Chapter 11: Observe, and be Observed
It is said that there are but a few guilds and organizations that operate outside of the laws of man. It is also said that the closer one gets to such groups, bloodshed is sure to follow. As such, little else is known except for the names of these groups:
The Smiling Silence
Azure Daggers
White Dice
It is highly inadvisable to seek out a member of any such organization. To do so would surely invite ruin into one's life.
-Unknown
Wow....
Standing torches flared into life, illuminating the central walkway and throwing stark shadows into the far corners. Struck with a sense of awe and wonder, Zed joined Emi in the cavernous first chamber of the Ebonblade Catacombs. Despite its aura of disuse, the hall itself appeared to be in pristine condition. Opulent, even.
Devoid of most furnishings, four massive blackstone pillars stood as major features in the room to either side of the central walkway. The hall was lined with more single doors set into the walls at regular intervals, each one identical to the entryway: black, arched, and barred shut with yet more metal tentacles.
There was a sudden cacophony of clanking metal as the main doors closed behind them autonomously, sealing the pair inside.
“That's... not ominous at all...”
“Worry not; that was my doing. Safer this way for the overworld to be protected from what lies within should either of us become incapacitated for any reason,” Emi reasoned. “For now, let's split up and investigate the room independently.”
“Fine with me. Should we be concerned about... erm... these other doors?”
There must be at least a dozen other passageways here!
She shook her head, perhaps a little sadly.
“Not at all. Those are the halls we use to bury our dead.” She paused. “Or, rather, we used to. Not anymore.”
“Because the dungeon had to be sealed?”
“Exactly. The seals on the doors remain intact; the corruption has not reached this level,” she mused. “Perhaps one day we may yet return our dead to these halls.”
Zed nodded thoughtfully, wandering over toward the far edge of the room where a bit of shimmering cloth had caught his attention. He attempted to tread lightly and keep to the growing shadows so as not to draw any unwanted attention. Really, he needn't have worried: his borrowed soft-soled leather boots muffled his footfalls and made him all but untrackable.
As he approached the wall, he found that it was adorned with a myriad of ornate, faded tapestries. At a glance, the tapestries all appeared to be part of a single collection, each wreathed in what could only be described as an improbably elegant ouroboros of tentacles.
Why all the tentacles all of a sudden? What does it mean?
The first hanging, if it could even be called that, was entirely black, threaded through with the occasional stitch of shimmering silver. Space? A void? For all he knew, it might be a long forgotten veil.
Or a shroud.
He shuddered and moved to inspect the next hanging. What was this meant to depict, exactly? A great cosmic explosion? Zed didn't know how else to describe it. And yet there was something both deeply intimate and peculiar about the image: two sets of mystic, angular runes met within the void. They collided, intertwined, and ultimately merged as one larger rune that was even stranger still, even more beautiful, and... somehow obscene.
Zed looked pointedly away from the image, feeling strangely unsettled.
I wasn't meant to see that. Why wasn't I meant to see that?
The runes returned to their original orientation in the second hanging, but the second rune had been changed in some profound way that seemed beyond his understanding.
Subsequent hangings depicted not two, but four runes. The two new runes appeared to be offspring of the original runes, possessing shared qualities of both 'parent' runes.
“I see now,” he murmured to himself. “It's a creation story. But... what the hell is this?”
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Further down the hall something... charred... demanded Zed's immediate attention. It looked like a tapestry had been set ablaze some time ago, burning away much of the image. He felt inexorably drawn toward the tapestry and began walking further down the hall.
He walked.
And walked.
And walked.
I thought there were only four pillars in this room?
Zed stopped abruptly, his eyes sliding from left to right and back again. He pivoted slowly on the spot, pointing to each pillar in turn while counting aloud.
“One. Two. Three,” He swallowed. “Four.”
A sinking feeling rose from the pit of his stomach. He had walked past the same pillar twenty seven times. Almost as if someone or something altered the space within the chamber to form some kind of loop. And he found himself trapped inside, much like a fly in a bell jar.
Ok, calm down. Let's think about this rationally. I am not under attack. It seems like an anomaly of some sort, or a trap.
Where was Emi? Had she found herself in a similar predicament? Zed surveyed the room, squinting to locate her across the vast chamber. No, it didn't appear as though she was in distress; she had stooped over to more closely examine an ancient statue of some sort.
I shouldn't call out to her. At least, not yet. No need to senselessly drag her into this. Can I still reach the scorched tapestry?
Fixating on the tapestry, he found he was not able to progress any further, passing the pillar twice more.
“What is real?” He reached out to the closest tapestry, rubbing the fibers between his fingers. Real.
He reached out to touch the pillar but found that it was further away than it had been before. Had it moved? No. The more likely scenario, however illogical, seemed to be that more space had been stuffed in there. He looked first behind himself, then ahead.
This isn't real. It can't be real, or I'm crazy. If it's fake, then I know I'm sane.
Fighting the growing unease within himself, Zed disregarded the pillar beside him entirely, instead focusing all his will on the pillar straight ahead. To reinforce this point, he extended his left arm as he walked forward, carefully watching to ensure that he was indeed getting closer to the second pillar. It was very nearly sickening to take his eyes away from the false pillar and tapestries within the loop, but he took one step, and another, and another.
It worked.
In under a minute Zed's outstretched palm made contact with the second pillar. He snorted as space shuffled itself clumsily back into place behind him and the illusion imploded. He was met with the distinct feeling that some unseen force was watching, laughing.
A trap that doesn't like to be observed. How fucking novel.
Regardless, he didn't want to find himself trapped within such an illusion again anytime soon. While it didn't seem overtly malicious it was... in a word, unsettling. He shook his head violently to clear out the residual intrusive thoughts.
Having reached his goal, he turned to take a closer look at the scorched tapestry. Yes, from this angle it was obvious that the destruction was intentional: a large hole had been blasted out of the center of the hanging, obliterating much of the image. All that remained was the topmost bit displaying, well, Zed wasn't too sure. The more he tried to analyze what remained, the more incomprehensible it was.
“Appraisal.”
No response, no information blurb. Nothing. Did it fizzle?
He attempted to cast Appraisal twice more with the same results before meeting with a rather ominous notification:
This action has been blocked.
Zed blinked several times, disturbed. He had never received such a response to his efforts before and found that he didn't like it one bit. Not only was some unseen force bending the fabric of reality, it was also interfering with, in his opinion, one of his most important skills!
The audacity!
But what was the true extent of this manipulation? Was Appraisal blocked entirely?
Zed attempted to use his skill on his immediate surroundings, but he did not encounter any other hindrances. Apart from the ruined tapestry, Appraisal was otherwise functioning perfectly. This was simultaneously both relieving and concerning.
Weighing the possible implications of this newest revelation, he called Emi over. She was at his side within a minute, slightly breathless.
“Zed, what's the matter? You're rather pale.”
“Never mind that. Did you find anything? Or maybe...” He paused, running a hand through his hair distractedly. “Did anything... strange happen to you? Anything unusual?”
Her answering look said it all; absolutely nothing of interest had transpired. Furthermore, was he insane?
Zed sighed deeply and explained his uncanny experiences traversing the room and the Appraisal failure. He also shared his suspicions regarding the yet unseen force.
“That sounds... deeply concerning. But it's no wonder your skill failed; there's nothing here to appraise.”
“What are you talking about? It's right here!” He gestured toward the tapestry. “You know, the one right in front of us? With the middle blasted out of it?”
Emi stared back at him, nonplussed.
“Zed... are you quite well?”
“...You're serious. Of course I'm well! Emi, it's right here!”
He pressed his hand to the ruined tapestry and tugged at it while she shook her head blankly, her face unreadable.
“Okay, fine,” he exclaimed, fumbling with his belt.
He produced a small iron dagger from one of its pouches and slashed at the lower corner of the hanging. A ragged strip slid to the floor. Zed snatched the fragment up and shoved it into Emi's hand.
“How about now?”
She opened her hand and widened her eyes in shock.
“W-what is this,” she stammered, turning the cloth over in her hands.
What the hell?
“Wait, no... what?!”
He snatched the cloth back in disbelief. The original imagery depicted on the tapestry was... gone?! The severed fragment shimmered innocuously in the candlelight. Zed was reminded of the oily puddles in the grocery store parking lot after a late night rain. Was it really only a month ago?
“This isn't right,” he said flatly, handing back the cloth. “There were runes woven into this before. Damn it!”
“Is it not enough that it exists? Until you slashed at this cloth, it was completely invisible to me. Hidden. It would not surprise me if this was infused with some sort of ancient magic. It seems that the cloth has reverted to its original state now that it has been separated from the original piece.”
Zed shrugged.
“Maybe. But it still doesn't tell me what this is,” he snapped. “Give me that.”
He motioned for the fragment and stowed it safely away within his Item Box.
“For now, I'll settle for not being utterly batshit insane, thanks.”
“I'm sorry, Zed. It was not my intention to doubt your claims. If there's nothing else, are you ready to press on?”
He nodded, sheathing the dagger.
“Let's get this over with.”