Another day passed before we neared the grimy patch of air. Without much fanfare, we waded into it.
At first, we didn’t notice any serious differences. True, the islands we visited were a bit more dusty. Some patches of mud still clung to the island, having survived the journey through the clouds. Save for the change in air quality, there was nothing that wasn’t purely aesthetic, though.
All of that changed when the first notification arrived, however.
You have entered a Sullied Sky!
Inflicts the conditions Bogged Down and Muddy Lung.
Movement speed decreased.
Take one damage per every two breaths.
Faced with a constant source of damage, all three of us backed off, retreating until the notification went away.
“Truly vexing,” Verin supplied. “I have little desire to fill my lungs with mud.”
“Yeah, pretty gross. Not sure where else we would go except forward, though.” Cal lazily batted the air with her sword, as if that would wipe away the muck. “What’s the game plan? I can probably avoid the effect with Apex Shroud as long as I have enough mana, but what about you two?”
As I’d recently discovered, Verin was more than fine without breathing as long as she was inside her glacier. Of course, given that she couldn’t move in that state, the task of carrying her around would naturally fall on me.
In an unusual turn of events, then, it was only me who had no good way to deal with the effect. Arcane Choker would have worked perfectly, but I was still saving up for it.
Ultimately, I just shrugged. “I’ll deal.” The damage was well under what I was capable of healing through.
Having little desire to sleep with our health constantly ticking down, we set up camp and got a quick round of shut-eye. Once we were bright eyed and bushy tailed, though, off we waded into the murky air.
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For another three islands, everything went as well as hoped. Halfway across the skybridge to the fourth, however, I started to cough right as another notification assaulted me.
Status Muddy Lung has intensified.
Take one damage per breath.
Causes respiratory discomfort and coughing.
Status Bogged Down has intensified.
Increases the costs and decreases the effects of all movement skills.
Movement speed greatly decreased.
This, quite naturally, was not very welcome news. Even before I read through the updated effects, I hacked up a glob of mud, my mouth filled with the taste of dust and dirt. While Verin was presently encased in ice and attached to my back, I could somehow still feel her staring down at the ruddy phlegm in horror.
For Cal’s part, she nudged it with her boot.
“Tess, that was gross as hell. Give it a few more islands, and I feel like you’ll be hacking up entire mud elementals at this rate. Are you going to be okay?”
“I miss Suds,” was all I said on the matter. If the chamber head had been with us, this entire region would have been cleared in a flash. Failing that, I would have settled for my old Cleansing Shower Gem Pendant or really anything that could have cleaned me right about now.
“Oh. Right.” Making the connection a bit later than I should have, I immediately pulled out one of our buckets of Cleansing Well Water. It was for the best that I hadn’t used any yet, as I only had so much. Given the circumstances, though, I figured using some of it was warranted. I drank a tiny sip, hoping it would clean me out.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what it did.
You have consumed Cleansing Well Water!
Internal contaminants detected. Purging.
Before I could even prepare myself, a potent wave of nausea slammed into me, and I doubled over in pain. Suddenly feeling as though I’d chugged a gallon of moonshine, I readily wretched, a geyser of sludge shooting out of my mouth. If there was one saving grace, it was that the process was brief, my stomach settling down immediately afterwards.
Purging complete.
Mud magic resistance and impairment resistance greatly enhanced.
Duration: 5 minutes
You have resisted Muddy Lung.
You have resisted Bogged Down.
For a brief moment, all three of us took in the unpleasant scene I’d just created before opting to move on. Despite her intermittent Apex Shroud usage keeping her safe from the worst of the mud’s effects, Cal silently yanked the bucket from my hands. Evidently wanting to protect herself before she filled her lungs with mud, she took a quick sip before passing the bucket back.
With all of us now protected, we ventured deeper into the growing miasma.
Thrice more, the effects increased, until we would have been entirely locked in place and practically breathing solid dirt without the aid of the well water. Each time, we resisted the effects.
Rapidly, our supply of water shrank, even with the tiny sips Cal and I were taking. Theoretically, though, the dungeon was created with parties of five in mind. Given that Verin wasn’t partaking, I had to imagine we’d have more than enough to push through. That was assuming that there was some intelligent design in play, but I was willing to give the dungeon some credit. Nothing it had thrown at us was impossible so far.
As if the dungeon was rewarding me for my faith in it, our destination soon came into view. After clearing an island as per usual, we supplied our charged aerial gem to the obelisk to move forward. Rather than pulling up a new island, however, the gem seemed to dispel the worst of the grime from the air. As the dirt thinned, our target was revealed.
Taking in the sheer size of what lay before us, I could only reflect that it was a testament to how thick the dirt was that we hadn’t seen it long ago. Despite being coated in a layer of crud, bits of green poked through, making me believe that the structure before us was made of the same jade-like substance as the aerial gem. While I couldn’t get a good sense of exactly how large it was, the mass of green extended both up and down for as far as I could see.
Admittedly, that wasn’t very far at all given the visibility conditions, but the verdict was clear: We’d found a tower.
The usual sky bridge formed, this time linking us directly to the tower in question. Spending the last of its energy, the obelisk went one step further, clearing away some of the gunk from the surface of the tower. Previously hidden by the mud, a door was revealed at the end of the bridge.
Had Verin opted to come out of her ice shell, I imagined she would say something about being cautious and taking stock of our situation. As she didn’t wish to brave the powerful airborne status effects, however, that left Cal to be the voice of reason.
“Dibs on entering the freaky tower first!” She shot forward, racing atop the sky bridge without a care in the world. While my Dexterity was considerably higher now that she’d changed her class, I didn’t feel the need to contest the point. I jogged after her, reaching the end of the bridge right as she was shoving the door open.
The very moment there was enough room for her to poke her head in, she went invisible, dashing inside. Evidently not having seen anything too alarming, she soon reappeared and thrust the door fully open, beckoning me inside. Once we were all safely within, she slammed the door shut and breathed a sigh of relief.
Or more specifically, she breathed a clean sigh of relief. The interior of the tower was interesting, for sure -- we’d been deposited on a staircase, carved from the same green gemstone as the rest of the tower -- but that was all secondary. More notably, the dirt was finally gone, both from the air and from all the surfaces.
Even as Cal and I savored the taste of fresh air, Verin canceled her skill, removing herself from my back as the ice protecting her cracked open.
“Might I begin by saying that it was foolhardy to advance into the tower before properly taking stock of our situation and-”
Entirely tuning her out, Cal shot me a cheeky grin. “So what do we think? Up the stairs or down the stairs?”
Wordlessly, I pointed up. As if trying to outrun Verin’s scolding, Cal shot off, jumping up the stairs two at a time.
A series of curses soon followed her, and Verin and I began our ascent shortly thereafter.
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There were any number of things that I was prepared for at the top of the tower. Perhaps Din’Ket would be lying in wait for us, hoping to swallow us in its muddy maw once again. There would be some giant air elemental, ready to sweep us all away. Or maybe just a plain-old treasure room for making it all the way here.
To say that I was entirely unprepared for what we ended up finding wouldn’t have been quite fair. Somewhere further down the list, I probably would have been half-right. The exact way in which I would have been half-wrong, however, was enough to utterly stun me.
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At the tower’s top, there was a massive room of shining jade, with all manner of intricate detail-work carved into every nook and cranny. A grand altar occupied the length of the side wall, adding a hollowed and reverent air to the space. I was fairly certain that there were supposed to be a few windows to peer through, too, but unlike the rest of the tower thus far, this room had not been spared from the mud. Globs of gunk clung to the ceiling and dotted the walls, detracting from the awe the chamber might have otherwise inspired.
All of that was distantly tertiary to the room’s main feature, however.
Standing tall against the far wall was a figure of refined majesty. Over thrice our height, it loomed high above us, its size not nearly as imposing as its mana. Pure and potent air mana swirled and roiled about it, rolling off of its body and bathing us even from across the room. Wings that could swallow the heavens lay splayed out to its sides, and two wise eyes sat above a regal beak, peering straight into our very souls.
It was a creature of power. Resplendence. Grandeur and dignity. It’s very presence demanded respect and adulation, and-
“It looks like a plucked chicken,” Cal helpfully supplied.
Reluctantly, I had to agree.
For all that the being before us was clearly powerful, it was hard to take it seriously. Whatever feathers it had once had were now gone, leaving behind a plump pink form. As part of my cooking classes back in Sylum, I’d had to defeather a few birds, and the creature before us was the spitting image of some poultry ready for the oven.
Thankfully, even if the giant bird understood Common, it wasn’t in much of a position to rebuke Cal for her commentary. Gluing it to the wall, multiple thick masses of mud covered its body at strategic intervals along its limbs and neck. Acting as a series of shackles, they barely let the beast before us twitch a muscle.
“I think we found the Roc Lord,” I whispered. Confirming my guess, I hit the creature with God’s Eye.
Tal’Ket the Roc Lord: Level 55, 10000/40000hp
In ages long past, Tal’Ket ruled over the skies even as his sister ruled over the earth below. Long before creating the cleansing cloud cover or raising his sky islands, the Roc Lord erected a tower to pierce the skies. Here, he received tribute and prayer from the many faithful who would make the pilgrimage up the endless stairway.
With Tal’Ket betrayed and stripped of his power, what was once his shrine now serves as his prison. Unwilling to kill him until she gets her hands on his many feathers, his sister keeps him trapped inside.
I related the relevant details to the others, hoping to offload all the thinking and decision-making to them.
As it turned out, I needn’t have bothered. Cal wandered off into the middle of the room, taking in the Roc Lord from different angles. “So, what now? Are we supposed to help you, or how does this all work? Tess can probably make you a big blanket if you’re cold without your feathers.”
In a surprisingly human expression, Tal’Ket narrowed his eyes, and I swore he was considering whether or not to entertain the bothersome human that had invaded his shrine. If somewhat reluctantly, he eventually relented, a new notification appearing a moment later.
Tal’Ket the Roc Lord has offered you a quest!
Clear Skies I
Tal’Ket, Lord of the Rocs and rightful ruler of the skies, has been imprisoned and trapped in mud. Free him, allowing to reclaim his domain.
Rewards variable based on method of completion.
It was clear that all three of us had received the message, with Verin being the first to comment.
“Curious. I should imagine that, given its potency, the well water we’ve collected might be enough to complete this quest. Failing that, I am confident we can remove its bindings between the three of us. The ‘variable rewards’ makes me hesitant to do so immediately, however.” Daring to get closer to the imposing roc, Verin studied its muddy shackles in greater detail.
For her part, Cal took a seat atop the lord’s altar. “Yeah, not to doubt the giant chicken or anything, but what are the odds that we free him, and he just immediately gets his ass kicked again? I’m sorry, but he’s not really inspiring much confidence right now.”
With a huff that seemed to imply the Roc Lord could understand Common all too well, Tal’Ket manipulated the mana in the room, stirring up a gentle breeze. The air seemed to brush up against me specifically, and the trio of feathers I was wearing lifted slightly into the air. As soon as I focused on the feathers, a prompt arrived.
You are in possession of the Roc Lord’s feathers. Return them to their rightful owner? Note: This may draw unwanted attention.
Considering that I only had three at the moment, I doubted it would make much of a difference. Still, it helped clarify our options a bit better.
With that extra piece of information, we came to a quick consensus. As it stood, we did not want to free the Roc Lord right now. At the very least, we needed to collect more feathers first.
Unfortunately, that came with an unpleasant corollary.
“Wait. Does this mean we have to go back through the mud cloud?”
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In the end, it turned out we weren’t forced to return the way we’d arrived. Despite the sheer height of the tower, our collective curiosity ended up winning out, and we decided to see what lay at the tower’s base. Strangely enough, we discovered that the clouds extended inside the tower as well, and we were forced to undergo the cleaning ritual once again before descending further. After that, it quickly became clear why the journey was considered a pilgrimage, as I couldn’t imagine having to walk all the way up the tower without a hefty dose of Endurance.
When eventually we reached the bottom, the door was locked and jammed up with mud from the inside, but dousing it in well water was enough to let us escape. As to be expected, the bottom door spit us out back beneath the clouds. Paradoxically, the ground was far cleaner than its counterpart up above, as the surface was largely free from the toxic mud cloud we’d had to endure.
Of course, that was only swapping out one problem for another: Much like last time, we were forced to find a sky island that we hadn’t activated yet, hunting down a sullied aerial gem and charging it. Another fragment of Din’Ket found us in short order, but with all three of us together, it stood no chance. Cal simply snuck up on it while holding a full bucket of well water before upending the entire bucket on top of it. The rest of the fight was laughably short.
And so it was that less than a day later, we returned to the sky.
Once again overcome with emotion, Verin had to run off when the island started to ascend. For whatever reason, Cal found this endlessly amusing.
For two more weeks, we swept through the region. Despite having made it all the way to the tower, there were still a large number of branches we hadn’t taken, and unlocking the full network proved to be an arduous task. Still, it was one we were well-suited for. Considering how little threat the air elementals posed to us, the experience was excellent, and both Cal and Verin soon leveled. With any luck, I’d soon follow.
While the sky was calming in its own way, as time dragged on, I began to grow increasingly weary. I missed my room back at the cabin. I missed my cave. I missed my garden and my bath. I also missed sneaking down to Sett to vent to the sleeping demon.
It was strange, in a way. By all rights, what I should have been longing for was my comfy bed back in Sylum or even my tent in Emer’Thalis. At some point, my mind had designated our simple cabin as “home,” though. It was an area of respite, free from the constant fighting. Hopefully, we’d go back soon.
Unfortunately, even when we raised the final island, our work wasn’t done. We’d largely managed to avoid Din’Ket’s ire thus far, but if we wanted the rest of the feathers, that wouldn’t hold true for much longer.
Here, we came up with a stellar plan to collect the feathers without becoming bird chow: make Cal do it all. She’d retained enough detection skills that she would have no trouble tracking down each island’s feather, and even if Din’Ket came to investigate, she could just turn invisible and run away.
While Cal took on her solemn duty, Verin and I, unfortunately, were not given leave to idle about. There was one last piece of the puzzle we’d decided to attend to, and if somewhat begrudgingly, the two of us took it on.
Another week on top of that, and it was done. The three of us met back up within the tower, ready to complete the region’s quest. As expected, the journey back up the tower was hellish -- doubly so, as I ended up having to carry Verin fairly quickly -- but at last we returned to face the Roc Lord once again. Much as expected, he stood there in the exact same position we’d seen him last.
“All right. Healing first.” Cal began by shooting off a few light healing spells off at Tal’Ket, and I soon joined in with my own life cantrip. We weren’t sure if it mattered, but we’d decided to top off the Roc Lord’s health before finishing the quest.
Of course, that was easier said than done. My only healing spell was a cantrip, and Cal’s light magic was hardly up to the task of efficiently healing a beast over level 50. Despite the fact that he should have been grateful for our assistance, I could feel Tal’Ket’s judgment as we spent the next day fully healing him up.
For good measure, I offered him some of my cooking, too, as I figured it wouldn’t be nice to make him fight on an empty stomach. If perhaps not the finest offering he’d ever received, the food was accepted, with him greedily gobbling up whatever I offered to him. Notably, I made sure to avoid using any gryphon meat. I wasn’t sure if that would count as bird cannibalism, but I decided not to risk it.
“Okay! Fed and healed. Time to wash the chicken. All you, Tess.” No longer needed for her healing prowess, Cal lazily lay down atop the altar. Verin started to shoo her off as I went to work.
We’d considered dealing with the feathers first, but on the off chance that they immediately summoned Din’Ket, we didn’t want her to catch us with our proverbial pants down. I removed a few buckets of the well water we’d gathered, flying up to the giant bird’s head to dump one down its gullet. With the others, I liberally splashed them over the many splotches of mud which bound the Roc Lord.
Much as hoped, the mud dissolved. Even before they were all gone, Tal’Ket ripped himself from the wall, tearing away the rest of his restraints. Not receiving the memo that we were trying to be stealthy for now, the Roc Lord let out a fierce caw that left my ears bleeding from the proximity.
Before the newly freed bird could do something stupid that would ruin our plans, Cal enacted the final step for us, transferring the many feathers she’d collected back to their original owner.
A great cyclone swept through the room, pulling all of the feathers up into the air. The gale grew so intense, we were forced to shut our eyes as it raged on, barely managing to keep ourselves from getting caught up in its pull. When at last it subsided, the deed was done. Returned to his former glory, the lord of the skies stood tall once more.
Or, not exactly his former glory. After all, a fair number of his feathers had been snatched up by Din’Ket, leaving him looking a touch threadbare, but we’d done a thorough job. Shining white plumage covered the bulk of his body, with a collection of green feathers creating all manner of patterns across his massive form. Seafoam green outlined his wings and wingtips, whereas the same jade color of the tower appeared on his head and chest, arranged in a fashion that seemed to flow like the wind even while he stood still.
At last, his form properly suited the air of majesty he carried. Indeed, the creature that stood before us could only be properly described as a lord. Celebrating the return of his power, Tel’Kat cried out in triumph once more, doing his best to fully destroy my hearing.
Even so, I managed to catch Cal’s words from across the room.
“Cool. So, now we get to chill while he goes and fights the creepy mud bird, right? Goooo, Roc Lord! We’ll be cheering you- OH SHIT.” Cal’s comments were quickly cut off as a burst of wind blasted all three of us into the air.
Perhaps more shockingly, a wave of mana rolled off the roc, and in response, the tower began to morph. Apparently sporting some sort of magical sunroof, the ceiling retracted, allowing the muddy air to intrude. With a single sweep of his wings, Tal’Ket dispelled the toxic cloud, revealing the patchwork mana-filled sky above.
So quickly, I almost swore the creature was using spatial mana, Tal’Ket rocketed into the sky, letting off another roaring shriek.
And that would have been fine. Truly.
All of that was according to plan.
Unfortunately, there was one tiny snag we hadn’t accounted for.
Because, rather than looking up at the roc from the tower, we were looking down at him.
From his back.
Another cry filled the air, though this time, it wasn’t from Tal’Ket. In the distance, a colossal muddy monstrosity appeared.
As Tal’Ket began to race towards the beast over twenty levels above us, a new notification belatedly rolled in.
Quest Completed: Clear Skies I
Tal’Ket has offered you a new quest!