Marcus came out of the portal the last. The others had already walked through. Marcus looked around. They were in Cosolaris, a town near the Gunin mountain range.
Marcus remarked to Kyrie, “Cosolaris. Just a co away from Solaris. What do you say?”
Kyrie said, “Are you referring that Solaris and Cosolaris are similar sounding and the only difference between them are the two letters forming co.”
“Yes.”
“And the way you said it, you find this funny.”
“Somehow I do.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Tanniv asked everyone to get a move on and they did. The champions, their teammates, Marcus and Kyrie exited the building containing the portal.
Tamara said, “Alright. First we take some rest. Talk to some locals. Find out the nearest entrance to get us inside the Gunin mountain range. Then we set out tomorrow.”
Marcus said, “I already sent you several entrances. Did you not read the files I sent you? It contains a lot of information summarized regarding the Gunin mountain range, the entrances to the mountain range, the enemies in the area surrounding the range and what we could potentially expect in the mountain range.
Tamara and Tanniv stared at Marcus. The others did the same too. Kyrie was however unperturbed. She did not say anything.
Tamara said, “Did you send these files to everyone?”
“Yes”, came several replies.
Tamara glared at her teammates. Tanniv looked as if he was going to laugh.
Tamara glared at him next and said, “Do not laugh. You have not read them either.”
Marcus said, “It won’t take much time. Two to three hours max.”
Tamara said, “New plan. Those who have not read Marcus’ files, read them. Kindly raise your hands if you have read them.”
All the celestials raised their hands along with Selena and The Bloody Hounds.
Tamara said, “Congratulations. Selena, please go and find us a good inn to stay for the night.”
“It is in a file”, Marcus tried to say something but stopped when Tamara glared at him.
Tamara said with clenched teeth, “Selena will take care of it. The rest, please go around and interact with the locals. Find out a good nearby entrance. Validate Marcus’ research.”
Kyrie asked, “What should we do?”
Tamara said, “Have you read Marcus’ research?”
“Yes.”
“Then you form a part of the people who would go and interact with the local populace. Don’t go looking for an arena. There is none here. I know that much.”
“And what about me?” asked Marcus.
“You go with Selena”, said Tanniv before Tamara could hit him. It looked as if Tamara did want to hit Marcus. Marcus did not understand why.
Selena grabbed Marcus and sort of dragged him away from Tamara. The others dispersed too.
Marcus said, “What’s her problem?”
“You sort of undermined her authority when you told her about the files and also made her look bad when you asked her whether she had read them or not”, said Selena, “She is fun and all but does have an ego. Also, I think she was caught unaware that anyone could research something and prepare a summarized version. No adventurer I have heard of does this. Not even those belonging to The Librarian faction. I mean, they interact with people, do quests and get their information from primary sources. I don’t think I have seen anyone spend as much time in the library as you do. I mean I tried to contact you the last two weeks. Everytime I did you were in the library. Did you spend all your time there?”
Marcus shrugged, “It is good to be prepared. And I do like to read. A lot.”
Selena laughed, “I can tell.”
There were five inns in the town. Marcus had read about them. All of them were good. However, the inn named The Mountain’s Shadow was near the edge of the town. Marcus considered it to be a good choice as they could take the route out of the town from this inn towards one of the entrances of the Gunin mountain range.
Marcus and Selena visited the inn and confirmed the room bookings for all of their team members. After that they sat in the common room.
“What are you going to do now?” asked Selena.
Marcus said, “Well, we have till tomorrow. I do not feel like interacting with people asking them to validate what I already know. I could go to the library.”
Selena rolled her eyes, “Do you want to do a quest? A small one?”
Marcus said, “Okay. Let me message Kyrie. She can join us.”
Selena did not say anything for some time. Then she said, “Kyrie might be busy. Tamara did ask her to ask around.”
“I know Kyrie. Without an arena she would get bored. She would not be asking around much. However, I have a feeling she would be looking for a natural water source. That would make sense. It would be good not to disturb her then.”
Selena looked pleased somehow at that statement. She said, “So, a small quest then?”
Marcus stood up and Selena followed him out of the inn. They went to the adventurer’s guild in Cosolaris and looked at the quest board.
Marcus had hardly scanned the board when Selena cried out grabbing his arm, “Aha! I have found the perfect quest we can do.”
Marcus looked at the quest Selena was pointing at and then looked at her.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
Selena said, “What’s wrong with it?”
Marcus said, “That is a quest for collecting flowers.”
“Sure. It will start that way. But trust me, it will evolve into something else when we have progressed.”
Marcus was doubtful and Selena said, “Oh, come on. Don’t be a spoilsport. It looks like a quest which we can easily finish today. We don’t have much time to do quests which are long or would span over a few days. Come on. Let’s go meet this quest giver.”
As Marcus let himself be dragged out of the guild, he wondered, what the fuck had he gotten himself into?
***
A river lay about 10 kilometers South of Cosolaris. Kyrie took Nalana to the river. She thought that she would have her monthly dip today as she did not know how much time she would be spending in the caverns of Gunin mountain range searching for the spell for the champions.
Tamara had asked Kyrie to ask around but she did not want to. A natural water source sounded a better option to Kyrie. The river flowed from Gunin mountain range and it ran South till it met the ocean. It was not the Genlin river but a river called Gintap.
The water was refreshing and Kyrie felt content simply floating along the flow of the water. She was thinking about the expedition and was considering the possibilities as to why Marcus and her were asked to join the expedition. It did not make sense to Kyrie.
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She floated for hours. She decided to spend the night along the river. She will go back tomorrow.
Kyrie heard a splash and looked up. She stood up and walked towards the bank while looking around for the source of splash. A water nymph rose out of the river.
“Kyrie”, shouted the water nymph, “Oh goddess. Is it you Kyrie?”
Kyrie looked at the water nymph who had risen out of the water and gave a shout of joy.
“Wanda. Wanda. Oh goddess. Wanda. It's you. How… What… How… what… Oh dear, I can’t believe it.”
The two water nymphs hugged. Wanda Swiftcurrent was the best friend of Kyrie in her home world. When she had left Tarados, she had never expected to see any of her family or friends. And yet, here was Wanda.
“How are you here?” asked Kyrie.
Wanda said, “I just sort of followed you here.”
“What do you mean?”
Wanda said, “After you left, a few weeks later, Thynus died.”
“Oh no”, Kyrie gasped. Thynus was Wanda’s mate. They were inseparable. Thynus died and Kyrie had not been there for Wanda. She could not bear to think about it.
“How did he die?” Kyrie asked.
Kyrie could see that Wanda was already tearing up. Wanda tried to say something but a sob escaped her. Kyrie already had her friend in her arms and was consoling her.
Kyrie said, “I am sorry. It is alright if you are not ready to speak about it yet.”
Wanda shook her head through the tears. She said, “You deserve to know Kyrie. He died from the dissolution.”
Dissolution was a terrible disease that water nymphs faced. Many water nymph healers had studied but had not understood the cause of the disease. A water nymph afflicted with dissolution would simply lose their form and become purely water, mixing and flowing away with a water source. There was no cure for the disease either. The only silver lining was that it affected about one in a hundred thousand water nymphs.
Kyrie was shocked to learn about Thynus’ fate. Kyrie said, “I am sorry. I don’t know what to say other than I should have been there for you.”
Wanda wiped her eyes and said, “This was a few months ago. Well, months according to Tarados time. Here the calendar system is a bit different. I am still learning.”
Kyrie said, “Yes. But you still did not tell me how you came to Una.”
Wanda gulped and said, “After Thynus’ death, I thought about my future. My family helped me but it was still tough. I thought about you at that time. I thought coming to Una would help. A new start. A fresh start. I know the idea seemed foolish and my family did discourage me but I had made my decision. I contacted the officials on Tarados. You know, the ones you had connected with. I took their help and came to Una. It has been only a month, Una time, that I have been here. I knew you were here but I did not know how to contact you. I mean the magic and technology of this place are amazing and as I said, I am still learning. Also, I am a non adventurer. I don’t think I can ever take up a weapon like you did.”
Kyrie said, “Are you living alone here? Or did you join a group?”
Wanda smiled and said, “Would like to meet my group. We even have a high priest. It is not far. The Gintap flows up to the ocean but at a place the water coalesces to form a small lake. We live there. It is about an hour of swimming away.”
Kyrie agreed and the friends swam to where Wanda was talking about. Kyrie was happy to find another group of water nymphs on Una. She stayed with them that night. She saw that her friend was already comfortable amongst the group and had become an integral part in such a short time. She was happy for Wanda.
Kyrie and Wanda talked long that night with Kyrie primarily regaling her time spent on Una. Wanda also talked about her time on Una but she did not have much to share. Kyrie also asked about how her family was doing back on Tarados.
Wanda said, “They were sad to see you go but they were doing well when I left. They did come to say goodbye to me. They told me that if I encountered you then I should tell you that they loved you and you shall always have a home with them if you ever plan on going back to Tarados.”
Kyrie sniffed and nodded. She blinked the tears away. She would not cry. She had made a decision. She would follow it through.
They also talked about what Kyrie was doing on Filinile. Wanda looked concerned but Kyrie assured her friend that dying was not the same for an adventurer and a non adventurer. Wanda was still entirely convinced though, Kyrie could see that.
The next morning, Kyrie woke up fresh and happy. She said goodbye to Wanda and promised to visit her again and as much as possible. Kyrie would definitely like to visit her. Kyrie also promised to bring Marcus to meet Wanda. Wanda was fascinated with the research oriented teammate of Kyrie.
After Kyrie had swam some distance, she saw the high priest waiting for her. Kyrie got out of the river and greeted the high priest Tormall Currentwave.
Tormall said, “I heard some of your conversation with your friend. I am sorry. We wanted to give you privacy, especially for Wanda’s sake, but our curiosity got the better of us in certain cases.
Kyrie said, “There is no need to apologize. We do not have secrets.”
Tormall said, “That may be so. I actually came to warn you. A great darkness has spread amongst the waters of Genlin river which originates from a valley in the Gunin mountain range. One of our nymphs had once gone to visit the place only to come back scared out of his mind. I believe it is the work of a demon lord. I wish to warn you. If you are going into the caverns inside the mountains, you may face a demon lord. Moreover, it is also possible that there are two demon lords, one inside the mountain and one in the valley. But I am not sure.”
Kyrie was thoughtful. Then she said, “Thank you for your warning. I shall pass it on to my team members.”
Then Kyrie said farewell to the high priest Tormall and swam to a point which was near to Cosolaris. From there she flew on Nalana to the town. As she flew she thought about Tormall’s warning. Things were about to get complicated.
***
Kyrie was late. Marcus thought about it. She had never been late earlier. But today, they were all waiting for her just outside the town exit. It had been an hour now. The others had varied expressions on their faces ranging from concerned to irritated. They had already asked Marcus and Marcus had messaged Kyrie to which she had replied that she was on her way and she had something important to discuss. That may be the reason for her lateness.
Marcus looked around and his eyes fell on Selena. Selena was looking at him too. She smiled and waved when he looked at her. Marcus returned the gesture. He thought about the quest yesterday. It was boring. It had been just as described. Picking up flowers. It evolved into nothing. However, Marcus had a suspicion that Selena had asked him out on a date of sorts. He wondered about that. Did he want to be dating right now?
A cry sounded from above and they all looked up. Kyrie descended on Nalana. Kyrie landed a few feet away from the assembled group but did not dismiss Nalana. Marcus knew why. They would after all be going to the entrance by their mounts.
“You are late”, said Tamara as Kyrie landed.
Kyrie said, “I am sorry but I have news.”
Kyrie told them about her encounter with the water nymphs and her conversation with the high priest.
Tamara said, “So, we would be facing at least one demon lord and there is a possibility of there being two of them. Gorking perfect. At least we are forewarned. I expected something major. Demon lord is major.”
Tanniv said, “We can handle a demon lord. Although, I wonder, which demon lord would it be.”
Tamara said, “Does not matter for now. Let’s go and see then. Mount up people. We are leaving.”
Everyone summoned their mounts. They all had mechanical bipeds as their mounts except for the nymphs Garun and Sylivianna. They had a creature whose skin seemed to be made up of bark to Marcus. It looked like a giant armadillo but instead of a snout, the head was flat and spherical.
Marcus summoned Lara and sat up on her. On Tamara’s signal everyone started towards the Gunin mountain range. Marcus and Kyrie flew low, keeping the other team members in sight.
They reached the base of the mountain range in about an hour. Even though they were not going as fast as Marcus normally went, they had been going at a considerable pace. One of the entrances which led inside the mountain was near this place.
Everyone dismissed their mounts and looked around. The entrance was not that large and easily missable. They would be going on foot for now.
The team started to walk in what Marcus considered as a slightly wrong direction. It seemed that even after reading his notes, they had not understood them completely.
Marcus tapped Selena on the shoulder and pointed in a direction which was slightly right to the direction in which they were walking.
Selena rolled her eyes and called out loud, “Tanniv, maybe we should lead Marcus lead. He seems to know the way.”
The team stopped and looked at Marcus who said, “We just need to go that way. The entrance should be straight ahead beneath a clump of trees hiding it. Not far now though.”
The team complied to what Marcus had said and they reached the clump of trees in a few minutes. In between the clump was a circular door. The door looked thick and heavy to Marcus and on it was a large circular symbol which had three smaller multi color circles. There was no handle.
Tanniv said, “We read the notes. Come on Tamara. Let’s open this.”
Tanniv and Tamara stepped into one of the multi color circles each. In the third circle stepped Shania. Marcus watched as the circles glowed and a small hole appeared in the middle. Tanniv stepped up to the hole and put his hand in. Marcus knew what he was doing as Tanniv pulled. There was a handle.
Marcus heard the sound of grinding gears and the adventurers stepped off the door as it began to slide in one direction. The door opened into darkness. The team members looked at each other and started jumping down. Tamara and Tanniv took the lead. It was a short fall to a slide which led them deep below the mountain.
Marcus was the last to jump and he activated the switch which had now appeared. It closed the gate behind them. He slid for half a minute before he shot into a chamber. The other adventurers were grumbling as he knocked right into Kyrie.
Marcus said, “I am sorry.”
Kyrie replied, “It’s alright.”
Marcus stood and looked around. He could not see anything. The chamber was dark. Suddenly there was a spark and a torch flared to light. Tamara had lighted one of the torches on a pillar and Marcus could now see some portion of the room. It was not that large a room. There was a hole behind him in the wall from which he had slid. There seemed to be many pillars and the other team members were starting to light up either the pillar torches or their magical torch.
Marcus lit up his magical torch too. It gave a cyanish glow instead of the normal yellow of fire. Kyrie did the same.
The room was at least twenty feet in length with the exit on the opposite end from where they had slid.
Tamara said, “Well guys. This is just the beginning. We know what is on the other side. Be careful.”
They all moved towards the exit. Marcus knew what was on the other side. Marcus had read about it. The adventurers had entered the bowels of the Gunin Mountain range. The adventurers had entered the ever shifting Labyrinth.