After receiving word from Two-Twelve about the attack on Tobes, Dyson and I decided to hurry towards acquiring the next divine relic. The last message from Two-Twelve said the attack had ended and they were dealing with the aftermath, but the likely hood of another attack is rather high.
It has only been a few short hours since then but Dyson and his girls are prepared already to set out before daybreak. And though Dyson looks well rested and ready, his girls look less than enthusiastic about leaving bed this early.
Angela: “Once this is over, I’m going to sleep for a solid week!” –She says with a large yawn.-
Dyson: “You had the choice in sleep or other activities, and you made your choice quite clear.”
Angela: “Three hours of sleep was hardly worth it, so it only makes sense to put the time to better use…”
Desire: “But even succubi requires sleep now and then…” -She says as she yawns herself.-
Angela: “You didn’t have to participate as well.”
Desire: “And if I didn’t, there wouldn’t be anyone to keep you from going overboard.”
“As interesting as this is… We should get started just in case Two-Twelve runs into any more trouble.”
Dyson: “Agreed. Now, the next relic that I know about is quite promising, but getting there is going to be ... Tricky.”
“How so?”
Dyson: “It is owned by an old elf woman living in the forest, and the only thing she hates more than visitors, is me. I don’t expect her to try anything violent, but I wouldn't eat or drink anything she offers you.”
Angela: “Wait, are you talking about the witch in the woods? I heard one of the locals talking about her yesterday evening, after we arrived. They made her sound like some sort of monster or creature rather than a little elf…”
Dyson: “I definitely wouldn’t call her that while we are there, either.”
“So how do we get there?”
Dyson: “Unfortunately we will have to walk. After I made her mad, she started changing up random aspects of her forest to make teleporting in very tricky. I couldn’t guarantee being able to teleport in without winding up with a tree sticking out of one of us.”
“If she dislikes you that much, what makes you think she will even turn the divine relic over without a fight?”
Dyson: “Curiosity… She acquired the item that I believe is the divine relic not long after I met her the first time, and she still has yet to figure it out, and as long as it isn’t me, I am sure she would turn it over just to see what it does.”
“That sounds like a pretty big gamble.”
Dyson: “And that is why we saved this one until the last of the non-combat relics. If it doesn’t work we can always come back when you acquire a bit more power and take it by force.”
“Are you saying that we are not strong enough to take it now?”
Dyson: “She has been around for a while, and lets just say that, on her own turf, I don’t want to risk it.”
As we set out for the forest, we receive word from Two-Twelve letting us know that another wave of monsters is attacking Tobes. He seems rather confident that at the current strength of the monsters that he should be able to handle things, so we continue our trek into the forest.
The forest is quite thick, too thick. The spacing between the trees are so close together it is entirely unnatural, there are even times we have to squeeze between two tree trunks just to pass. Dyson and I aren’t having much difficulty, and Desiree has her wings tucked tightly around her so she is doing fine as well, but Angela seems to trip on every other tree root, and keeps getting her more bulky feathery wings caught on twigs and branches.
Angela: “If this elf lives in here somewhere, shouldn’t there be a path to her place?” –She says after tripping on what seems to be the hundredth tree root-
Dyson: “I warned you. She doesn’t like visitors.”
Angela: “Wouldn’t it just be easier to fly in?”
Dyson: “In addition to a few enchantments on the trees, she is sure to have defenses against reaching her house by air, especially after my last visit…”
Desiree: “What exactly did you do to her to make her hate you so much?”
Dyson: “Quite a few years ago I was tasked in taking out a few of the dungeon cores at the behest of the Dungeon Core Elders, and by sheer coincidence several of them were dungeon cores that produced elves. Dungeon cores that summon elves are few and far in-between as it is, so most elves see me as an enemy to their race.”
“That may make sense for most elves, but by the way you talk it sounds like this particular elf hates you more than most.”
Dyson: “She has called more than one dungeon home in the past, and it just so happened that two of said dungeons were ones I was tasked in taking out. In my defense, I didn’t choose the dungeons, but I still took out two different dungeon cores that had taken her in.”
Angela: “I would sooner die than see any harm come to Master, yet she survived the death of two Masters? It doesn’t seem fair that she blame you, when she should be blaming herself!”
Dyson: “They weren’t the first dungeon cores she ever lost, besides I was the one that choose to spare her life both times, and in doing so, I think that is where some of the hostility she has for me stems from.”
Desiree: “Just how many cores has she been through…?”
Dyson: “Well that I don’t know. She wasn’t the first elf ever summoned, but she is probably a close second, or maybe third.”
Angela: “One of the first? How can that be? Does she just jump from one dungeon core to the next so she doesn’t age?”
“I don’t know about her specifically, but elves have only been around as long as the dungeon cores. With their rate of growth very few have ever reached a natural death, and if you were to add years of servitude to a dungeon, that wouldn't make it that far of a stretch.”
Dyson: “That is about right. Lady Faraine, as she insists on being called, was summoned by the original Hecate, back when dungeon cores were first finding their place in the world, and she was with her all the way up until the purge. And she has since jumped around quite a few times, so there is no telling how may years Fara has left, but I would probably guess she has many years left to spare if she decides to remain unbound to a dungeon this time.”
“I see…” –Angela says before stumbling after tripping over another root.-
After Angela stops herself from falling over we continue deeper into the forest, but realize that Two-Twelve missed his check in time, so we send him a message and get no response.
“Should we turn back?”
Dyson: “The only reason I can see the failed dungeon cores not using one of their items right from the beginning is that they wanted to make sure it lasted until the end, so I would think they expect this siege to last a couple of days. Last we heard the monsters attacking Tobes were nothing they can’t handle on their own, so I think we should have enough time to finish collecting this relic before heading to Tobes to assist.”
“They should also know that he was able to send out messages about the attack beforehand as well, so they should be anticipating reinforcements. If those reinforcements don’t come then Tobes might be in danger.”
Dyson: “For all we know, the reason the failed cores haven't used one of their items until now is that got wind of what we are trying to do and they want us to abandon our search to find the relics to save Two-Twelve in a effort to slow us down, so we should at least get our hands on this divine relic first.”
“Fine, but we need to hurry, because my dungeon is there in Tobes as well, and if they know what we are doing it might not be Two-Twelve that they are after, but my dungeon instead.”
I would say we picked up the pace, but with the forest being like it is, that just isn’t really possible. After a few hours however we manage to stumble across a clearing in the forest and Angela seems greatly relieved to be able to stretch out for a minute.
The clearing is quite large, but as Dyson said, the way the trees are growing makes it impossible to see the sky above, so if you flew overhead you would never know this clearing was down here. There is also no signs of the Lady Faraine, but the clearing extends out of view.
Dyson: “Everyone be on guard, I don’t think Fara will attack outright, but that doesn’t mean she won’t send something after us either.”
We follow the clearing through the forest, and although nothing jumps out to attack us, I can’t help get the feeling that there are plenty of eyes watching us as we make our way. We are at least no longer tripping over everything so it is at least somewhat of an improvement.
It doesn’t take long until we come up on a small meadow with many kinds of flowers and herbs growing in it. Light shines down on the meadow, but with the way the trees are overhead there is no way the light is natural.
Just past the meadow lies a small cottage. Twisted trees and branches make up the support for the cottage, but unlike normal elven dwellings, instead of the walls in between being made of heavy fabric they are packed with dried mud and twigs, reinforced with magic, making the walls appear to be more sturdy then even stone or brick.
A small stream of smoke that has a purplish hue bellows out from the roof of the cottage, but it quickly dissipates before even reaching the canopy of the trees. It does however fill the area with an aromatic smell of burning herbs.
Dyson: “Well it looks like she is home, or at least was recently. There is no way that she doesn’t know we are here already, so we should go announce ourselves before she thinks we are trying to sneak around. I would also try and avoid stepping on any of the herbs or flowers, or things might become far more difficult.”
We carefully make our way around the meadow, and approach the cottage. Dyson seems to hesitate for a second, with an expression of worry on his face that is very uncharacteristic for him, as he seems to be trying to build up the courage before reaching forward and lightly knocking his knuckles on the door of the cottage, then quickly withdrawing his hand.
Both Angela and Desiree are worried after noticing how much Dyson is worrying. I on the other-hand am quite curious about this elven woman. I was never an all-knowing, or all-seeing deity, but there is wasn't much that slipped past me before becoming a dungeon core, so to find an elf that puts this kind of expression on Dyson is rather interesting.
A beautiful young elf opens the door to let us in, but her movements feel unnatural as she moves aside for us. Even though I am certainly not tall, she still reaches only up to about my chest, though that is rather typical for a normal elf. Her eyes on the other hand, are a clear giveaway, for instead of flesh and blood ones, she has shaped and polished stones in their place.
The attention to detail on the stones is enough that from a couple yards away it would be hard to tell they weren’t actual eyes, but the more you look at her, the more things you begin to notice that aren’t quite right.
Even though her light moss-colored hair looks natural at first, it is not hair at all, but some kind of reed or grass. Her skin looks flawless, soft, and silky smooth, but it and the rest of her are made from wood. Even her clothing isn’t clothing at all, but woven moss and foliage.
She doesn’t say anything, but when Dyson asks her where her mistress is, she ushers us to sit down around the large cooking pot in the center of the cottage that takes up a good bit of the cottage just on its own. It also seems to be the source of the smoke, and smell of herbs in the air.
The cottage is rather simple, consisting of only the single room. Everything held within it appears to be taken directly from the forest, even a few books that sit on one of the shelves appears to be some kind of leaves with bark serving as the binding and cover.
Dyson’s worry seems to have faded and he seems more agitated now, as he speaks out loud to no one in particular. “There is no way our arrival surprised you, so quit hiding and show yourself already!”
The surface of the large pot in front of us stirs, startling Angela and Desiree, as a small head pokes up out of herbal concoction. A petite elf makes her way out of the cauldron, the herbal concoction dripping off her, causing her bare skin to seemingly shine under the gentle artificial sunlight in the hut, a few flowers and leaves sticking to her randomly without affording her any modesty.
Her state of undress doesn’t seem to matter much to her, as she calmly picks up a towel of woven moss to start dabbing herself with it, a displeased look on her face. If the elf-looking creature that ushered us in seemed like the ideal elven beauty at first glance, then this slightly older woman would be the ideal she was poorly mimicking.
Faraine: “Leave it to Dyson to show up right in the middle of me taking a bath. What is it you have come to take from me this time?” –The elven woman says while continuing to dry herself off.-
Dyson: “You surely have known about our presence for hours. It seems more to me that you put yourself into that situation deliberately. As for why I am here, we need the heart stone.”
Faraine looked displeased with our arrival, but at the mention of the heart stone her focus of drying off one of her legs is lost as her head snaps in Dyson’s direction, and she looks shocked and hurt for a second before she resumes drying herself off.
Faraine: “Of course… You have taken everything else from me so why would I be surprised that you want that back as well.” –She says as she drops the towel unto a beautifully grown chair made of vines, trunks and leaves with tiny buds and sprouts growing at its top.-
Angela: “Want it back? You mean Master was the one that gave it to you?”
Faraine: “Just a little token of his affection…” –She says while walking in between Angela and Dyson while trying to shove Dyson back, but with their height difference she just barely manages to hit him on the stomach.-
Dyson steps to the side as Faraine walks past them picking up some of her laid out clothes, and like everything else in the home, they are either made or grown from the woodlands around the house. While she starts pulling on the clothes, she continues by saying. “I just didn’t know the cost would be so high…”
“I thought before Angela and Desiree, you only took human lovers? No wonder she hates you so much. Is there any woman from your past that isn’t a jilted lover?”
Faraine scoffs at being called Dyson’s lover and says. “Lover? That has to be a joke. Dyson isn't capable of such affection. Another notch on his belt, that is all any of his “lovers” ever amounted to.”
Angela: “That is untrue! Master would never treat us that way!”
Faraine: “Aww, to be young and ignorant again.”
Angela begins to step forward to argue again, but Dyson quickly steps forward holding her back, then interrupts by saying. “That is quite enough Fara.” -He puts an emphasis on calling her Fara which doesn't seem to go unnoticed from Faraine. He then continues.- “We didn't come for a fight, but to ask for your help. You have wanted to know the heart stone's purpose since the moment you acquired it, and I have found the one person who can tell you.”
Faraine: “And in exchange you will take it off my hands? Just what kind of fool do you take me for?”
“Dyson told me a bit about you, and he said you have taken more than a few dungeons to call your home. Now I can see why you would feel for Dyson the way you do, but do you bear all dungeons the same grudge? Because if that item is what we believe it to be, it isn't Dyson that you would be saving, but my dungeon, and at bare minimum at least one more.”
Faraine: “If that is the case show me how to wield it, and I will forget the fact that Dyson brought you here, and will help your dungeon myself. But if it it's enough to make Dyson come begging for, I am not about to turn it over to anyone.”
“It isn't that simple... It isn't some weapon that can be wielded. But if you could let me see it I can at least tell you if it is what we think it is, and the conversation can go on or we can leave.”
Faraine: “I don't take you for being one of Dyson's girls... And if you are not one of his girls and you are still stomaching being around him for any length of time. Then maybe this is as important as you say...”
Faraine is good... Without even making the slightest gesture she seems to be trying to gather information about me with magic from the moment she stepped out of the cauldron. I don't know how thorough her magic is, but it appears she has either learned all she can or has found out what she wanted to know because her magic ceases.
Faraine: “Fine... I will allow you to see it, but I still do not trust Dyson, so him and his things can wait outside.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Angela appears like she wants to argue, but Dyson leads her and Desiree out of the door without saying a word. This seems to peak Faraine's interest and she nods her head causing the woman/creature that led us into the house to step forward.
Faraine reaches forward sliding her hand under the moss/foliage making up the woman/creatures attire, but she keeps reaching forward until she is buried elbow deep. She seems to be rooting around inside of the woman/creatures body before she finally seems to find what she is looking for as she starts to pull her arm back out.
The entire spectacle takes less then a few seconds and the woman/creature didn't even bat an eye through any of it. When Faraine withdraws her hand from under the woman/creature's clothing her hand is filled with what looks to be a human heart, with the one exception that it has a gentle glow, and appears to be solid stone.
Once the stone is free from the woman/creature, Faraine makes a quick motion with her head and the woman/creature heads out the door to join Dyson and the others.
Dyson may have been right on his assumption that this item was indeed a divine relic, as I already have a good idea exactly what it might be, but unless Faraine allows me to hold it I can't be certain.
Faraine: “Well here it is... Now can you tell me exactly what it is and what it is you intend to do with it?”
Two-Twelve PoV
“Alright everyone, so far the dungeon itself has yet to be put at risk, but we have to hold our ground until the remaining townsfolk make it to safety. I am not going to lie and say things are looking good, but we have a job to do and we have to do it well for those we care about." - he looks around, then continues - "Once the townsfolk are safe, those who have not already done so will retreat to the dungeon, and depending on the monster's response, we will decide on what our next course of action will be.”
Lilah: “No need to worry Master, Lilah will not let you down!”
Once this battle is over, more than a few of the townsfolk have seen things that would lead to questions about myself and the dungeon, but that won't even matter if we don't live through this ordeal. So I have decided to no longer hold anything back.
I don't have much xp remaining due to summoning monsters left and right for the last few hours and the fact these enemy monsters are not producing the xp that they should. So I can't really afford to create walls blocking off the Mage's Guild completely, but I should be able to at least make some walls blocking off some of the monsters and funneling the rest to allow us more time for the townsfolk to escape.
After accessing [Menu], I start creating massive walls that extend far into the sky. Most of the townsfolk are busy trying to flee, but the walls are not exactly quiet as they crash through some of the remaining buildings and burning rubble that make up the remains of Tobes, causing many of the townsfolk that remain in the back of the group to notice their sudden appearance.
I remember a while back commenting on how cheap building rooms is compared to summoning monsters, but with the state of our xp, and the compound cost of summoning the walls high enough to affect the flying monsters as well, I summon far fewer walls than I would have liked to.
It doesn't seem to slow the monsters down any, but it does cause a bit of a bottleneck to help us deal with them. Some of the flying monsters still go over the walls, but it takes far more time then just funneling through the wall, so most of them are bottle-necked as well.
That proves to be quite lucky, because with the few fliers we have on our side, sending them into the air would be suicide, so they fight along the ground with the rest of us.
After an hour and a half we are still managing to hold the line rather well, but as the evacuation continues and the crowd outside of the Mage's Guild begins to shrink we are left with less people picking off the injured and stragglers, so we have to be certain we finish off any monster we down causing us to spend a bit more time which in turn causes us to loose ground.
Just after the two hour mark a few monsters manage to get by us and they get a hold of several of the townsfolk. We quickly deal with the monsters, but not before the last of the remaining townsfolk that remain outside panic, and cause even more damage than what the monsters did.
They force their way into the Mage's Guild trampling several people in the process, and while I am quickly trying to calm the townsfolk down I hear someone cry out from the front line.
“Lynx!” -The panic voice calls out.-
Several of the townsfolk were killed in the panic, but the last of them have managed to enter the interior of the Mage's Guild. I can seal off the tunnel once everyone enters it, but with the amount of people still in the Mage's Guild, that will still take at least another hour or two, so I return to the front-line to find out exactly what happened.
I find several of the members of Poppy's group with tears in their eyes as they fight back the monsters. They don't have the luxury of being able to mourn their fallen comrade lying among the rest of the bodies on the ground.
“What happened?” -I say while rejoining the fight.-
Poppy: “It was my fault... The townsfolk screamed and I lost concentration.”
Reti: “It's nobody's fault. We all lost concentration...” -She says wiping a few tears from the face and casting another spell into the monsters.-
We have lost more than a few members of our dungeon since the battle began, but this is the first loss Poppy's group has faced, and their morale is shot. Poppy's group makes up a quarter of our current fighting group, so to say things get much more difficult, would be an understatement.
“All of the townsfolk have made it inside the Mage's Guild, so we just have to hold out a little while longer!” -I call out as encouragement, but it falls on deaf ears as we can see that even stronger monsters are entering the bottleneck.-
We manage to hold out another thirty minutes, but then we lose Isi, the avian from Poppy's group. I decide it is too dangerous now for the newer members of our dungeon to continue fighting and send them inside the Mage's Guild to be the rear guard for the evacuating townsfolk.
Lilah has been with me a long time, but she has only recently begun training her combat skills, so I try to send her on as well but she firmly refuses.
Lilah: “Lilah isn't leaving Master's side! If Lilah dies then so be it, but...” -She however is cut off while a large creature comes barreling out of the sky crashing between us causing her to quickly scream- “Watch out!”
It surprised us for sure, and we almost attacked it, but we quickly realized it isn't an enemy, but one of the griffons we had written off hours ago. It doesn't really help us much because it has sustained enough wounds that it died almost as soon as it touched down.
The griffon however wasn't alone, off of its back slide four figures that we didn't exactly write off, but wasn't sure if they were still alive or not, either.
“Azami! You all made it!” -I say as Lele, Lala, and Moss join in with the others fighting the monsters while Azami approaches me.-
Azami: “I found the source of the monsters, however you are not going to like it... The monsters attacking Tobes are coming from the dungeon, our dungeon...”
“Thats...” -Impossible, I was about to say, but with the new floors and monsters in Madam Erin's dungeon I switch to saying.- “Are you sure? Some of these monsters that have begun to show up are monsters we can't even summon.”
Azami: “We found a few cave openings in which the monsters were pouring out of. We then traced one of the caves back to the dungeon, so we are fairly confident the others will lead back to the dungeon as well.”
While talking Azami begins to use her magic causing vines to extend from the ground. The vines wrap around some of the monster corpses and the rubble from the buildings, binding them together to make her spriggans which begin fighting as soon as they are complete.
These spriggans are haphazardly thrown together and quite grotesque, compared to the ones she has been making lately that could almost pass as some type of demi-human, but every bit of combat strength helps at this point.
With the help of Azami's spriggans, we are not exactly out of the woods yet, but once she manages to put together a dozen of them it gives me a chance to think about what what the meaning of her words is.
“If they are coming from the dungeon we have to find a way to stop them... I doubt we would be able to break down the caves ourselves, but if we managed to find the rooms they are attached to, then perhaps we could break those down, and cut the caves off from the dungeon itself.”
Lilah: “If there was plenty of time that may work, but even if they are detached from the dungeon it could take days or weeks for the detached caves to deteriorate, and there is nothing stopping the monsters from continuing to spawn until then. Not to mention the fact, who ever put them there, added them to Master's dungeon, so who is to say they couldn't create more rooms to reattach them.”
“We have to try something, because who knows what will happen once the townsfolk manage to completely evacuate... Will the monsters then turn their focus on the dungeons, or what...?”
Sofia: “I think if they wanted to attack the dungeons themselves they would have done so already. Last we checked they haven't done anything to the dungeon up in the mountain, and they burned all the equipment and furniture in Ceres's university, but once that was done they have pretty much avoided it ever since.”
“Either way, I think the result will be the same... With the state of our xp and without the income from the townsfolk we won't be able to meet the xp consumption for three maybe four days tops before we will be forced to break parts of the dungeon down just to meet the consumption rate.”
Bell: “I don't think that is the only issue either. I heard more then a few of the townsfolk talking about your relationship to the dungeon, and after everything that has happened today I don't think we are going to ever be able to get things back to the way they were before.”
“That can be tomorrow's problem... We have to live through today first.”
“Maybe I can help with that.” -A voice rings out behind me that I immediately recognize.-
I quickly turn to find Dyson, Desiree, Angela and two elves that at first glance look like twins, though there's something wrong with one of them, but I can't put my finger on it because I am quickly distracted by the last member of their group. The voice that called out was that of Ceres, but the only other person in their group easily stands a head taller than Dyson.
Everything about the tall woman is an aberration. With burning red hair that makes even Belinda's hair looks pale by comparison, the tips of which actually flicker like flames. The woman's skin is almost ghostly pale, yet the outer edge of the iris of her eyes is pitch black with the rest of it an intense purple color that would put an amethyst to shame. Even the woman's ears, which are the shape of an elf's ear are three times longer in proportion to her head. The woman's clothes however are reminiscent of the clothing Ceres typically wears.
The woman then speaks with Ceres's voice which clearly doesn't fit her appearance. “You keep leering at me like that and I will tell your wife.”
“Ceres...?”
Ceres: “Yes, yes... A side effect, albeit a temporary one.” -She says while looking at her own hand.- “The appearance isn't the only temporary thing however, so we need to act quickly. By the look of things everyone is fleeing somewhere under the Mage's Guild, so I need you to drop those dungeon walls you have standing out there and build one between me and the Mage's Guild. Just make sure it is huge, and everyone but me is on the Mage's Guild side of it.”
“What are you going to do?”
Ceres: “There isn't time! Just hurry.”
I quickly have everyone fall back and use [Menu] to break down the walls I placed out in the town, I then make a new one with a half dome shape separating us from the changed Ceres.
“What exactly is going on?” -I ask Dyson, but before he answers the ground starts to shake.-
The ground starts violently shaking making even the magically reinforced walls of the Mage's guild start to crack and sway. Those of us that manage to keep to our feet are quickly assaulted by bright light and intense heat.
The half dome wall I summoned almost butted right up against the Mage's Guild, which should of left us in the dark, but enough light and heat is coming through the small gap that even cupping my hands over my eyes doesn't seem to help the light from hurting my eyes.
Next is a massive wave the causes me to fly through the air, I don't know how far because the blinding light is burning my eyes, and once I hit the ground I can do nothing but curl up in the fetal position on the ground and wait for it to be over.
Between the blinding light, shaking ground, and a sound that is like that of a dragon on either side of your head roaring in your ears, it feels like it goes on forever. But eventually the ground starts to quit shaking, the light begins to dim, and the sound mellows out.
I lay there for a while longer, but I can't tell you if it is a couple seconds, or a couple minutes, but when I finally stagger to my feet, the ordeal is finally over. My eyes are having a hard time adjusting now, and even though the sound has stopped there is a loud ringing in my ears.
The wall I made is still standing, and it looks like it shielded some of the Mage's Guild structure, but much of the rest is now just completely gone. I quickly stagger to the door to check on the townsfolk that were still evacuating, and even though there does appear to be some casualties, most are curled up on the floor in the fetal position just like I was.
I turn and use [Menu] to remove the half-dome wall, and on the other side is nothing...
The rubble from the buildings, and the few buildings that were still standing... There is no trace of them. Further away I can make out the buildings that made up Ceres's university, but the forest is gone... Even towards the mountain the entire landscape is completely different.
I look towards where Ceres is standing and she is down on one knee. She reaches up pulling large chunks of the red hair from her head leaving her normal pink hair exposed underneath, and as she stands up her height has seemed to return almost completely to normal.
I call out her name in what I swore was a shout, but it barely sounds like a whisper over the ringing in my ears. She turns, walks over to me, and casts a healing spell on me causing the ringing in my ears to subside and my vision to clear up.
“What!... Was that?” -I start to shout, but quickly lower my voice by the time I finish.-
Ceres still has a purple hue to her eyes but the rest of her is almost completely back to normal. She places her hand on my shoulder and says. “I'm sure the others need healing as well, lets fix them up, and we will catch up later...”
I nod and we start to move around casting healing spells on everyone, and even Dyson didn't escape the ordeal without feeling the effects as much as I did. If anything his skills making his senses better than mine, might of actually made him suffer more damage.
“That dealt with all the monsters, but more will probably just spawn in now.”
Ceres: “I don't think so, that blast not only got rid of the monsters, but I sensed that I took out several people that were hiding out in the forest as well as a dungeon core.”
“Are you sure they weren't some of the townsfolk that just got lost and was trying to escape though the forest?”
Ceres: “As sure as I can be. Hopefully that puts a big enough scare into them that it buys us a bit more time. Unfortunately I just used up most of the power I had gathered the last few days, and the rest will only last another day or two, but I did I find out where we need to go next, and we are going to have to move quick.”
After healing the elf that came along with Dyson and Ceres I check on the other one but it looks dead.
“I'm sorry it looks like she didn't make it...”
The elf shrugs it off and says. “A lot of rare minerals went into her creation, but I should be able to fix her up in no time.” -She then turns to Ceres and says.- “That was even more incredible then you said it would be, although I was expecting it to work more then once...”
Ceres: “That was because it wasn't my power to begin with. I am sure it returned to the source now instead of being trapped in that item. I managed to save some of the energy, but I won't be able to hold on to it for more then a few days, so I will have to use the rest of it by then.”
“I see...” -The elf says with disappointment. She then moves over to examine the corpse of her companion.
Once everyone here is healed up we move inside and start healing the townsfolk that hadn't yet evacuated. Many of which only sink into despair once they realize the crumbling building around them is the Mage's Guild, and the empty plain outside is what used to be Tobes and the forest.
“Alright everyone, you can continue to evacuate though the tunnel to join the others heading for the capital or you can stay behind. We are not completely sure the danger is over, but so far it looks like it has passed. If you decide to stay we will make sure you have the supplies you need until you make up your minds on what you want to do next.”
To no surprise after my address to the townsfolk many don't even stick around to think about it before heading down into the tunnel. Once I make sure those who are still alive are alright, I notice I have received several messages.
The traitor's item should be preventing any messages, but I have received a message about a dungeon core dying that I have never met before, and a panicked message from Belinda.
Belinda: “I know you probably can't see this, but I don't know what else to do. Those who are bound to the dungeon are still alive, so I know you must be as well, but there was a huge explosion towards Tobes... It was so large we felt the heat from here...Please come back to me Two-Twelve...”
I don't really know how to explain what happened so I just send her a message back saying. “We are fine, the last of the townsfolk have headed into the tunnel. We believe the attack is over, but there is nothing left here for anyone, so just continue to lead them to the capital. Once I know more I will let you know. Tell Rory I love her, and I love you too.”
We have spent all day fighting, the entire town and forest have been wiped out of existence, but there is still too much to do to be able to rest. After using up my magic healing people I don't have enough to use [Gate] but since I can send messages I try [Blink] and it works, so it seems even the effect of the item was wiped out...
I continue to send messages back and forth with Belinda while coordinating with those still here. The small handful of townsfolk that did decide to stay behind had lots of questions, but we couldn't really answer them right now. For now we just set them up in several of the university buildings and made sure they had the supplies they needed.
Ceres told me she had to eat some old dead god's heart that she got from the elven woman that came along with them, and that was where she got the power, but there seems to be some kind of deal between the elven woman and Ceres that she isn't revealing.
It is starting to get late and the sun is beginning to set but we walk what used to be Tobes just to see what is left... The entire town is just gone... There is nothing left larger than a fist, the only things left are the few underground passages that we made for the dwarves, but they are practically left in the open now that the buildings they were hidden in are now completely gone.
My imitation crystal was in one of the tunnels along with a pair of minotaurs I had guarding it, and just so the townsfolk that did stick around accidentally find the tunnels I put the imitation crystal and the minotaurs in one of the side doors and lock it.
My actual dungeon has come through this pretty much unscathed, but several of the walls that were buried deep in the mountain are now uncovered. They can't be destroyed from either side, so I don't think it will hurt anything, but it does show you just how deep the dungeon has gone into the mountain.
Once I check out my dungeon, and Ceres checks out hers we gather at a camp fire outside one of the university buildings to discuss what comes next.
Ceres: “Everyone has had a long day, and after using that much power in one sitting even I need to take a rest, so the only thing we can do is rest till morning and hope that attack was enough to frighten off the failed dungeon cores at least till then.”
Lilah: “Lilah is going to go to the dungeon core room and keep an eye on the dungeon.”
“You have done just as much as everyone else, so you need to rest as well.”
Lilah: “All the others are gone Lilah is the only one left to protect the dungeon, so Lilah must protect the dungeon.”
“You can set [Menu] to wake you up if something happens, but promise me you will at least get some sleep?”
Lilah: “Yes, Master.” -She says before walking out away from the fire. She has to check several times, because the border between the dungeons is harder to tell without any landmarks, but she eventually transfers out, disappearing from view.-
Ceres: “Dyson, they have made no attempts on your dungeon yet, but perhaps you three should head back and make sure. We can meet back here first thing in the morning, and that way the rest of us can get some sleep without all the racket...”
Dyson: “If they attack again we might not be able to teleport back.”
Ceres: “After these last few days traveling with you three, trust me, it is a risk I am willing to take...”
Angela pulls on Dyson's arm and whispers in his ear, Desiree is standing on the other side of Dyson yawning, but after Angela says something to Dyson that even my ears can't pick up, it catches Desiree's attention. Dyson nods, and Desiree grabs Dyson's other arm and with a simple. “See you in the morning.” from Dyson the three of them teleport away.
Ceres: “I am going to take Faraine somewhere she can sleep in peace, then I want to speak with you for a minute before we go to bed, is that alright?” -She asks me.-
Lala: “Moss, your bed is gone now, so you can share with Lele and me!”
“With all the other bunnies helping with the evacuation there are plenty of beds to go around in the dungeon core room, so Moss can pick any other bed to sleep in. The rest of you should probably transfer to the dungeon core room and get some rest as well.”
The others nod and start preparing to head to bed. Sofia has to nudge Bell who fell asleep resting her head on Sofia's shoulder, Bell wakes up quite embarrassed, apologizing at least a dozen times before they cross the threshold between the dungeons and transferring out.
My muscles are pretty sore and my magic regain has practically reached a standstill, but I told Ceres I would wait, so I stir a stick in the fire while I wait for her. I don't have to wait long before she returns however.
Ceres: “Sorry, I know you are probably exhausted, but I wanted to talk to you about Faraine, without her or Dyson overhearing.”
“Alright...”
Ceres: “First of all she has been around a long time, and she would be a valuable ally to have. Dyson and her have a rocky past, but I am sure that is something that even if they can't work though they can at least work around.”
“Ok, so whats the problem?”
Ceres: “Well I know I should have asked before making the promise, but with communication being blocked, and our desperate need for Qryara's heart, I promised her we would make her a dungeon core in exchange for the divine relic.”
“We don't know what is going to happen next, and I would like to hold on to as many Justicar points as I possible can, but as long as you think she can be trusted I think the cost would be worth the divine relic, even if we didn't get to use it in a better way.”
Ceres: “That's the thing... I didn't get much chance to speak with her, and with her past with Dyson I could really see why she would sympathize with the failed dungeon cores, so it is quite risky making her a dungeon core. Especially even without being a dungeon core Dyson was afraid of fighting her on her turf as it is.”
“When did you promise her we would make her a dungeon core?”
Ceres: “I didn't say when, but I am sure she assumed it would be soon. I just don't want to wait too long and make a enemy of her, we can't afford having someone strong enough to worry Dyson, join the failed dungeon cores.”
“Once she does become a dungeon core she will have to protect her dungeon, so if we can have her help us for a little bit it may be helpful, but I don't want her to think we are stringing her along either. If we can at least get Madam Erin back before we do it I would feel much better.”
Ceres: “After I absorbed Qryara's heart, finding Madam Erin was the first thing I tried to do, and I am pretty sure I know where she is. After using as much power as I did however, I don't think I can reach her, but I think I know how we can. If it works we should have Madam Erin home by tomorrow.”
“I really hope so...”
Ceres: “Well get some rest, and we will figure it out in the morning.”
I nod and bid Ceres a good night before heading to the dungeon core room to sleep, but not before sending Belinda a message, wishing her a good night.