow one-word instructions like a real one would under the effects of Command. Mine was an interesting pale blue modeled after something called a Coast Stalker.
Richter and Rachel are already making theirs fight, his is a pale yellow Plains Stalker and hers a dusty brown Desert Stalker. The whole time I was in the desert it was night, so I probably wouldn't have seen one as they're mostly diurnal creatures. Behind them stood Kona, with a dark Shadow Stalker, and Serenity, with a red Magma Stalker that matched her skin, both waiting their turns to battle the victor. El, Vic, and Dawn already have theirs stowed and are going over their notifications. I follow suit and open up my screens.
[Quest Complete! Run Away Horde]
[You received 1*Clockwork Stalker, 150XP]
[War Party Leader Bonus! 7172XP + 30%]
[9323XP will be divided among 8 party members]
[You received 1165XP]
These extreme battles may be taxing, but their results definitely speak for themselves. Not only that, but we picked up a veritable endless supply of Stalker parts. Combined with the Gorshix parts, they only take up a large chunk of space in one of the crates from Lady Anne. Speaking of the crates, we emptied all of the rucksacks into them and Dawn allowed me to hold on to one, since I have a habit of going on solo adventures.
"First of all," I argue, "I was teleported to the desert completely against my will. Second--" My complaint is cut short when Dawn gives the order to move along, rolling her eyes and smirking.
"Maybe we can find out where all those bugs came from," Dawn says, mainly to herself as she gazes at the horizon. The sun is still a few hours from setting and the sky is clear.
Richter and I take our places as driver and spotter while everyone else hops back inside. I bring up one last screen as the mechanical horses start moving us along.
[Multiple instances of learning the Feat +Swarm Tactics has evolved your Feat into +Swarm Tactics II]
[+Swarm Tactics II: If you are in a party, +5Melee damage, +1Armor, +1Willpower, +1Agility to all other party members. This Feat will stack with +Swarm Tactics I if another party member has it.]
I may not get the effects from my own Feat, but it sure is a good one to have. It meshes well with Victoria and her Centurion Class, adding more Defensive points and a little extra Melee Damage never hurts. And, given the off chance that someone learns Swarm Tactics, it'll add to it as well. Then, I wonder if I make someone my apprentice, can I teach them any of the monster Spells? I dismiss the screens and thoughts as we move on down the road.
About half an hour later, Richter makes an odd observation, "Dude. Does everything look, kinda, pushed to you? Or is it just me?" I shoot an eyebrow up at him, then glance around. His words mingle with my thoughts and they somehow make sense. All of the vegetation seems to be out of place, as if dragged several feet away from their original spot. Tracks on the ground and leaning trees seem to all be pointing in the same direction. They're all moving away from where we're headed.
"You think it has something to do with the Stalkers?" I ask. Richter shrugs and I relay the information over the Whisper Cuffs. I whince in pain as a shrill cry barrels through my ear and out the other side. When Richter looks over at me, I could swear it's because he heard the noise too, and not because of my physical reaction.
A moment later, Kona and Serenity burst out of the moving vardo on the broom and zip ahead of us down the road. I ask Dawn where Kona thinks she's going.
"Not sure," Dawn replies, "She went crazy when you described the trees, grabbed Serenity, asked permission to scout ahead, and took off. You think it has anything to do with the Stalkers?"
"Maybe. It is pretty weird out here. Aside from what we described, we haven't had a single encounter since the Stalkers. Not even a single Wild Boar has crossed our path." I look over at Richter and his Arcane Lenses are glowing a dim blue. As he speaks, I carry the words over to Dawn, "Richter says that there's a large aura of Mana in the direction that Kona and Serenity went. The dome is fairly large, but not that bright. What's that supposed to mean, Ric?"
"I don't know, bro. I've never seen an aura this big before or this dim. It does look like it gets brighter the closer to the center I look, though." His explanation does everything but clarify the situation to me. "Something is creating a big field of magical influence, but it's, like, subtle. Weak. Does that make sense?"
I shake my head, "If you say so. We'll find out soon enough I guess." As soon as those words fall out of my mouth, Kona Whispers us back with some intel.
"Well, it's not exactly what I hoped for, but… well… You're gonna want to take a look. We're not getting any closer to this village than we have to."
Richter and I look at each other, the same response to her words on our mind, "Village?"
"It's not really a village," Dawn explains to us. After our arrival the eight of us stand near the outskirts, "More like a large hamlet. Unless it has a church, then we can call it a village."
Kona rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips, "Whatever. I'm pretty sure we spotted a little chapel in the center." Dawn asks if anyone spotted them flying around, "No, Serenity learned the Invisibility Spell, but it doesn't last long so we had to get closer before she could activate it."
"Like, that's good to know," Rachels says, looking over at Serenity, "I have Stealth, but I wondered if it'd be too much to know both."
"Okay," Dawn interrupts, "We have the vardo parked far enough away with the militia guarding it. Rachel and Ardacen are going to use their Stealth to go in and learn as much as they can about what may have happened here and report back from secure locations. Elsbeth and Richter will gain vantage points and scope the place out. Kona, Serenity, Victoria, and I will await further information before we move in through the streets."
She looks around at all of our nodding heads and then at the buildings again, "It's strange how everything surrounding this place is blown back, but the houses here are unscathed. I was thinking it was a meteorite, but there isn't a crater of any kind…"
Rachel and I swiftly position ourselves behind the closest house and activate Stealth. I let her lead since I can still follow her by scent, but as we peek around the corner a figure emerges, trodding along at a very subdued pace. At first, I take it to be a flaming zombie villager, HP still intact enough to be wandering around. Maybe this place became infested with zombies and the only way to cleanse them was a large fireball type Spell. It would explain the trees and such, but not the houses. Also, this thing in front of us isn't a zombie. I can tell, because when I Analyze it I get
>Scan<[Herman Turnstone. Level 3. Ifrix Villager]
His body stops mid stride and the charred skull within the flames turns to face our direction after I quickly dismiss the screen. At first, I assume he must have heard something in our direction, but the longer he stares at us, the more I believe he's looking right at us. There are no eyeballs in the blackened sockets for us to tell whether or not he is, but after he scratches his tunic covered armpit and moves on I think nothing of the moment.
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Of course, once he leaves, Rachel and I have to redo our Stealth before carrying on with the mission. My thoughts drift back to Herman as we sneak about. Not only were his clothes intact, they were unblemished near the flames. I didn't get a chance to see his current HP, but I'm willing to bet it is still full.
We continue to run into more Ifrix villagers, mostly in pairs, but sometimes alone like Herman. We often get what look to be sideways glances, but we're not too certain since they don't otherwise react to two, duck walking Travelers moving through their village. My suspicions come to a head when one of them literally walks around us, glancing back at us as they shamble away.
"Alright," I exclaim, removing my Stealth in the center of a half dozen of them. I'm pretty sure Rachel is still squatting, beak slacked open in shock. "Can you all see us or not?" All of their floating skulls nod in agreement, the different colored flames wafting from the movement.
A dry, hoarse whisper of a voice comes from a masculine looking one judging by the muscular build of the body, his flames a deep purple, "We were wondering what you two were doing." He gestures a thumb at everyone else. One of them, jabs an elbow at another's ribs and Rachel makes herself visible.
"What the hell?" Rachel asks, hands on her hips and head scanning the area. "Like, why the hell did you let us crawl around like rats then?"
Purple flames, a man named Arthur Elmsplitter, let out a sound like dragging a wide object through tall grass. The stocatto, swishy sound turns out to be laughter and he lets out a hearty sigh, "We figured that you were Travelers and… you know… Travelers do weird things all the time." The others join him, their shoulders popping up and down and the whole place sounds like a forest of trees in a strong wind.
Arthur wipes an invisible tear from his eye socket, "What about the flying cat and the red demon? Are they with you, too?"
The thought of her doing the same thing as us up in the air, thinking they were being so clever, puts a sheepish smile on my face, "Yeah, they were supposed to be our scouts."
He points a thumb to his right, "And the party waiting outside the village?"
"Like, can you guys just see everything or what?" Rachel asks, eyeing him suspiciously.
Arthur just shrugs his shoulders, "After The Flash we all were able to use Arcane Sight at will, among other things."
Rachel and I exchange a look and mentally repeat the phrase "The Flash" to each other before returning our attention back to Arthur. The rest of the villagers casually disperse, returning to their daily lives before our amusing interruption. Arthur motions for us to join him as he walks towards where Dawn and the others are waiting.
On the way, he describes the brief event with great clarity considering he still has no idea what actually transpired. Essentially, some time in the morning preceding us returning from break, people were being woken up by a series of rumbling noises that increased in volume and intesity. Then, a searing white light erupted from somewhere in the village.
At first everyone thought they were being overrun by a tribe consisting of a new species of monster, but then they recognised each others' names and have been milling about, trying to uncover the mystery of what happened.
Since Arthur is leading us, he appears from behind a building first, Dawn and Victoria quickly taking up arms. Their weapons drawn and teeth bared, it takes Rachel and I a moment to calm them down. Soon, Dawn has Kona and the others joining us as we all take turns trying to explain what happened. Arthur agrees to take us to the figurehead of the village, Father Chameleos.
"He might know a bit more," Arthur says, trudging ahead of us. "He's always up before the sun and some have said that the Flash originated from the chapel." I don't know about the others, but the priest just jumped to the top of my suspect list.
On the way, Dawn asks Kona what got her so excited earlier. "Well," she explains, "As you know, I've taken the Stellar Sentinel Warlock job class because of the Grimoire of the Stars my old master gifted me along with my necklace." This, of course, I did not know, merely speculated according to hearsay and minor observations.
She withdraws an old book similar to the one Dez uses, but hers is a swirl of deep purple and blue with random splashes of blood red. I ask if the book is the reason she knew so much about the Cosmic Slime monster.
"Of course," she says, matter of factly, "And in it is also described the occurance of a meteorite and all the signs pointed to one being here. The trees, the swarm of animals running away, and now the bright flash. The only thing is the village is still standing and the people are still alive. I think. No offense."
"None taken. And it's Ifrix. Our village is called Ifrix," Arthur answers us without looking back. Now I'm interested, since the name of the village is also in the same spot in the description where Race would normally be. And, of all the races I can recall seeing during character creation, Ifrixian wasn't one of them.
From Kona's previous reconnaissance, she figures that the chapel we're standing in front of is the closest to the center of Ifrix, both physically and metaphoricaly. A lot of the other villagers find themselves congregating on the grassy areas close the building itself.
Standing on the doorsteps is an Ifrixian wearing robes that are dark blue, almost black, with sparse silvery flecks in random spots. Kona whispers in my ear that this man is most likely a Faith based version of her own job class, something called a Cleric of the Skyline.
"Welcome, welcome to my humble little Ifrix, dear Travelers." Father Chameleos stretches out his arms to us as if he is ready to hug all of us at once. But, as we step closer, his arms fall to his sides like the strings that held them up were cut without warning. He doesn't have any skin or muscle on the skull wrapped in grey flames, but I can almost sense a large grin on his face as he speaks. He reminds me of the dealer of my first car.
"You'll have to excuse everyone as we have undergone a miraculous transformation quite recently and some are still coming to terms." One hand sweeps a wide arc across his chest, "From many races to one… simply marvelous, isn't it? Come inside, come inside." He flourishes his hands and speaks a Spell word. The doors creak open for him as he leads us inside.
We thank Arthur after he explains that he has something he wants to do and wont be joining us. I notice him pulling Dawn aside while everyone else mills inside, surreptitiously whispering to her before shambling off. She keeps a neutral face, motioning with her chin for me to join the others inside.
I glance around at the handful of people seated, flaming heads solemnly tilted down in prayer in the short pews directed towards the large iron sculpture hanging on the far wall. Father Chameleos notices me looking at it and puffs out his chest, "That is the symbol of my Order, the Clerics of the Skyline." During his pause to let his statement sink in I wonder what Dawn's is since she is also a Cleric. He goes on to describe the intricate symbolism and history of it, but its basically a few circles, squiggly lines, and a couple of diamond shapes.
There's a large circle, eight lines waving away equal distance apart (the sun), a middle circle with its line interrupted by the two diamonds (the moon and stars), and a much small inner circle with a tail (a comet). All in all, the simple design does belay a myriad of symbolism and complexity.
Above it, where there should be a ceiling, spread the expansive image of a spiral galaxy, much like an image of our own galaxy IRL. It spins slowly and majestically among the dark background and assorted specks of white, yellow, red, and blue stars. A pale, ghost-like figure, genderless and featureless, saunters across the cosmic landscape touching the specks. The effects vary from changing color, winking out of existence, and expanding before silently exploding and showering the room with glittering sparks.
Richter nudges me with his elbow and whispers out of the corner of his mouth, "That'd look pretty cool on, like, a girl's ankle or maybe the back of the neck, huh?" Even though I don't personally have any tattoos, I agree with him and even suggest a spot on the wrist as a possible landing area for the symbol.
"Really, boys?" Dawn asks, shaking her head.
"What?" Richter asks, "I bet you someone's gonna have it done within days of watching this episode."
Dawn scoffs, "I'll take that bet. What's the wager?"
Father Chameleos clears his throat and we all give him our undivided attention, "Travelers you may be, but I will not allow gambling in this place of worship." He's standing next to a low alter, reaches behind it, and brandishes a wooden staff at us, "Now that I have you trapped in here… What in the hells do you think you are you doing in my village?" The staff is tipped with an ore that looks like gold with streaks of metallic red and black lines. "The Harold of Nyctos said you'd be coming this way. A group with several Travelers, he said. There will be two Inferni. One dark as night, the other red as blood. They pillage and desecrate everything on their path."
"Who--" Dawn begins, but the other Cleric interrupts her.
"Silence! Look at all you sub-humans, walking around together with hardly an ounce of shame! Seeing t every day in Ifrix was enough to make me sick until my prayers were answered." His hands are thrown up in exasperation.
"So you're taking credit for this, matchstick?" I say, noticing all the parishioners turn into red dots after a single sniff. I ready my claws and we form a back-to-back double line formation in the aisle. Dawn capping one end, Victoria the other. Elsbeth aims a finger at the entrance and her necklace shoots a thin, blue beam of light covering the doors in a blue aura. The Amulet of Bracing locks us in, but more importantly it stops others from joining this battle. Dawn makes it clear that we're not to kill any of the other Ifrixians. I crack my knuckles.
"You're going to regret siding with that little shit, old man." I watch as several flaming headed citizens shamble toward us after slowly getting up from their seats.
"I'm thirty seven," Father Chameleos responds, I'm thirty seven, I'm not old."
Richter and I look at each other and laugh. Even Dawn giggles to herself muttering, "Classic."
I push away a notification for a Minor Quest as the Ifrixians advance.