EPISODE 111: SHATTERED SCAR

— Ard Deadlands, Year 7291. Season: Color Fading.

It’s an ugly thing, the scar. We know not what the Silent City once was, for only the Temple of the Sun still holds the records before [Knowledge Breaker] destroyed much of the learning centers on the Elrunian Continent. His reasoning is still… not understood. They say the [Chosen of Madris] was mad. They say he was cursed with the knowledge he should not have; thus he sought to destroy it. They say… they say plenty, but during the two hundred years of his conquest, he strove to destroy all places of learning and all knowledgeable scholars alongside it. Thus, our records of the Shattered Scar and the Silent City it splits remain fragmented. We know it was once a mighty city that housed various races. Yet, we know not its age, history, or greater details apart from a few records. The birth of the goblins being one of them.

— Excerpt from Silent City, Analysis Paper 1. Written by John Stark.

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Sid poked his head through the shallow opening. He was the group’s tank, having fully dedicated himself to tank classes and their ability to receive less damage overall. There was not a blow on the Mortal Plane he wasn’t confident in taking—not unless it came from a God themselves.

It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the low-lighting situation. Soft, blue moss covered the sewage tunnel they found themselves entering as [Brava Guild] burrowed under the walls of Silent City. Sid strained his eyes and ears, doing his best to listen and see carefully for any signs of disturbance. Just as he was giving the all-clear, the voice of Alaina spoke from behind him.

“It’s clear for several kilometers northwards. You can enter Sid.”

“Nothing wrong with’a visual confirmation,” the orc grumbled—withdrawing his head for Lairo to widen the entrance.

The [Archmage] waved a wizen hand and the hole silently expanded until it was Sid size. He stepped through, shield raised in preparation for any trap. Alaina was next, followed by Lairo and the final members of [Brava Guild].

“Alaina, are you able to guide us to the scar from here,” Zedra questioned. Two short swords stayed ready in her hands. They were the weapons she preferred to use in close, tight spaces.

Alaina closed her eyes, concentrating as her active skill (Perfect Memory) allowed her to keep a memory of her choice to show in front of her as if she’d just experienced it for the first time. The scene of her drawing the map came to mind as the use of (Pulsar Scan) showed above and a few meters below the ground depending on the hollowness of the area. This was what allowed her confidence in guiding her guild-mates to the Graveyard. She mentally mapped out their route.

“I’ve got it. Let’s go.”

There was no further talking afterward. Instead, the guild swiftly traveled down multiple tunnels—steps nearly silent as they traveled under the direction of Alaina. Just like their journey to the Graveyard, their minds remained connected through the magic of Lairo.

The deeper into the tunnels they traveled, the less the fluorescent moss showed. Its light began to fade, replaced by full darkness. The air became stale, and a strange mist seemed to be in it. The further the group went, the denser the mist became. A sticky, tar-like substance clung to the tunnel and their boots—attempting to sap their strength as they walked. [Brava Guild] could feel a change, but soft words came from Lairo as a warmth entered their hearts.

‘(Lion Heart).’

The buff relieved much of the tension [Brava Guild] felt as they traveled deeper. Alaina slowed, the target of their guild’s desire less than a kilometer away.

‘It’s this tunnel,’ she said, pausing the [Brava Guild] in their tracks.

They were in complete darkness just as they traveled to the Graveyard. The air was filled with a strange mist that obscured their sight from seeing deep within. Magic was in the air, powerful , ancient , and filled with the energy of death. It was charged—they all felt it, but it was not a positive feeling. A near-silent whisper was in the air—unintelligible, but the ears of Zedra twitched.

‘What is that? Alaina…?’

The goblin looked confused and shook her head. ‘What is it?’

Zedra’s lips pursed, but she didn’t respond verbally. Instead, her hands moved, signaling complete silence. [Brava Guild] paused, one eye on her, the other on their surroundings, ready for anything.

Zedra closed her eyes, completely concentrating on her eyes as they twitched left and right. She listened, struggling to make out what she was hearing.

Eventually, she frowned and shook her head. ‘It’s nothing—maybe I’m imagining things.’

‘I doubt that,’ Sid stated. ‘Not at our level, not after we achieved perfection in our classes and unionized.’

‘Whatever it is, it’s not something the rest of us can hear. You have the highest level among us, perhaps it is a passive underneath your new path. God El will guide us, regardless of what will occur.’

Zedra didn’t respond, instead, she signaled to Sid. The orc nodded, shield raised, as he entered the tunnel. The orc hunched slightly to avoid hitting his head, causing disgruntled grumbles to emerge from him.

The black tar clung to them as they moved, doing its best to stick to their boots and whatever else it could attach to. Lairo’s spectacles glowed softly, a frown on the mage’s face at what he saw.

‘There is nothing but death mana ahead—potent black magic. Be careful, even at our level it will attempt to extract our strength.’

The guild gave various responses to this, but mainly their attention remained ahead. Light began to show from around the corner, and a cool breeze pushed against their skin. It caused the mist to do its best to cling to them, but various skills and items kept it at bay. Only the dark muck on the ground touched them—restrained to their boots.

Alaina paused, bow in hand, as did the rest of the group. Fists tightened around weapons, and silent spells were chanted by both Lairo and Caiden—preparation for whatever was to come. Sid glowed a soft gold for a small moment, the tank self-buffing himself to receive damage. He did not wish to be caught unaware again by another powerful being. It was fortunate that Gorrick struck him first, allowing him to dissipate most of the attack before he flew into Zedra.

Zedra made the most preparations. Two soft, malleable vials made their way into her mouth, ready to be crushed by her sharp canines and molars within a moment. The expensive reagents were a standard but worthwhile investment in keeping her life safe. Her cat-like eyes flickered to the rest of her guild, the Felion appeared like a cat in human form, just one of many transformations of their species. Her body grew a size bigger until she was nearing the third tallest of [Brava Guild].

Zedra felt herself achieve a new level of Power, and much of the same with the attributes that empowered her various abilities. She was ready and so was [Brava Guild].

No words were exchanged, but once the shift in atmosphere finished, [Brava Guild] began to move forward. Sid led, followed by Zedra. Alaina stood behind them, and the rear held Lairo then Caiden as the final guard. He served as a secondary tank and protector in case something approached their strongest firepower.

Sid stepped around the corner and into the light, Zedra nearly on his heels in anticipation for what was to come.

Shattered Scar.

Shattered Scar.

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The land where Lady Death… Lady Ard kept her hordes. They emerged into the light, a white-grey mist blocking most of the scar from sight. Alaina let out a breath of relief, she’d always hated the undead more than the rest of her guild-mates. Zedra’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly, but her weapons didn’t lower—not once.

They surveyed the area they emerged from—light of the sun providing them with little to see by. The dense mist covered everything and a cliff edge was only several meters in front. Together as a unit, they approached, weary of any trap or undead. Alaina remained away from everything her Intent interacted with. It was vital she didn’t overlook anything. She’d already viewed everything the group approached but found no problems, yet that didn’t give her relief—only more to worry about.

Holes similar to the one they emerged from surrounded them on both sides and extended into the dense mist.

Where was the undead?

[Brava Guild] reached the cliff edge and gazed down. A tight frown on Sid’s face under the horned helmet. Nothing but dense white-grey mist showed. Had there been sound, their situation would be a lot more pleasant. The lack of sound, apart from the occasional thump from Sid’s heavy footsteps, made it all a lot more eerie.

‘We’ll have to descend. Unfortunate,’ Zedra commented.

‘By hand or,’ Sid asked. Although his armor wasn’t heavy to him, descending with it would be a tedious endeavor.

‘Lairo can you,’ Zedra gestured.

‘By stairs or would you rather float down,’ the [Archmage] asked.

‘Stairs, if we have to fight, I'd rather not be caught with my pants down.’

Lairo nodded and moved toward the edge of the cliff, as he did, the ground near the cliff’s edge began to shift. Solid, compact, yet tough enough to support Sid, stairs were erected that led down into the mist. Sid began to descend, once again followed by Zedra, yet this time, Alaina and Lairo switched positions. The mage ensured the stairs would continue to be placed accordingly.

Zedra’s ears continued to flick as they descended. After a small period of time passed, no more than ten to twenty, Alaina’s ears began to do the same. An unintelligible whisper began to sound.

‘I hear it now, Zedra,’ Alaina mentally whispered. Her left hand tightened around her bow, no arrow was knocked, but her right hand was on the drawstring. The goblin did keep a quiver prepared, but it was only used for special… heavy ordinance cases. The type the goblin lady likes to have to go boom.

The feline leader didn’t verbally respond, but her hand signal let Alaina know she was heard.

Step after step, smooth blocks combined together to form stairs. Into the mist [Brava Guild] descended. The further they descended into the Shattered Scar, the more activity within Silent City became apparent. The mist began to shift and move, seemingly following along the incoherent whisper, much to Alaina’s observation. The light of the sun began to dim and darken as they descended. It made the guild’s vision excessively difficult to travel by. Sid could barely see five feet in front of him, let alone any sign of danger.

This is where the utilization of their Intent became important. An invisible barrier spread from each of the guild members—each reaching over a few hundred meters easily. Yet, with each step that led into the depths of the abyss before them… that zone grew smaller—squeezed by the dense magic within the air.

It was when they reached nearly four hundred meters deep that a change occurred. The first was the emergence of a new source of light. Black rhombus-shaped crystals began to emerge on the wall. Lairo gasped, a verbal audible sound that caused [Brava Guild] to pause momentarily. Startled, like a cat whose tail was stepped on. That wasn’t the most significant change, however. Zedra was the first to sense it, followed by Alaina, and eventually, the rest of the [Brava Guild] too came to hear the whisper within the air.

‘Sing…ing?’

Sid’s voice mentally questioned once the orc too heard the whisper within the air. It was much more audible now. They continued their descent, and the quantity of crystals only increased with each new step.

‘These are death mana crystals… this… their value… Gods above, Titan’s below… and there’s enough here to purchase an entire country,’ Lairo said, pausing in his steps.

Caiden held a tight frown on his face. ‘It’s cursed, black magic that should be banished from the realm. Only potent death mana can create such monstrous objects, and only a large amount of dead can supply the energy needed for this to naturally form.’

‘I sense the bottom, we’re almost there,’ Alaina called. Her Intent was restricted by half, but she still held the highest amount in [Brava Guild].

The further they descended, the denser the [Death Mana Crystals] became. At first, they were sparse, with only a few dozen showing per step, then it doubled until nothing but the shiny dark crystals remained on the surface of the wall.

Sid emerged onto solid ground, soft grass underneath his feet as he stepped onto the bottom of the Shattered Scar. The mist lessoned drastically, allowing the group to see much further than before. Zedra was right behind him, the stale glow of the crystals providing light for them to see by. The moment Sid’s foot touched the ground, a change occurred, the air rippled unnoticed by [Brava Guild]. More changes became startlingly obvious as the chirping of insects was heard. A buffer fly flew past and in the distance the group could make out vegetation. The voice was clear now, but its words weren’t in a language [Brava Guild] understood.

‘Lairo take out the items our employer gave us,’ Zedra called. The group spread out to their positions as she did so.

Sid hadn’t halted his steps, but he did glance down curiously at the first signs of life underneath him. ‘There’s grass here… life…?’

‘Keep your eyes alert. We can comprehend what we see later, not much different than the moss earlier.’

Lairo removed three femur-sized objects, grunting as they piled in his arm.

Thick, dense runes covered the objects and they radiated a rustic golden light. Caiden made a sign of respect as the divinity upon the objects radiated their power—it caused the mist to clear out even further.

‘Divine objects crafted by the [Light of the Sun] himself,’ he said in reverence. Lairo swallowed and turned to Zedra.

‘We need to place them down roughly a kilometer apart themselves. We can do further which allows them to shine further but… I don’t believe that is wise.’

The felion was on edge, fur sticking up as her eyes darted around. It was clear she was spooked, but the rest of the guild members were puzzled as to why.

‘A kilometer was the bare minimum, we should attempt the max range, which allows light to cover the entire Shattered Scar. That was the plan, what changed,’ Alaina questioned.

So far, she hadn’t seen anything to get spooked by. The guild slowly made their way forward, still cautiously entering deeper into the scar.

‘I-,’ she hesitated. ‘This is not a place the living should be,’ she responded.

‘We have to get as accurate of a measurement as possible,’ Caiden stated. ‘We should stick to the plan and do the maximum range.’

‘Agreed,’ Sid mentally called—steadily progressing forward.

Zedra hesitated, then nodded. ‘Place the first one here.’

Lairo followed her instructions and the group began to move again. Their pace quickened under the urging of Zedra. The only thing to accompany them was the sound of singing and the crunch of the vegetation underneath their boots. The deeper the walked, the louder the singing became. Yet, [Brava Guild] remained uncertain of the direction it came from.

‘Place the second here,’’ Zedra called. Every hair on her body stood, it puffed her up, giving her the appearance of a feline ready to fight.

‘We’re not there yet, only a dozen or so meters before we reach the right spot.’

Zedra’s grip tightened on her weapons and she didn’t respond. The singing grew louder. She was unsure as to who spoke.

‘Here,’ she called.

‘No closer, come closer.’

[Brava Guild] moved closer. The vegetation cleared somewhat and the sound of running water entered their ears as they approached. The mist cleared as the group took a few more steps.

‘Here,’ a voice said—a greyed finger pointed at the ground.

Before them was a cleared area with a spring bubbling from the ground. Next to it stood a lady in a gothic black dress with long flowing white hair that turned black at its tips. She faced away from them and pointed at the ground next to her. She was tall, far larger than the average mortal of the realm… and powerful divinity radiated from her.

The singing that was ever so present halted at some point, Zedra noticed, but she paid it no mind as the voice showed them where to place the second object. It was a wonder they hadn’t spotted any undead yet.

Together as one, [Brava Guild] approached.