The enormity of such a scene took a while to sink in.
Ulgrin and his fellow companions were left in a shocked silence as they tried to comprehend what they had just witnessed. Was it one big misunderstanding? He felt a warm liquid on his upper brow and raised a hand.
Blood stained his skin and beard from where it had dripped down. The headache still persisted as well. Looking around, he could see similar states in his allies. Just the sheer act of witnessing such a thing had caused them harm. He was no doctor, but even he knew that bleeding from an orifice was bad.
He shut his eyes tight and tried to calm down. Had his Grandfather known?
Wiping away blood with a spare cloth, he looked towards his shaken friends. “Is everyone okay? Well, none of us are okay. But less bad, aye?”
Alyss gave a shudder. “I think we saw a God of some kind. Do they look like that? I thought they were more… nice, mostly.”
“Saezz is unsure. That did not feel like the presence of the divine.” He gave a nod. “He has felt them before, long ago during a ritual. Whatever that thing was… he refuses to call it a God. Or a Spirit. Neither. It is something other.”
Raelza looked up from where she was soothing Thorn and Wreath, who had wisely curled up into balls and tried to look as small as possible. “The animals knew it was bad, too. The moment that black void appeared they both got freaked out and tried to hide.” She gave a frown as she rubbed Thorn’s crest.
Ulgrin turned his attention back towards the crystal orbs.
The fact that such a thing even existed was a marvel of magic. But to think that the Ancients could utilize Divination to scry something so far into the future? Utilizing magic to divine the future was difficult. The art was complicated and prone to failure, only the rarest of oracles being able to properly utilize it.
But if anyone could master such a feat, it would be the Ancients.
They had seen the future and… then what? Collapsed? None of the tapestry suggested they had been affected by such an event in the past. It was only going to happen later. So then why had the world Shattered? A war, one far surpassing any other? Only the dragons and angels knew, and they hoarded those truths.
Ulgrin could see tensions breaking down in response to such a threat. A normally united people thrown into chaos when they realized the world would be ending. Because that was sure as hell what the image felt like.
Wait. How many moons had passed?
Despite the pain in his skull, he frantically tried to remember. They had flown by quick, each rotation faster than the next. By the time the void had appeared, he realized they had moved at least a thousand times. So what, then? Three years? That was all they had before such a thing occurred?
He shuddered deeply, realizing just how dire the situation was.
So little time was left.
People needed to know. He had to get this information back to the Collective. He scanned the orbs and finally realized that the magic was contained within them, not the chamber itself. Hesitantly, he withdrew several linen sheets and wrapped the three crystal balls up and stored them away.
“We need to keep these safe until we can get them in the hands of someone important.” He said, ensuring them to be safely ensconced.
“D-d-do you think it’s real?” Alyss asked, very much worried.
“Of course it’s real!” Raelza replied. “What good would the Ancients have from lying? This is a place of study, yeah? They were studying it here. Probably elsewhere as well.”
“Saezz believes it wisest to assume what we just saw to be fact. Otherwise, why risk the world ending?”
“It’s kind of ironic that the world literally ended in the Shattering before they could experience a real end like that mess we just saw.” Alyss said with a nervous laugh.
Ulgrin nodded. “If my hypothesis is true, then it’s a damn shame what happened. Either way, we should move along.”
The morale of the party had taken a heavy blow, but they were determined not to let it hit them too hard. They passed through hallway after hallway. More knick-knacks were found and added to bags for later sale. He was most impressed by a magical lamp that still functioned after all this time.
After tricking the armless construct into being trapped behind the door, the party moved on to the other wing of the college.
Here they found a dormitory of sorts. Rooms upon rooms, most of them small and cramped. It figured that even the Ancients would still cut corners. A lucky find in the form of a set of jewelry, the likes of which would fund their further endeavors. Just a simple opal-themed silver set of earrings, necklace, and bracelet. It felt strange to rob the dead, but they were long gone.
Ulgrin stared down at a flat, round construct puttering along the floor. “What is this?” It didn’t pay them much mind, simply moving along a set path. He watched as it passed over their dusty boot prints and the mess promptly faded away. The hell? Was it cleaning after them?
Stolen story; please report.
“Some kind of servant?” Alyss asked, watching it run into a wall, turn at a ninety degree angle, and then continue moving. “This one seems rather simple.”
Raelza knelt down and patted its hull. “I think it’s kinda cute.” Admittedly, the design seemed intentionally ‘harmless’.
Pleasing patterns of brass and steel covered the construct. Two nubby ‘arms’ extended out from its front and glowed upon contact with any kind of mess, promptly making it disappear.
Ulgrin lifted the cleaner golem, watching its wheels spin rapidly but finding no purchase on the air.
“Don’t bully it,” Alyss warned him, hands on her hips.
“I ain’t bullying the damn thing, just examining its underchassis.” He replied with a huff, setting it back down. It continued wandering as if nothing had happened, determined to clean the floor. No wonder this section of the halls was rather spotless. A tireless worker had kept it clean for a thousand years.
Shame it couldn’t do the same for the walls or any of the furniture. Ulgrin had sneezed at least twenty times since coming here.
It was honestly starting to become a bet amidst his group. They had decided whoever sneezed the most had to set up the tents tonight. Unfortunately, Ulgrin was losing. He was hoping Saezz would surpass him, but was not holding out hope. His dwarven nose hairs were sensitive.
Leaving the dormitory wing, they continued onto the western halls.
This wing seemed much more dedicated to experimentation and study. Each room here was a place for research to take place. He found tools for engraving runes in hard materials, somehow still functioning. Then again, most things in this place were still functioning so he didn’t have much room to question it. Best to just chalk it up to ‘The Ancients Made It’.
Hefting the stylus, he found that he could imbue it with mana and it would project a beam of eroding force. Perfect for carving lines into tough metals or stone. Another tool would create an illusory shape for him to base his runes off of and follow. It could make straight lines, polygons, and circles rather easily.
Titling the stylus as a ‘Ward Shaper’ and a ‘Ward Template’, he learned that it thankfully had safety mechanisms in place to avoid tearing people up. “Damn it, Saezz. Don’t cross in front of the beam that is actively making holes in steel!” He had purposely tested it far away from anyone else, but the bastard had approached anyways, curiosity killing the crocodile.
The sheepish lizard threw his hands up in defeat, thankful that the beam had shut off on contact and left only a light abrasion. “Apologies. Saezz will not tempt fate next time.”
Moving along, they discovered a room that had Alyss promptly jumping up and down with excitement.
“Look at all this! A room full of alchemical equipment!” She said, running inside and practically throwing herself at the various tubes and jars. “So they practiced similarly to the way we do?! How wonderful! Look at all of this? I can only guess what some of these were used for. Look at the precision!”
Ulgrin watched with amusement, and then noticed one flaw. He gestured towards the back row of closed shelves, where behind sealed glass he could see a noxious looking blanket of mold and fungus. “Should we tell her?”
Saezz shook his head. “Let her learn in time.”
The three of them waited until she finally noticed the reagents. Then she promptly wailed, collapsing and banging a fist against the round. “Why, Gods?! Why curse me so? It’s not fair! So many ingredients, gone! What a cruel fate.” Alyss fell backwards, staring into the ceiling with a look of great despair.
An awkward silent debate began to determine who would try to comfort the poor alchemist. Lots of raised eyebrows and frowns. Ultimately, Ulgrin sighed and gave up.
Walking forwards, he knelt and placed a hand upon her shoulder. “Ah… Don’t worry? I’m sure we’ll find more that have been properly preserved by magic or something. Please don’t cry?”
“Ain’t gonna cry,” she sniffled. “Fine. Fine. There’s still more to see.” She promptly leapt back to her feet in a display of agility. “Right. How the hells am I going to get all this back?”
Leaving her to figure that out, he turned and was met with a group thumbs up.
Rolling his eyes, he helped Alyss find a crate to store the glass equipment in. Her bedroll was sacrificed to ensure no breakage, but the human assured him it was a worthy loss. She seemed almost heartbroken to leave so much behind, but he put his foot down. Only one crate.
Entering another ritual chamber, they found what had once been quite the bounty in gemstones.
Presumably once used for storing magical energy, the crystals had for some reason or another collapsed and turned into little more than shards. Still, the dust leftover was still a valuable reagent for enchantments. Sweeping it up and into a bag, Ulgrin pocketed the gem dust.
Little else was found until they reached the end of the hallway and saw something else. A staircase leading downwards.
For a moment they stared down into the depths. It led down, downwards, and even farther down. Enough so that only Raelza’s superior low-light vision could see what was below.
“Some kind of gate,” she said, squinting in the darkness. “A big slab of stone serving as a door, of sorts. Also a large room with many benches.” They waited a moment for her to uncover any more details, but she shook her head. “Stairs are a bit cramped, so Thorn will go last.”
Nodding, Ulgrin led them down the flight of stairs.
After arriving at the bottom, his knowledge of engineering clued him in to the fact that this place was heavily reinforced. Pillars of metal were everywhere to keep the ceiling up. Braces against the walls. Not an ounce of space wasn’t designed without maximum stability taken into account.
The stone down here was made of the same light toned purple material they’d found upstairs. For lack of a better term, he titled the stuff ‘thaumstone’. At the far end from the stairs was a section of the wall, slightly receding that he presumed was a gate of some kind. A darker tone, it had gold sigils painted along its side.
A seal, he presumed. To keep something in, or to keep something out?
His eyes spotted what appeared to be some kind of lectern in front of the gate. Approaching carefully, he cast his gaze over the flat slate surface placed upon the receptacle.
A nearby pen, though lacking any kind of inkwell, sat upon the lectern.
Lacking any other ideas, he picked up the pen and pressed it against the slate stone. He was shocked to see a glowing mark form where he had touched it. Pausing, he continued writing. ‘The quick mottled beetle hops over the lazy pig.’
Moments later, words formed below his. He blinked, then frantically withdrew his notes.
“It says… ‘Request blank. Please blank blank and try again.’” After studying them, he quickly translated for the others.
Saezz tilted his head. “Why is the pedestal asking questions? Is there a person hidden inside?”
“No, it’s like a Golem.” Alyss replied. “This one might actually be some kind of elemental. Maybe you should look up the words for ‘door’ and ‘open’?”
Ulgrin nodded, scanning the pages.
After some time and cursing his Grandfather’s shorthand methods, he found the right words. Drawing them upon the slate, he watched as the light pulsed.
“Now it’s saying ‘Command blank. Blank blank starting.’ I think that worked.” He gave her a thumbs up.
They all watched as a rumble filled the room. Gold sigils began to glow brightly, filling the room with light. The ten foot wide gate shuddered and began to rise, shaking the earth as thousands of pounds of material were moved through magic alone. For a moment it was too bright to see the other side.
And then the lights dimmed. They could see the remnants of a bloodbath.
Questionable stains of blackened red covered the ground. Stark-white bones filled the antechamber beyond, piles upon piles of them. A massacre had happened here, long ago. Worst of all, a ghastly aura filled the room. Something dark, decrepit, and filled with hatred.
Undead naturally occurred when corpses were left unattended. While the Soul moved on, pieces of it stuck to the body and remained. These portions lacked what made them humanoid, leaving behind only the instinct to kill and destroy anything they came across. In death, they existed only to bring the same upon all else.
Baleful white orbs formed in the skulls of the dead. Corpses rattled and creaked as they began to stand up. Ulgrin and his allies had only moments to prepare themselves.
Soon, the dead were upon them.
The party gets their first glimpse of what the Ancients left behind. Also, a magitech roomba! I love those little guys. As it turns out, not every fallout shelter survived the Shattering. Some left behind only the dead and damned.
Lexicon of Words and Terms Used:
Divination - The magic of scrying, fate-reading, and discovery. Notably difficult amongst all the practitioners of magic, it requires a great deal of study and dedication in order to properly divine the facts from the fiction.
Undead - When a person dies, their soul leaves the body to return to the cycle. The process isn't perfect, and bits of soulstuff are left behind to cling to the corpse. Undead are the result of that, naturally occurring in places of great tragedy and death. Battlefields, natural disasters, and villages succumbing to disease. These are where you find the dead still clinging to life. They seek out other souls like moths to a flame yet cannot gain what they yearn for. Necromancy is the art of manipulating these entities, and is generally frowned upon if not quite illegal.