Corvayne's bike blasted over blue water, the ocean view dazzling as the afternoon sun caught lines of waves. He was following Princess Bell, keeping one on her gleaming bike, an orange dart in the dark blue-purple sky. She was navigating by sight, following a chain of green velvety islands ringed by white sands and turquoise waters. He counted a handful of ports and farms on the larger islands, every settlement ringed in layers of wood and stone arrayed out against imposing jungle.
Bell wasn't looking anywhere but forward, red hair whipping behind her. Corvayne could look behind him and see the rest of the team on their bikes, as well as a bit of Spears-Like-Water's liquid shoulder catching sunlight. Warmth, both physical from her liquid body and emotional support from their link, flowed into him.
It was part of why he didn't further protest Bell's request, even if he thought the entire venture was a bad idea. He was still confused about why his team had rallied so quick on this adventure to an overflowing dungeon months after the person they were trying to find got trapped. He didn't get why they projected pride and confidence at him, even through his current barrier suppressing [[Unity]]. He could feel another pact working too, [[Understanding]] pulling from books he had read long ago... pushing into his head scenes he had read where the hero said yes to an impossible quest. Something about the way he had heard the problem, and his body language, they knew he'd step up.
[[Understanding]] was also pushing the thought into his head that it might have also been that he was the tallest guy in the room, and people expect the tall guy to solve their problems. It sounded like something that Bearer-Of-Burdens would tell him. That it was sourced from himself was worrying. He snuck a glance behind him, where she was flying her hoverbike with her feet while Brines frantically tried to ask her to resume using her hands. Very worrying.
The jungle islands they passed usually had a rock pillar like the ones he had seen stretching across the High plains. He suspected the line of rocks would link every ruin, assuming they were not buried. Bell slowed as they approached an island with a cloud rotating over it, strange colors of lightning flashing. Corvayne wasn't surprised to see this was their goal, as they had slowed where the air felt charged. Magic, no doubt, as it wasn't interacting with their bikes shielding.
Moving closer, Corvayne started to see evidence that the dungeon breach was worse than he had imagined. Even from miles away in the air, he could trace places that a torrent of grey and pink things pouring into the water had worn down the trees, ground, buildings, rocks. The shifting mass writhed like a thin trickle of water as it marched into the sea. Drowned monsters bobbed in the bay they were walking into en-mas, and the beach near the dungeon break was now covered in bones. A cloud of large arial scavengers of all sorts were diving in to pick out meat, then retreating when the monsters were near. He was thankful the wind was going a different direction, given the carnage below.
Flashes of light in the middle of the monsters suggested spellcraft, and following a mostly intact street sideways from the cone of bare ground he could see some adventurers or soldiers had built a fortress and a few hills over, with a few brave souls deflecting strays. The stampede of monsters had flattened everything in a cone from the mouth of the dungeon. It looked to be a stone temple covered in singed jungle plants. Given the output, even if he couldn't be harmed by the stream of monsters, It would be impossible to push the sheer weight back of monster bodies.
He pulled his bike up next to Bell, who was floating and just staring down at the waves of monsters. Corvayne let his shield drop, suddenly hit by gusts of wind and the sounds of dull thuds, likely some concussive spell going off. He spent a moment trying to think of anything else but suggesting a funeral.
"We need a plan." Perhaps they could dig into the ruins, or they could attempt to force a gap if there was a focused blast of spells... but even then they'd need to know where they were going inside the dungeon, lest a group of monsters running up a stairwell or bunched up wherever they dug into just push them right back out.
Bell turned to him, and Corvayne saw her nod, doing her best but not quite keeping her anguish off her face. Spears pointed a finger downwards. "They drown, so we might be able to flood them out."
"Same problem with asking Wick to let us use a nuke here. We can't control collateral damage and we are going to operate as a rescue until given evidence otherwise." Corvayne had his doubts, but he could feel Spears nodding behind him. On a whim he tried to use his compass power on 'Bells Daughter' but came up with a sort of vague downwards pull. Not entirely unexpected, there was something tremendous going on with the energy pouring off the dungeon.
Bell took a deep breath, then spun her bike around, slowing a moment to survey the islands nearby. After picking what seemed to be a random one about five miles away, she lead them over the ocean to it and started to descend towards what looked to be a port town that had burst out of it's walls. Parts of the growing town were set in stone, with more wood and eventually canvas extending from the solid core into vestigial buildings, growing more haphazard further from the coast. The chaotic materials included colorful cloth, different colored wood, metal, stone, leaves, dirt, red clay, what looked like bones, sea shell, and canvas where there wasn't enough of anything else. Utter chaos.
Bell aimed herself for a patch of cleared out scrub that turned out to be a worn down graveyard up the road from what looked to be the largest patchwork building. Corvayne could trace that it had started as what looked like a tavern near the wall and had spilled over the barrier and in some places eaten away at it. Given the number of armed people walking out and injured people being carried in, he guessed it was some sort of command center.
Bearer crunched her bike down on a tombstone behind him, and Corvayne spared her a glance as she put her socks back on. Brines looked even more nervous when he saw they were disturbing someone's final resting place. "Can we park here? Will someone take the bikes?"
Lady Blood Claw shrugged. "Bell picked it." She did turn and mutter a few words, causing her hands to glow a pale blue. The aura around her faded as the bikes took on a granite texture and seemed to melt a little into the scenery. He was pleased to see she had been getting better at her spellcraft, and felt a little pride coming off her as her skin changed to a faded orange with gold gear-teeth shapes squiggling up and down her arms.
Setting down the stone and dirt path, the heat and humidity he hadn't felt while flying caught up within three steps. Given the hot, still air and dark cloud slowly spreading from the dungeon, Corvanye would have thought the atmosphere was oppressive even without the sounds of construction, arguing, and groaning. Stepping into the closest entrance into the building, Corvayne smelled a mix of blood, booze, and sawdust before his eyes could adjust to the gloom and see blood and booze soaked sawdust. Dejected looking adventurers crowded tables in one dimly lit section, bamboo fans barely moving the air through the darkwood bar area. Some of the hammering was shared between a smithy trying to fix things in an exposed stone open roofed courtyard, and groups of men trying to fix a staircase to a second floor of the bar.
Corvayne let Bell lead to the front desk, where an attractive but tired looking woman wearing an off white dress with red clay stains directed them to a smaller and even stuffier waiting room halfway up to the second floor, just large enough to hold the group and a small glass window that by showing them a wood wall a foot away somehow made the room feel smaller.
Thankfully, Bell had some sort of in. A few moments later they were in a more spacious office that looked to have been built in the attic yet somehow was cool. Behind the desk was a swarthy looking man in trim leathers with an eye-patch and the sort of knickknacks that either a pirate or a crow might pick up.
He offered a hand, but Bell just stared at it, then up at the man. "You owe me a favor Corky."
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Corvayne mentally aligned the man with the person who had pointedly not paid Bells ransom and wrote them the note. Corky himself sat down in what Corvayne thought looked like a very modern leather chair and propped his feet onto the driftwood desk before him. He took a wine glass and poured water into it, then raised it.
"I'm surprised you made it down to this little slice of heaven! I'd offer you wine, but..."
Bell slammed her hands on the desk. "I don't care. I want to get into the dungeon."
The Adventurer's guild leader waved a hand. "Madness. Go take a boat or magic flying carpet over, look at it, then another home. The only reason we're here is we want some warning if the thing starts spitting out swimmers or fliers."
Lady Blood Claw stepped forward. "There's not another way in?"
Corky leaned to look around Bell, clearly giving LBC a once-over. He made a somewhat approving face then remembered to speak. "No idea. We only found one entrance. The dungeon was a relatively new discovery months ago, and now most of the people who really know it are dead somewhere inside."
Corvayne could see Bell was starting to crush the lip of the desk, so he stepped up. "Did anyone who was inside the dungeon manage to make it out? Someone who can report what was inside?"
Corky rolled his eyes but stopped and squinted at Corvayne, then smiled. "Why... yes. Perhaps we can come to an arrangement to have you discuss with that gentleman what he saw."
It took Corvayne some effort to not reach for his spear, especially because he felt annoyance, anger, and a small spike of gleeful anticipation of violence slam into his [[Unity]] bubble from behind and to the sides. Looking back, even Brines was frowning with his arms folded, though still covered in sweat, possibly from the idea of conflict. Corky, on the other hand, was so confident that Corvayne could feel a sort of thrumming drum beat of it.
Corvayne started to speak, "I relinquish my claim on Bell's ransom for-"
Bell stamped her foot, and her and Spears said "No" and "Absolutely not Corvayne!" at the same time. What the hell? He turned to tell them off, but Spears was already holding up a hand for calm. She moved next to Bell at the front of the desk, and leaned in a little. Corky spared a single glance down at her watery cleavage before looking up as Spears started to speak, slow and steady.
"Listen you perfume soaked half cocked swine, I know that grog drenched head of yours thinks you are some sort of master manipulator because you've been swindling thugs for however long you've been clawing your way up the guilds ranks but we are so far up thug mountain that when we piss on you, you open your mouth to catch it thinking it's snow. We operate on a level of violence you cannot even begin to imagine, and at the moment you are screaming that you are an obsticle to what we want to do."
Spears paused, letting what she said sink in. Then she stood up.
"So, because you don't want that, we're going to speak with the man who was inside, and you're going to gather everything else you know in an hour. We're going to have your full co-operation because if you don't I swear to Lythandies and Gygax and the Tower itself I'm will wash this entire town into the ocean in a tide of blood to try to clean one little greasy shit-stain."
She lifted her leg and slammed one of her boots on the desk, leaning forward with her watery arms on her liquid thigh, spear adjusted to be visible over her shoulder, and turned her nose up, and Corvayne felt something else through [[Unity]] that reminded him of old Spears, that aura of being looking at like a bug, but directed at Corky, who put a hand up to say something, thought about it, then nodded.
"You know what, your watery friend has me convinced. No need to cross spears."
Corvayne saw Corky wink, which would have prompted a lot of questions if the man wasn't already moving downstairs. "There is a cost though, but I suspect you have healing potions on you. When he talks it tends to re-open wounds, you know."
They started to follow, but Lady Blood Claw had to pull Nyx along, as he seemed distracted. Brines on the other hand had to stop Bell from bowling Corky over, sputtering to the princess that they were getting what they wanted and to please not force a blood tide. Bearer, on the other hand, looked and felt to Corvayne like she was suddenly... awake. Interested. He loathed to try to pull answers from her, but did she also think Corky might have just made a pun hinting he knew Spear's name?
They moved through the bar to a wood post and tent built part of the building, a make shift medic tent where all sorts of mismatched beds were sitting on cobble. Corky moved up to one with a man bandaged every which way, many of them doused in blood.
"Old Edrick here had the good luck to be pushed out with the burst, and the better luck of not just dying when he got trampled and kicked off into the jungle, and the phenominal luck of being found before he died. Doesn't he seem blessed?"
The man in question just gargled in response. Corvayne handed a healing potion to Corky. The adventurer's guild leader opened the stopper, sniffed it, raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and poured it down the mans throat. After some sputtering, the potion was absorbed and the man started croaking. "Please, more Wraithroot."
"It's very addictive." Corky said solemly before snapping his fingers. "We'll give you some after you tell these nice folks if anyone could be alive in the dungeon."
The bandaged man looked over, one good eye sizing up Corvayne, then Bell. He stiffened. "No... not her... not mean princess."
Bell took the hand not in a cast and squeezed it, gently. "Please. We are wasting time. My daughter is in there."
The figure moved his head and seemed to look at Bell, the wounded warrior trying to shake his head. He whispered "Sorry. Sorry. Have little girl back home. But..." He took a deep breath. "Flooded with monsters. All boiling up the main stairway. She would have to... hide... entire time. Maybe for a week she could. Dungeon is big. It's dark. Monsters don't like light, will attack it. No doors to close. Hard to cook monsters without attracting more. No drinking water. Just salt water. Two months..."
He wheezed. "Two months, impossible. Record before surge... was three weeks. Will take you years to search too. Sorry Princess."
For a moment there was explosive silence from everyone. The princess herself was frozen in place. She reached for something and Corvayne, despite himself, moved to be ready to stop her.
Instead of whatever he feared, Bell pulled one of her own potions out and set it on the table next to him. "You did not lie and sugar coat it." Her eyes were watering as she stood up and strode out of the room. Corky looked at everyone with the unspoken 'I told you so' clear on his face. Then he mouthed it, to make it extra clear.
Corvayne did not punch Corky despite a clear desire to do so, instead striding after Bell, with Lady Blood Claw following. He wasn't quite set on what to say, as he was hoping that the moment Bell faced reality would be at least half a day away. He'd probably just go with a Watcher's assurance that when someone is fighting to protect others, those who live past them light death's long shadows. Corvayne always knew that it was the same sort of thing that 'A spear always moves forward' was, but he could pair it with an offer to sit vigil for something that would represent her remains.
The sky had turned redish since they landed, and lamps were coming on in town as the mountain at the center of the island and trees turned to black outlines against the blazing sky. Bell wordlessly turned to him and he pulled her into a hug, recited words and offers dying before he spoke.
He could see past Bell's head that Lady Blood Claw was leaning against the far wall, perhaps waiting for the princess in his arms to stop quietly sobbing. He caught her eye, and she nodded at him, glancing over to her nearly invisible squid who was peeing. He couldn't see her skin color, though there was a sort of swirling black pattern he had never seen before. Perhaps something like grim approval? He resisted the urge to open [[Unity]] up more, but still got through his ever improving emotional shield that she thought he was doing something right.
Corvayne's other side was getting scraped by the anguish rolling off the little woman in his arms, and Bell squeezed him harder. He felt extremely guilty that while his own tears were starting to form at her losing her daughter, he was also keenly aware of how close she was. He looked up at the red edge of the dungeon cloud as it caught the setting sun, and thought about painting it to help keep his feelings in check.
He was searching the sky for other future paintings (really, distractions) when, as if summoned by his need, a bright light flashed into his eyes. He took an arm off Bell's back and shaded his eyes. She recoiled as well, stumbling a moment before Corvayne caught her with his other arm.
Glowing above them was the gleaming UFO they had seen when they first arrived on Nel'Feral. The disk was spinning above him, glittering like a billion of Wick's super flashlights blasting out of a billion sided diamond, but somehow focused on just them. Bell was looking up, gaping like a fish with every feature of her either blazing white or pitch black.
Corvayne watched as the light blinked then dimmed, leaving them in stark darkness as he tried to blink his eyes back to working. The light flared up a ways away and above then flew in a skipping stone motion in one direction, then stopped. It came back slowly, then dashed the same direction, stopped instantly, then flipped up and down. [[Understanding]] gave him the impression that it was telling him, in it's own way, 'come on!'.
He was also nearly sure as well that it was talking to him. A shadow limb curled out of him and gestured at it. Yes yes. Corvayne didn't need two UFOs to figure it out.
"When we went to the source, we were following it." Corvayne explained to Bell, and while he didn't want to get Bell's hopes up, looking back at the UFO he saw that it wasn't forming a line directly to the center of the cloud. At the source, they were not flying when they followed it, and lost it at the village. But... it had vanished near the Apex of the stone structure, and thus might have known the back door there.
So... it might know a back door here, too. There might be a tower entrance in the ruins. If so, there was a chance. A small one, but if it can find the smallest gap a spear moved forward, especially if the world is pushing at your back.
He turned to Lady Blood Claw. "Get the others! We got a UFO to chase!"