The Voidspawn returned to the depths of the sea as the Shadow Walkers trudged forward through the cold. The land was desolate. Everything was covered in snow, and the buildings constructed from stone lay half buried in the white powder. The buildings were old and dilapidated, and most were in ruin. There were no people living here.
"Is this the Northern Lands?" Raul asked.
"That’s what the Leviathan has told me in vision, yes." Brittany confirmed.
"Perhaps we should be more wary." Raul suggested, "Clearly this land once had inhabitants. Where did they all go?”
"If you ask me, it was the Leviathan." Brittany suggested, "The Leviathan probably lured the people here, and then enslaved them. And eventually he probably killed them."
"It’s a plausible theory." Raul shrugged, "So, where exactly do we go?"
"Follow me." Brittany instructed, "And stay close."
The group of Shadow Walkers followed as she led them through the city. The buildings were ancient, but the structures remained mostly intact. They passed by the ruins of a temple in front of what appeared to be a massive statue of some sort.
"What is that?" Raul asked, pointing to the statue.
"I don't know, but it appears to be depicting a giant squid." Brittany shrugged, "I've never seen anything like it before."
"But it's huge!" Raul pointed out, "It must mean something significant. Maybe that is what we're meant to find?"
"No, it’s not." Brittany shook her head, “I know what we’re looking for, and exactly where to find it.”
They kept moving, and after a time the buildings gave way to an open field of ice. What used to be a lush forest stood tall and proud, but now the trees were withered and dead.
"How far do we need to travel on land?” Raul questioned her.
“To the northwest corner of the continent.” Brittany said.
Raul scoffed, “But that could take days on foot.”
“Really?”
Brittany was surprised. The last time she had been to the remains of the legendary Tower of Babel, she had spawned fairly close to the site, so her bearings were off.
“Might I suggest something?” Raul asked.
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“Sure.”
“The Voidspawn are extremely fast on land. Maybe we could ride them to our destination?” he suggested.
“That’s a brilliant idea!” Brittany smiled, “See? That’s why I keep you around. You’re the brains of this operation.”
Brittany concentrated really hard, calling out to the Voidspawn they had left at the beach. She felt their presence deep within the ocean, but they immediately responded to her call.
They continued trudging forward until the hoard of Voidspawn arrived nearly 20 minutes later. Each of them knelt per her instruction, allowing the Shadow Walkers to mount their backs. After a few minutes, they were ready to continue their cross-country journey.
Brittany still hadn't figured out how they would get to the Northwest corner of the continent. She was certain that the Leviathan had brought them here for a reason. But what was it?
Brittany was grateful that Raul had come up with the idea to ride the Voidspawn instead of walking. She was pretty sure that if she tried to walk all the way there, it would take weeks.
"I'm glad we came up with this plan!" Raul said with excitement, "I was afraid we'd have to spend days on foot."
"Me too." Brittany replied.
***
They rode the creatures across the snowy plains, and after what seemed like half a day, they finally reached a massive wall of rock. It rose hundreds of feet into the air, and it was completely covered in ice.
"That wall isn’t a natural phenomenon." Raul said cautiously.
"I agree." Brittany nodded, "Someone clearly built it. Come on, let's find the gate."
The Shadow Walkers dismounted from the creatures, and they walked along the massive frozen wall until they found thegate. It was enormous, and about as wide as two football fields put side-by-side. It was carved directly into the stone, but it was fully intact.
"Wait." Brittany said, "Don't touch it yet. Let's try something else first."
Brittany concentrated really hard, calling out to the gate. If this was the handiwork of Leviathan, the gate should respond to her commands.
Despite her efforts, the gate didn’t budge.
"Why won't it move?" Raul wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but it's not responding to my telepathic commands." Brittany admitted, "This must not be the Leviathan’s doing."
"Well, then what is it?" Raul pressed.
"I have no idea." Brittany sighed, "Let's try pushing it open.”
They pushed as hard as they could, but the gate didn't budge an inch.
"This is bad." Raul muttered, "If it doesn't want to open, then we might have to take other measures."
"Like what?" Brittany asked.
"Well, we can always use the Voidspawn to climb over the wall." Raul suggested.
"That sounds like a terrible idea." Brittany frowned, "In fact, I think it's worse than just walking through the gate. We don't know who built this thing, and I doubt they built it to allow animals to pass through their home uninvited."
She considered for a moment, "Maybe we should summon a bunch of these creatures to fight. Or maybe we can conjure up some fire elementals to blast gate open."
"That's a good idea." Raul agreed, "But we need to hurry. I don't want to waste any more time trying to force the gate to open."
He looked back at his troops. Most were not as skilled as Raul, and their offensive capabilities were limited. But even so, they were still formidable warriors. One wrong move, and they would be slaughtered.
"You heard the woman. Let's go!" Raul ordered.
Raul manifested a massive fireball and hurled it at the gate. The massive explosion sent shockwaves throughout the area. A tremendous rumble resonated through the ground, and the sound of shattering wood echoed off the walls.
The entire gate collapsed and tumbled down the incline, toppling over the edge and crashing to the bottom of the cliff.
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