“He is pretty good!” Alice commented, watching Jonathan disposing of yet another group of undead. The man was knocking the zombies over with powerful gusts, and slicing off limbs with wind blades. He was in constant motion, weaving between attacks, disengaging and re-engaging, throwing more spells than what seemed possible for his level. “I didn’t get a good look at him when fighting the bear, but he seems like he has been in fights before.”
“It seems odd to me.” Gaven grunted, also observing from the backlines.
“What does?”
“For starters, he isn’t using a focus. How many low level wizards have you seen using only somatic casting?”
“Oh! You’re right! Not that I have seen many, but they all had a wand or a staff. Why is that?”
“Focuses make channeling spells easier from what I hear. You can cast faster with them, but the results are a bit weaker. More experienced wizards use different focuses with opposite effect, harder to cast but the power is amplified. It is rare to see someone not using either.”
“That makes sense. What are you thinking?”
“It is obvious that he is more experienced than what you would guess at the first glance. Do you know him well?”
Alice was about to answer, but focused back on the fight as a thunderous shout sent the last zombie flying. Jonathan followed up with an empowered wind blade that cleaved the creature in half mid-air, ending the fight.
“That’s the stuff!” He smiled happily after returning to them. “Got a whole level from the effort.”
“Congratulations!” Alice beamed, but soon wrinkled her nose, after getting a whiff of Jonathan. “You got some zombie juices on you!”
“Oh, right…” Jonathan said, only now seeming to notice his new clothes being stained with rotting bits. Gaven laid his hand on the mage’s shoulder, muttering a small prayer. Instantly, Jonathan’s clothes were cleaned to pristine condition. Alice didn’t understand the man’s reaction when Gaven touched him. If she wasn’t mistaken, Jonathan had almost attacked the paladin then and there. What was that about?
“Are we ready to move on? How are your injuries?” She asked, changing the subject to distract the pair.
“We should be done. I already took a look at the corpses. Couldn’t find anything of importance..” He shot a glance at the reborn, before continuing. “Do you mind if I sit on the cart for a while? That took quite a bit of stamina from me.”
None of them had any objections to it, so they powered onwards.
The village they were supposed to go to was a two day’s march towards the mountain. A fishing village built close to the salt lake was a huge source of food for the city. A worrying thought teased at the edges of Alice’s mind, but she couldn’t quite yet put it to words.
On their march they ran into a few more hostile encounters, and a scout patrol on the return back to Rong. More rot ghouls were spotted a week’s travel away down south. Apparently they were gathering in numbers, led by a putrid hulk, an enhanced ghoul variant that stood nearly six meters tall, possessing the ability to command lesser undead and was intelligent enough to make tactical decisions. The scouts left soon after giving them the report, causing them to proceed with extra caution.
When they finally reached the village, the adventurers helped Leb to count and load the corpses to the cart. It was clear that all of them wouldn’t fit on a single wagon, meaning multiple trips back and forth. Jonathan examined each corpse they carried, refusing to elaborate the reason when asked. Alice assumed he was looking for clues about the cult. The work was miserable. So many lives were lost, and for what purpose. Nothing was stolen, and from the looks of it, no one was taken alive. Everyone from children to elderly were ruthlessly cut down.
When they had a moment, Alice saw Jonathan waving at her to follow him inside one of the buildings. As she entered, Jonathan closed the door, and checked the window.
“What is it? What are you looking at?”
“Gaven. I… never mind. I think I might know why these people are slaughtered.”
“Oh? Go on! Tell me!”
“It’s misery.” Jonathan said, as if that explained anything. Noticing that Alice wasn’t catching up, he continued, “There are no signs of lingering magic in the air, so taking their lives to fuel some kind of spell isn’t likely. They were tortured before their deaths, so this wasn’t about just killing them. There are still other possibilities, but I think the cultists are on a path of misery.”
Alice had never heard of such a path. The six most common were trials, mastery, diplomacy, faith, champion and altruism. She knew that other paths existed, some being even hidden until you met certain requirements, but misery wasn’t ringing a bell, although the name was fairly self explanatory.
“So, they… what? Torture people to gain power? That’s…”
“It’s fucked up, and outlawed pretty much everywhere. The thing is, you need to enjoy the acts of violence to gain the path. Your opponent’s strength doesn’t matter, only the amount of fear and pain you can make them feel. It has its own rules though, and most of them fit for what’s going around here.” Jonathan carried on, glancing through the window every now and then. “You cannot torture a person endlessly. Eventually they break and stop fueling the path, hence why no one was taken for a long term captivity. Furthermore, more people suffering at the same time amplifies the result. If I’m right, the cult is using these people to power level their troops.”
Alice felt sick at the implications. If what Jonathan said was true…
“But why are you telling this to me and not Gaven? He’s more powerful and has more influence in the Order.”
“For starters, it is currently just a theory, albeit a good one. We need to catch a cultist to be certain. Have any been caught?”
“N-no! Still, you should tell Gaven!”
“There is something about him.” Jonathan said, peeking through the window once more. “I may be wrong, but for now, don't share anything I’ve said with him, okay?”
Alice didn’t know what to do. She had known Jonathan longer than the paladin, but on the other hand, Gaven was a trusted member of the Order. Slowly, she nodded, deciding to put her faith in him.
“Alright then. I won’t say anything. Do you think the higher ups know about this?”
“They are idiots if they don’t at least suspect it. The one thing that still bothers me is the undead. How does everything link together?”
“You suggested a dungeon breakout earlier? Is that no longer an option?”
“A slim one. It would explain the lack of summoners, but not how widespread they are. Do you know if they have been coming from a certain direction?”
“No,” Alice admitted, thinking about the situation herself. “From what the reports say, they are pretty much all around, some coming from south, some from east and west.”
“Have any wars happened in recent memory around here?”
“The Baur kingdom up north invaded Cervaria fifty, maybe sixty years ago, but that was on the other side of the ring.”
Alice watched for a moment as Jonathan fell into thought. Not wanting to interrupt, she exited the house, joining Leb and Gaven who were in the midst of conversation.
_____________
What was he missing? All he needed was one piece of the puzzle that would make everything click in place. Jonathan recounted the facts, questions and theories he had come up with. Cultists following the path of misery. That he was sure about. They weren’t using the villagers to fill their undead ranks. Why? Perhaps they didn’t have a necromancer. Not having one meant that they needed natural born undead. Still, the corpses could’ve been used for that. What about the dungeon theory? Too wide spread of an infestation. What if the dungeon had burrowed over a wide distance, depositing its minions randomly? Was that even possible without anyone noticing? Even if it was, why not capture the villagers and feed them to the dungeon? It would’ve gobbled up their life energy happ…
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Jonathan’s thoughts came to a halt. Life energy! He rushed out of the building, making his way to the body cart and threw the tarp covering the corpses open.
“What are you doing?!” Leb exclaimed, but Jonathan ignored him.
“Gaven! Here! Now!” His commanding voice surprised the paladin, who came over, a surprised expression on his draconic face.
“What is it?” He asked curiously.
“Can you perform a prayer of passage? To see if their souls returned to your afterlife?”
“No. The only prayer I have that deals with souls guides them to Amaryst’s embrace, and only shortly after their deaths. Why?”
“Can anyone check if they have moved on?” Jonathan insisted.
Gaven thought for a moment. “The bishop of Sirenus could perhaps perform such a miracle. Again, why?”
“Arrange a meeting with him. I need to know!”
“WHY!? What are you thinking, Jonathan?”
Jonathan paused, considering how much he wanted to share with the reborn. He still couldn’t remember where he knew the man from, but every time he saw him, his instincts wanted him to act. To take the threat down before he could harm his allies. Eventually, he was forced to relent, and share some of his suspicions.
“Cultists have been killing these people, but they haven’t taken anything. Anything that we can see at least. I believe that they have been harvesting their souls.”
“That is ridiculous. The cultists are just thugs who enjoy spreading fear. They don’t have the resources to gather that many soul gems.”
That might be true. Creating a soul gem was a time consuming and expensive process for a human. But not for a dungeon. And if they were in control of one…
“Arrange a meeting anyway.” Jonathan wasn’t about to let the issue go. Either his suspicions were confirmed and they would gain a crucial piece of information, or he was wrong and they wasted some of the bishop’s time. In either case, there was no great down side.
“No.” Gaven refused, causing Jonathan’s blood to boil.
“Pardon?”
“No. It is a waste of time. The orders are to take these bodies to a pyre, and that is what we are going to do.”
Mana was starting to gather in Jonathan’s hands. The paladin was a total idiot. He should’ve agreed with Jonathan, even if there was even the slightest bit of doubt the cultists were more well resourced than what was believed. Gaven noticed Jonathan’s energy fluctuation and took a ready stance.
Before things could come to blows, Alice rushed between the two men.
“Both of you! Stop!”
As neither of them did, Alice continued, “Jonathan, be reasonable! If you fight him, you’ll lose! Not only the fight, but you’ll be kicked out of the Order for attacking a fellow member without provocation!”
Lose? No. He had beaten him many times.
Jonathan blinked in confusion, reabsorbing the mana back to his core. That thought hadn’t come from him.
“And you, Gaven! Don’t you think it’s at least worth trying his idea? Why are you acting so stubborn all of a sudden?”
“I’ll ask for an audience. But I will make sure to tell the bishop how stupid your idea sounds.” With that, Gaven turned around and walked at the edge of the village to calm his head.
As soon as the two were alone, Alice turned to Jonathan.
“What’s with you? You were about to attack him, weren’t you? Your every interaction with him has been hostile. Do you not approve of his god? Is it some kind of divine rivalry? I didn’t take you for a religious type.”
Jonathan stared at Gaven’s retreating back for a moment longer, before focusing his eye to Alice.
“What? No. It's with him, the person. I’m certain I know him from somewhere. We were enemies, I think.”
“Someone back from Dalmatia?”
“No, he was from elsewhere.”
“Gaven has lived his whole life in Rong,” Alice explained, trying to reason with the fuming man. “His story is pretty famous actually. A normal priest who was chosen by a dragon soul. There is no way you could’ve met him elsewhere. Perhaps he just reminds you of someone, and you’re projecting the memories onto him?”
What Alice said made sense. But still, the feeling in his guts told him that she was wrong, as impossible as it was.
“Maybe,” Jonathan said to drop the subject. “Maybe you’re right.”
Alice looked worriedly at him.
“Are you feeling okay?” She asked.
Jonathan shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
“I’m fine, just a little… You know the feeling of trying to remember a dream, but the more you try to focus on it, the more of it just slips through your fingers? Maybe it’s just the after effect of the aet- the accident.” He managed to correct his near slip up. “I’ll be fine.”
“Just try to keep a level head with him. Besides, we’re almost done here. Do you want to search the houses for valuables before we leave?” She asked, surprising him a bit. Catching his expression, Alice smiled awkwardly, “I mean, I saw you doing it the last time. And someone will eventually clear out anything valuable in any case, so…”
While Leb was watering his horse, Jonathan and Alice made rounds through the houses. It felt almost bad to loot through the belongings of murdered civilians, but the fact was that someone would eventually do exactly what they were doing. And if the houses were going to be looted anyway, it might as well be him profiting from it.
They didn’t find all that much at first. Mostly fishing equipment, stored foods and clothes. In one of the houses however, Alice discovered a jewelry box filled with an assortment of silver trinkets. None of them were magical, which was great news as he could put his own inscriptions in them. Deciding to take a closer look at that particular building, their fortunes turned as more and more treasures were uncovered. A pile of chits, a random assortment of small gemstones and a small chest containing a row of potions found their way to a pile at the entrance. In the cellar, Jonathan found an old set of armor, accompanied by a journal resting on top of a war axe and a set of bracers tucked in a chest at the corner.
After carrying everything to the entrance, Alice and Jonathan started to sort out the loot.
Jonathan skimmed through the journal first. The house had apparently belonged to an ex adventurer, who had retired in the village. He wondered which of the bodies outside had been his as he began to inspect the bracers.
Circling mana to his eyes allowed him to see the faint outlines of the runes embedded within. From the glance, both of them held different inscriptions, but were meant to be worn together, indicated by a faint line of energy connecting the two.
“Power, absorb, transfer, link” He muttered, identifying the runes on the first bracer. “Then here we have link, store, and release. The power rune has been infused with earth affinity. If I’m reading these right, you use your off hand to block an attack. The bracer absorbs some of the energy and transfers it to your main hand, making your next attack more powerful. Pretty interesting for a brawler. I wonder if it works with shields?”
“Oh! That sounds useful! But they don’t really suit my build.” Alice commented, separating the chits into piles based on their form.
Jonathan agreed, moving onto the armor, which held a common impact reduction set. The axe was more interesting. It was the only item they found that required the wielder to bind with it. The axe increased your strength and body by five points each if you were bound to it, and held an additional weight, speed and sharpness runes. By far the most valuable item in the village.
Items that increased attributes weren’t rare exactly, but inscribing them was expensive, as you needed rare additional components. A person could only wear five bound items at once, making each one an essential piece of mage’s regalia. The problem with the axe was that it was an axe, and didn’t boost the right attributes for him. In their early days, Leoric would’ve loved something like this. He was considering binding with it anyway, as his body was currently below average, when Gaven walked into the building.
“We’re about to- What is that?” He pointed at the weapon in Jonathan’s hands, his yellow eyes shining with greed.
“It’s an axe.” Jonathan answered bluntly.
“A good axe. I can see the runes in it. What does it do?”
“Speed, sharpness and weight.”
“And? What else?”
Jonathan exchanged a glance with Alice, who shrugged, perhaps not wanting to get involved.
“It gives a boost to body and strength.” Jonathan finally admitted, instantly regretting his decision.
“I want it. Hand it over.”
“No? Why would I?” He smirked at the dragon man, feeling a sense of juvenile pleasure as he watched the paladin choosing his next approach. His hand lowered dangerously towards his mace, causing Jonathan to tense up. Gaven came to his senses however, his next words coming out as a threat.
“I could report this pillaging to the Order. They don’t like their members benefiting from others' misery.”
“But it’s not against the law.” Alice jumped in to defend their actions. “We are protected under scavenger’s rights.”
Gaven’s arm once again made a move towards his mace.
“I will…” he started, his voice hostile, but seemed to change his mind mid sentence. “Fine. If you let me keep the axe, I will make your case to Sirenus’ bishop properly.”
“And give a stellar report of my judgment and capabilities to Morrison?” Jonathan added, hoping to get rid of the paladin soon.
“He will want more than just one report.”
“So, you make sure every single one you hand out is outstanding. Do that, and set up the meeting the moment we get back to the city, and the axe is yours.” Jonathan offered an ultimatum. Losing the axe would sting a bit, but it would be worth it if it would mean the paladin left their group sooner, rather than later.
“Fine.”
“Swear by your god that you honor the deal.” He added, not trusting the man’s word alone.
“I swear by Ameryst that I will honor our agreement.”
Nodding, Jonathan handed the weapon to Gaven, who left promptly after. Turning to Alice, they quickly stuffed their bags with loot, deciding to divvy up everything later. Mission now halfway complete, they joined Gaven and Leb, heading back towards the city.