Julia Sarcos
She felt like a ghost. The world had been reduced to only white fog and shadows. Trees loomed overhead, black limbs like grasping claws. Unseen birds sang, but muffled by the mist it was a haunted whisper. They enclosed around each other as the fog grew thicker. Shadow people walking together. Each frowning with the certainty that if they wandered too far afield that the party would be lost to them. Close as everyone walked most still appeared more as apparitions than friends.
Directions had become meaningless except to keep moving straight forward. Julia walked point, doing her best to keep walking in an unwavering line. Focusing so that each step was clean and wouldn’t sway her off course. The shieldmaiden refused for their path to deviate. With the loss of any references, it was impossible to tell how successful she was. They were essentially lost in the fog. The thought coincided with a shiver.
“I’m not sure walking straight through the forest was a good idea,” said Julia to Malachi. He stood beside her, but his features were washed out in the drifting vapor.
His blurry face shifted in what could be a frown. “You might be right. I didn’t expect the fog to grow this thick. Feels like the opening of a horror movie. Any moment now, there will be the first hint of the creature and the first death.”
Julia glared and punched him in the shoulder. “Malachi! That’s creepy! That’s a lot less freakin’ funny when monsters are real!”
The leader of the Sixty rubbed his armored shoulder and laughed. “Right, suppose that’s true.” A smile was revealed by his tone alone. “It's really a lot of fog, though.”
“Yes, but more important… I can’t be sure if we’re going in a straight line anymore,” admitted Julia worried.
“That shouldn’t matter much,” admitted Malachi. “We’re just getting the lay of the land. Knowing how thick the fog gets in here is an important fact.”
“And if we blindly walk off the cliff because we couldn’t see it?”
“You’re tough, you’d probably survive of all of us.”
“That is not the point! Nor a good one!”
Malachi playfully bumped into her and may have rolled his eyes with a snort. “I wouldn’t worry about it. One, slow as we’re going because of the fog we’ll never make it that far, and two, the fog thins out at the edges, right?”
“How sure are you of that’s the case on that end of the plateau?” demanded Julia.
“Sure enough,” said Malachi with smooth confidence.
She wasn’t exactly pleased with the answer, but his assurances were annoyingly effective. A reflection of the trust the shieldmaiden had in him. Sometimes it seemed magical, like an enchantment or a curse, that she could trust Malachi that much. Julia believed it to be utterly beautiful and a good thing. Even when her fear weddled itself about the trap she was accepting. This was something worth risking everything. Maybe love, though unwilling to admit that just yet.
“I just wish we could see where we are, like from a tree or something,” Julia murmured.
Seriously, Malachi replied, “That thought crossed my mind. No doubt Clarissa knows how to climb trees superbly. The issue is that the moment we get too friendly with those trees that will bring a whole lot of attention onto us.”
“Hmm, um, why don’t we ask Damien or Anastasia to send up one of the eye scouts?” asked Julia.
Malachi cursed and growled, “That is a very good idea and I am an idiot for not thinking about that sooner.”
Julia giggled, “You are kinda an idiot sometimes. At least you’re pretty.”
His foggy shadow gave her the side eye. “Ouch.”
“You’ll be fine,” grinned Julia. Carefully looking to see if any of her shadowy party was watching, she moved closer. The shieldmaiden stole a kiss and said, “Now get me some eyes in the sky, my pretty!”
“Yes ma’am,” saluted Malachi. Bringing the party to a stop, he called, “Damien can you and your apprentice send up a couple of eyes? See where we are in the woods. I’m interested in how close we are to the middle.”
A tall figure with a staff said, “Of course. We will take a look.”
“Uh hey!” cried the smaller shadow beside him. “Why um am I a bloody apprentice? We all started learning uh magic at the um same time!”
Somberly Damien explained, “I think they say that, because I am very good at magic, and you are very good at learning!”
“I uh I can’t um… argue with that,” Anastasia grumbled. “At least I’m being noticed…”
“You are very noticeable to me,” stated Damien. “Shall we?”
The two of them chanted, warmth strongly apparent in the voice of the blonde acolyte. Damien’s was calm as always. Julia felt the welling of strength before two eyes were produced over each of them. Up the Mana constructs went in streaks of violet and silver. First dimming as they entered the fog and then disappearing beyond the shadowed canopy. The party waited patiently, eyes roving across the perimeter while the magic users stared into the distance. Damien grabbed the blond acolyte’s hand and she gasped. Julia wondered if it was just from surprise or if there was a blush hidden by the graying vapor. A flash of silver and violet sparks surrounded their clasped hands. The two of them spoke together in a hushed tone. When their discussion came to an end, the obsidian acolyte dropped the hand holding as suddenly as he had started it. Damien approached Malachi while Anastasia’s shade studied her hand.
“We are close to the center, just two hundred meters ahead at only a minor variation in our direction,” disclosed the acolyte. “Julia kept us remarkably straight in the fog.”
She couldn’t help preening at the compliment. Damien was friendly, but never a flatterer. His words were honest without any fluff.
Malachi smiled, “Good job keeping us straight, Julia. Do you hear that, Reuben? You’ve got a rival for pathfinding”
The scout gave the shieldmaiden a thumbs up with a friendly wink. “I’ll keep you in mind when we need to scout in force.” She shrugged in a gesture of why not to her shadowed friend.
“Is there anything of note about the center, or is it just your approximation?” inquired Malachi thoughtfully. His jaw set in a way that told you he was considering possibilities.
Damien cocked his head as he said, “I was referencing my calculations for roughly the center of the forest, but close by there does seem to be something of note. A clearing maybe. At the very least, there is a disruption in the placement of the trees there.”
“Sounds like our efforts will be rewarded,” commented Julia. “There isn’t time to cut across the whole woods, but maybe something cool is ahead.”
“Be nice,” agreed Malachi. “Let's move out.”
“Damien, do you have a bearing for us to follow?” cut in Molly.
The obsidian acolyte raised his hand to point ahead, saying, “Follow the lights.”
Like street lamps on a foggy day, the magical eyes had been dropped in a line to indicate their corrected direction. Julia angled herself to walk parallel and the rest of the party positioned themselves off her. As the last person passed the first glowing orb, it shifted past the other three to extend the line of lights. The fog grew thicker until Malachi walking beside her was only a vague impression. It was more noticeable because of the disturbed vapor than any visible. The acolytes’ lights became the only maker for the party to stay together.
The shieldmaiden almost called for a halt, fearing they would all really get separated. Then suddenly there was no need. The fog came to an abrupt end. One moment she was walking in a claustrophobic cloud and the next there was an open space without a tendril of mist. It wasn’t a clearing as trees were larger than normal, spreading their branches wide. The view of the cavernous ceiling was mostly obstructed. That impression came from the air’s dramatic lack of moisture. A difference so stark to suddenly be breathing easily. The fog had been thick enough to choke on.
Despite that marvelous divide, it was something else that caught the eye. Everyone passed through the barrier and immediately studied a massive boulder. It stood proudly in the fogless heart of the woods. A charm rope, glossy like glass, encircled the rock with silver bells. There was no wind, but they sang to themselves. On one side were more words carved in stone.
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A BAUBLE TO MOST, A TREASURE TO SOME, AND A KEY FOR A FEW
Damien wandered away from them. He looked curiously at the standing stone, but moved in a different direction. Coming to a stop before one of the trees that breached the fog wall. Very seriously he gestured to it and said, “This is approximately the center of this forest. I would need accurate measurements to be completely sure, but the tree should be in the very middle!”
They all looked at him, at the tree, then the boulder before finishing back at the obsidian acolyte with a silent questions on their faces. He stared back thoughtfully, looking back and forth between the two.
“Ahh, yes…” blinked Damien. “I suppose… that the boulder is a little bit more interesting… is it not?”
Laughter burst forth from Clarissa and quickly infected everyone else. Even the obsidian acolyte cracked a small smile.
“It does stand out to the eye,” grinned Julia. “Picturesque really…” Humming to herself, she took in the area and dreamed of painting it. A red bird trailing embers flew out of the fog and circled before returning. It would make a lovely addition to the picture in her mind. The shieldmaiden hadn’t expected to be inspired in The Pit. This floor was troubling her expectations.
This is only the second one too, reflected Julia. What’s waiting above?
She tuned back into the group’s conversation to avoid thinking about why they were here at all.
“So, we got another clue,” remarked Harken.
Clarissa collapsed on Julia’s shoulder and yowled, “Sure do! But, anyone have the foggiest idea what it means?”
There were groans in response to that from most of the group. Malachi ignored the pun to say, “This clue is somehow clearer and more meaningless than the first one.”
“The meaning seems pretty clear to me,” suggested Reuben. “There’s something ordinary out there that has a value that fluctuates. You know, based on who has it. Or something like that.”
“Yes,” agreed Malachi sourly. “That’s what I mean by clearer, but says nothing about the idea itself nor its worth to us. If I had to guess, the “bauble” is going to be a key for us.”
Reuben ruefully nodded. “Alright, I getcha reasoning.”
“Aside from the carving itself, is there anything else of note here?” asked Molly. “Perhaps, we’re meant to cut that seal on the rope?”
The bells on the rope’s mild tone changed immediately to an angry chatter. It brought the conversation to a pause. Stunned by the reaction. Everyone silently eyed the boulder until the bells calmed down. Two red calling birds soared overhead.
“Maybe don’t touch the seal,” insisted Julia. “That seems like a bad idea.”
“It could be a trick,” pointed out Clarissa. “The boulder is in a place of prominence, and also could be what the words are referencin’. What else is around here?”
“There are the stairs,” said Damien, breaking in. He had been focused on his central tree, but the bells had apparently shifted the obsidian acolyte’s attention back to them.
“What stairs?” inquired Malachi.
“The ones behind the stone.”
“There’s stairs behind the stone…?”
“Yes,” smiled Damien. “Going down. Though, I suppose that the hole is small enough that you can’t see it from your angle.”
Julia led the way as the two parties moved forward while also rotating around the boulder. As described by the obsidian acolyte, a hole in the ground came into their view. Roughly squarish in shape, it resembled the results of a chuck of earth being removed in one piece. Within that pit were descending stairs of a similar make to those found behind the waterfall. When they drew close enough there were echoey sounds of rushing water gurgling up.
“The way forward,” noted Julia quietly. She took a place at the top of the stairs to peer down into the gloom. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see. The staircase was narrow and curved into what the shieldmaiden suspected was a spiral. Condensation made the stone walls slick and glistening. Somewhere out of sight, water was moving in an underground channel. Reuben moved up and at a confirming nod from Malachi, descended. The scout’s steps didn’t make a sound as he disappeared from notice.
A fluttering interrupted Julia’s attention on the staircase. The sound was close by and distant. Surrounded was the word that came to her mind as she surveyed for the source of the noise. The first source discovered was a red bird of wicked and delicate features staring back from the top of the boulder. In the brief moment of their eye contact, two more birds landed upon that peak. Looking beyond them, more red feathered monsters were finding perches within the clearing. The sound of wings behind her announced that the gathering was all around them.
“Birds!” said Julia in a hiss of warning.
Clarissa looked first and cried, “Shit! It’s just like the movie!”
Eyes went steely and stances turned cautious. The Sixty slowly loosened weapons and prepared themselves. A huge flock had laid claim to every inch of the branches breaching the fog and the boulder top had become crowded with shifting birds. A clicking chirp sounded from random avians and was picked up in waves by those around it. One of the creatures upon the standing stone forced itself forward, glaring down at them. An angry chirp erupted into a shrill crackle of a screech. Fire leaped from the feathers. The call began to ripple outwards as the inflamed bird dived at them.
The shieldmaiden dove protectively in front of everyone. She punched Mana through her shield to snap a barrier into place. Meeting the impact in time. The monster bird looked like pure energy as her defense buckled at the force. Power spilled recklessly through her arms to maintain the barrier. Unable to hold it back for long, Julia tilled the field. Turning the block into a deflect. The flaming avian screamed off to their side and exploded into the earth. A fire roared outwards sending a stinging wave of heat to flow over them. The bird was untouched in the center of the charred crater. It screeched in rage before leaping back into the sky.
More burning avians rocketed towards them. Julia sweated as she rapidly deployed shields to alter the course of one bird after another. The shieldmaiden clenched her jaw in frustration. Irked to be unable to stop the attacks completely nor able to strike back. It took everything she had just to redirect the comet birds. She swallowed her pride and focused on only being a wall.
Through her desperate defense, Julia’s people launched a counter offense. Clarissa took measured shots on birds preparing to dive. The pure Mana projectiles that the prime archer could make, no matter how dense, burned up in flames. A solid iron head arrow was strong enough to break through the effect. Adrienne followed in her mentor's steps, firing off physical arrows imbued with kinetic force.
Damien captured the birds in bubbles no matter the state and slammed them into the ground. A large javelin of glass pinned them as the obsidian acolyte picked out the next target. Anastasia was unable to copy the combo, but was able to shoot out silvery shards. Her attack was more effective at dispersing the crowd than removing monsters from the field. That kept them from getting overwhelmed.
The melee fighters were of limited use. Malachi glowed green, darting about to let off charges of lightning into clumps of the flaming avians. Explosions followed in his wake. Spiteful flames plumed up where the Sisters took their triangular formation spun. Their cursed power burned and ate through the fire of the birds.
Their healers acted in their normal manner. Hunkering down and offering what aid was at their fingertips. Harken offered what buff he could while healing scoured skin or throwing up his lesser barriers. Standing beside him, Norah Ward offered her support in the same manner. The acolyte of curses stood at the center of a storm of violent purple energy. Curses haunted the skyborne monsters to inflict random effects. Some went blind while others fell from the sky unable to twitch a feather. Naomi added her own curses to the flurry of debilitating projectiles.
It was a battle on the frantic edge. Through their efforts, the struggle was stabilized for the long haul. Julia looked to Damien for some grand spell, but the acolyte was busy holding off the swarm on his side. He didn’t have the space or time to pull out one of his wonders. The shieldmaiden growled. She began to burn brain cells to figure out how to give the obsidian acolyte the moment needed to perform.
Reuben appeared at a dead run, launching himself out of the hole in the ground. A comet bird dived at him and the surprised scout dodged in a tangle of limbs. He looked up at the ember enchanted birds in awe-struck horror. Panic tainted his voice, “Incoming otters!”
Everyone jerked and Julia cursed. She jumped into the hole sword and shield readied. Above Damien commanded, “Anastasia take her place. Use Leon’s barriers.”
“Fuck,” roared Julia into the darkness below. Enraged at leaving them up there to defend themselves, but knowing she was the best person to hold the giant otters back. No matter how much the issue angered her, why those monsters were underground was a question for later. She picked a spot on the stairs just a little past where the ceiling was above. It was best not to leave a way for the otters to easily bypass her by climbing over. The space was narrow. No room for sword swings. Only thrusting and a little shield bashing.
She could hear the scrambling below and explosions above. Moments of exhausting nothing as the shieldmaiden waited for contact. Dark blue Mana poured into the shield and sword. They glowed, strengthening the illumination. Her Mana thrummed to life as it spread outwards. The normal radius of perfect awareness concentrated only on the space ahead of Julia. She became aware of the giant otters the moment a whisker entered the claimed space.
The first otter snapped out of the dark like a snake. Needle maw reaching for her face. Julia stepped forward. Knowing its trajectory perfectly. Her shield slammed into the head and the Mana coating the metal ruptured violently. The furry monster was tossed back into the shadows. A smile appeared on her face as the creature slammed into the pack closely behind. The wriggly fiends all got tangled up together in their fury to climb the stairs. Buying time as planned.
Three quick steps forward and she thrust savagely forward. The enhanced blade grazed a few before penetrating the skull of her target. Three prowling steps back. The shield rose as more Mana poured in. Above, the explosions continued, but Damien’s voice rang out. She wasn’t sure of the words, though it was encouraging to hear. Some weight disappeared from her shoulders.
The monsters twisted their dead kin out of the way and charged. A barrier locked into place in a flash, covering the whole stairwell. Squeals escaped the otters as they bloodied themselves on the sudden wall. She dropped it to attack as they flinched. Her shield smashed one into the wall and the Mana explosion turned it to mush. A sword thrust passed through the throat of one on the ground, the tip grating on the stone underneath. Two careful steps back as the surviving creatures pulled themselves together.
She was preparing for the next push when Malachi gave her the order to retreat. Julia noticed the clearing was silent as fled up the stairs. The otters pursued, but both parties fell on them. The shieldmaiden took a breather and looked at the scorched surroundings. Nothing burned due to the dampness from the fog, but there were plenty of signs of flash fires.
“Well, that was an exciting end to our hour,” noted Clarissa with a smile as she took a seat beside her friend.
“Why are there otters down there?” asked Julia
Clarissa clicked her tongue and nodded sagely in thought. “Because who doesn’t want one of those things trying to gnaw on your ankles in the dark and damp.”
“So, basically, The Pit is a dick!”
“Yup, at least it isn’t more rats.”
“Sure, sure…” mourned Julia. Reflecting on the certainty that the Sixty would be going down there because as she said, it was the way forward.