The next day, the group assembled themselves in the entrance hall to the Wandering Gate. They were accompanied by Lucas and a few of the adult ex-slaves as well as Jack, Shoam and Waiya. All of them were flanked on either side of the grand hall by a row of motionless, multi-story-tall Faceless Ones. Then, off to the side of the smooth marble wall, Gatekeeper Solutus was deeply engrossed in his book.

Allen spared a glance at Lucas and the other villagers. They seemed to be doing alright despite their situation being a little more than out of the ordinary for a group of small-town farmers. He then turned to his other side and rested a hand on Waiya’s shoulder. The golem looked back at him with an expectant smile.

“Thanks again for the healing,” Allen said, “and thanks for getting us to the gate. We’ll also need you to take the villagers back to the temple when they’re done, if you’re willing.”

Waiya recoiled slightly from the gratitude, and she probably would have blushed too if her body were capable of it. She sort of reminded Allen of the persona Amelia had used when he had first met her, only Waiya really was the shy sentimental type.

“Oh um, of course, you’re welcome… I’ll wait here” the gatekeeper replied.

Allen hummed in agreement. He watched her shuffl to the side for a moment before shifting his attention back to the massive wall of marble and the rest of the group standing in front of it. It wasn’t the only way in and out of the dungeon, but it was the only exit that could change where it opened up.

“Uh, s’what do we ‘ave ta do here, sir?” the older farmer asked, the one standing next to Lucas. The look he gave Jack was somewhere between fear and reverence; a manner of treatment that got exhausting pretty fast.

The other two freed slaves were both women in their twenties. They talked mainly with each other in hushed, somber tones. However, each of them snuck anxious glances at the Faceless Ones, as well as Phantom, who was still curled up in Amelia’s arms.

“We’re going to open the gate to your village,” Jack began. “Just place your hand on the wall and imagine you’re opening a familiar door in or around your home, then push, simple as that. Out of the four of you, at least one should get it to work. Whatever we find, we’ll work from there.”

Lucas and the other two women shared a few whispers while the old farmer sighed deeply. “Suppose I’ll give’r a go,” he replied, glumly reaching out to the wall. “I’ll be glad if there’s anythin’ more than a pile of ashes.” The man trailed off into grumbling as his knotted and calloused hand spread out against the glassy surface of polished marble.

Allen grimaced internally. “He might be right. I’ve seen too many villages burnt to the ground by raiders. There’s rarely any bodies either.” One memory in particular came to mind; a village in Gotou where Nora used to live. Small villages disappear all the time, and since everyone respawns under normal circumstances, the villagers either get rounded up to be sold into slavery, or slaughtered multiple times until they give up and flee. “There’s always a market for slaves, even in a world were a single mage can do the work of a thousand low-leveled Workers.”

Allen perked up when the marble wall rumbled once. The farmer flinched but kept his hand on the smooth surface as if it were a matter of life and death. A second passed before a door-shaped rectangle of light formed with the farmer’s hand at the center. The streak of golden light reached the floor, then the rectangle flashed for an instant with a sound like a whip cracking. The old man’s hand fell forward a few centimeters until it landed on another solid surface with a soft thud.

“First try, nice,” Jack said, clapping his hands once.

Allen blinked the light from his eyes and looked over at the weathered wooden door that was now framed in the marble wall as if it had always been there.

“That’s… that’s m’ front door.”

“Good job,” Jack said, slapping the farmer lightly on the back. Then, without a moment of hesitation, he opened the door, letting in a small breeze and a bit of rosy afternoon sunshine.

Everyone followed Jack out while Shoam stayed back to hold the door open. They found themselves in a quiet street near the edge of a tiny village nestled in at the edge of a coniferous forest. It was probably home to no more than a few hundred, though it was hard to tell with just a quick glance. The roads were cobblestone, and the buildings were a bit rustic and a bit simple, but they were sturdy and clean. Most definitely not piles of ashes. The town was actually pretty cozy and homely, if not for the complete and total silence.

Allen turned around and glanced over the small log and plaster cottage they had “walked out of.” Shoam nodded from the doorway, the comically oversized entrance hall still behind him.

“It’s a ghost town,” Christopher muttered, “I can’t sense anybody in the entire village. It’s about a kilometer to the other side and I don’t sense anything.”

“As expected,” Jack said, casually walking away from the small house, “and by ‘as expected,’ I mean what the fuck?”

“What happened here?” Ty asked nobody in particular.

There were more whispers from around the group, the ex-slaves in particular. Allen caught a concerned and inquiring look from Amelia. He thought about it for a moment, remembering a few similar situations.

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“Raiders, bandits, and the like aren’t usually this neat,” he mused. “That means this is either a trap, a coverup, or we’re dealing with professional slavers. Although, the Lanthinus company didn’t really strike me as the professional type… then again, that psychokinetic they sent after us didn’t really strike me as someone they would have access to either.”

“I don’t sense any residual or active magic either, though that could mean nothing,” Christopher said to the group.

“Phantom,” Allen whispered. The spider soundlessly and weightlessly appeared on the back of his left shoulder in less than an instant. “Check for some kind of perimeter or barrier around the town.”

Phantom chittered once and disappeared again.

“Yeah, I’m not picking up anything with my wind or shadows either,” Jack said, turning around and walking back to the cottage. “Everything inside the houses nearby seems untouched as well,” he added after a moment.

“W-where are you going?” Lucas said, half whispering out of fear for something. He turned to follow desperately after Jack, the other ex-slaves trailing behind him. “The whole village is gone!”

“Seems like it,” Jack said and paused to look back over his shoulder. “This is either some kind of elaborate set up,” he continued, motioning around vaguely, “or a dead end. Either way, it’s obviously not safe for you and those kids to be here alone. Now come on, we’re going back. Don’t worry too much though, the Spades never leave anything half finished, I promise.”

That seemed to mollify Lucas and the others for the moment. Ty and Amelia were stone-faced while Christopher seemed like he was still looking for something, Camila and Nora, on the other hand, just looked lost.

“C-can I get something from me house?” The old man asked hopefully.

Jack waved a hand. “Sure, make it quick though, and use the back door.”

The old man nodded before running off around his house. Allen raised an eyebrow towards Jack and the look he got in response was enough to tell him that the Ranger had it handled. The “I have to use the bathroom” excuse was the oldest in the book. The old man had just bought himself a side of suspicion, but perhaps that was just Allen’s paranoia.

Then Phantom suddenly reappeared on Allen’s shoulder and made a chittering sound. “Find anything,” Allen whispered. He got the mental impression of a “negative” in response, followed by playful frustration directed at him. “Yeah yeah, I’ll get my telepathy back soon.”

Allen glanced around the calm village street once more as he tried to put the pieces together. The problem was the lack of anything to work with. Then again, there was always the golden rule: the more power the enemy has, the less you’ll see of it.

“Somebody should still check out the surrounding area,” Allen said. “There could be anything. Besides, I’m starting to think Lanthinus was only a middleman, which means they might not have all the villagers.”

Christopher grunted to himself. “On a good day, I can’t sense anything more than extremely hazy presences and magic at a distance of more than a kilometer,” the professor offered, “and that’s with nothing masking or interfering with me.”

Jack stopped on the cottage stoop and tapped his foot. “That’s a good point.” He turned to Shoam and scratched the back of his head. “You should take Arrow and scout out the greater area, report anything you find via communication totem, and don’t engage… unless you want to I guess, I don’t give a shit. Save any ale you find for me though.” Then the Ranger reached inside his leather trench coat and pulled out a whole crow.

Arrow, the crow, fluttered onto the elf’s shoulder with a squawk. Shoam nodded with a silent smirk and teleported away, taking the bird with him.

Once everybody, including the old man, had reconvened at the front stoop, Jack clapped his hands again let out a resigned breath. “Right, we have other leads to follow,” he said, looking over at Allen and the others as they followed him back into the Wandering Gate.

You have entered a dungeon: The Wandering Gate

Irregular – Arcane – Level [hidden]

Allen sent the ex-slaves back to the temple with Waiya while Jack opened another door in the marble wall. Multiple doors could be open simultaneously but closing the one to the village in Nash was a necessary precaution. Shoam would be fine by himself, and he could find himself an entrance door to the Spade Temple dungeon using his ring. The same ring that all Spades had.

With a crack and a flash, a different door appeared where the previous one had been. It was a simple stained wood door with a number written on it. Jack opened it easily despite the lock and walked through.

The group followed him through and found themselves in a cramped hotel room that smelled like vinegar. There was a single bed, a table and chair, and a deactivated magical heat radiator. There were trees outside with early morning sunshine coming through.

Jack cleared his throat. “This is small inn located in another small farming village called Silt Valley. It’s near Hillford and a couple dungeons,” he began as he looked over Allen and the others.

“I think that name rings a bell for some reason,” Allen thought absently.

“I came here after finding a report in Hillford of about a dozen people from a hunting party going missing from this village. Recently, the guards determined they went too far into the forests and got killed by reaper class Razorcats. They found the bodies but no respawns. That should have been the end of it, but…” Jack summoned a folded piece of paper from his inventory with a flourish. “There was another report of another group of people going missing after leaving to forage nearby in the forest. Mostly women and children since the husbands would be at work. Some people from Hillford think that it was the cats again, but I checked and there are no signs of any attacks in the forest around here, and the Razorcats I found weren’t trailing close enough to the village.”

“So, what are you saying?” Christopher asked somewhat reluctantly.

Jack made the paper disappear, “I’m saying it can’t be the cats the second time, even if it looks like it. Then there’s the fact that the disappearances happened two days ago, at the same time that the Lanthinus convoy packed up and hauled their asses out West. Also, the demographics of the people who went missing, mostly women and children, match that of the slaves that you rescued.”

“Ah shit,” Camila muttered, having come to the obvious conclusion. The others had similar reactions, with the exception of Nora, who seemed a little lost.

Allen huffed to himself. “Yeah, that sticks. I guess the buyers didn’t particularly care where their goods were sourced from. There’s always a plan B.” He took a deep breath and gave is own input. “So, for now the questions are: what are the Lanthinus company’s connections and where did they run off too? Also, who bought the replacements, it that’s true?”

Jack grunted. “Aye, so that’s why we’re here. Look for any clues you can find. This village was the closest to where those fuckers set up their camp. If somebody saw something, it was probably here.”

Allen scratched Phantom behind his head and hummed. Phantom transmitted the feeling of glee every predator got before a hunt. Allen smiled down at the spider clinging to his arm. “Yeah, we’re gonna fuck them up boy, then we’ll take all their shit.”