Interlude – 1

News of the Siege of Avilla reached the ears of many. Some grin at the thought of the defenseless Avilla. While some frown at the presence of the Thorn Cross Legion in the Freelands.

But beyond these many pricked ears. There’s a group of excavators working down a ruin. The cavern was old yet it was made of cement and marble. There’s a group of men and women wearing crude equipment. They wore a helmet that was connected to a tank by a tube. The tube was providing them air. The underground cavern that they were in was full of stalagmites and crystal that gives a green hue.

They wore bronze wrought iron equipment. There were guards around them but the eerie silence of the cavern made no one wanted to talk brightly.

“How’s the artifact?” said the excavator.

“Intact, but the conditions are odd. This artifact should date older than us. But yet it feels like it is more advanced.”

“This place is where those who came before us. You’ve heard of the mighty civilizations right?”

“Ay, who wouldn’t have heard?”

“Many wouldn’t know. We’ve only started to hear about this civilization. If it wasn’t for the dwarven people excavating these ruins then we wouldn’t have seen it.”

“Yeah, and they almost got destroyed just by digging. Sir, do you think that we would meet ‘them’ here.”

“I hope we don’t,” said the man gravely. “We don’t have enough arms around us. Not even a few guards to spare after the Bali and Cagan fiasco.”

The excavator went silent. He stared at the grid lines that seemed to cover the monolith with blue highlights. The monolith keeps on blinking. The rough breathing of the excavators as they inhale the air on their tanks was quite something.

They were people of secret origins. A team of excavators using experimental equipment made to combat the conditions given by this mission.

No one knows of this mission aside from the Guardians who provide them with the resources they need. These guardians were interested in what on earth was the monolith that they have discovered.

The project was founded by this single ruin that was uncovered. In fact, most of the people here were bright men and women that have studied in archives and academies only to gather here.

There was a giant facility just outside of these caverns. This facility was guarded by men with firearms far greater than they should have. Things can be kept secret. And before long it can be revealed as well. These men and women had guarded that secret and made use of it to keep this cavern and facility a secret from others. If a peasant could see these people now, they would run in fear at the sight of ‘Metal-headed tube men’ that walks around breathing through tubes.

That’s why a few only knew of the secret here. And even if they do know they would get a bullet to the head. It was steampunk society here. A secret society filled with secrets and intrigue.

“Sir,” said a man.

“What is it?”

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“We found something?”

“Take me to it.”

The man nodded. He led the Sir to this narrow chamber. It was filled with lights powered by a bulb attached to a motor that creates electricity. It was noisily humming.

“What did you found?” said the Sir.

“Something odd, like a disk array.”

“An array?” the Sir walked to this platform. He looked at the runic writings and frowned. There were letters and vowels he could not read. It was colored black and blue. The letters were giving a faint light as it blinks. It was just like the monolith they found.

“This is,” The Sir caressed the writings. “Incredible, the thing is intact just like the monolith in the main cavern. What is this?”

A scientist looked at the wrought iron machine with meters and wirings. It was crude and clunky. It acted like a diagnosis machine.

“It gives faint reading Sir. There is electricity flowing around the disk array. And our meters are giving red warnings. If we dig further we will be exposed to this energy-like poison.”

“An Energy-like poison you say?”

“Something we could not see or taste. If we are exposed we might just have died. Even our suits wouldn’t be able to take the brunt of this poison, Sir.”

“I see. Are you saying that we will need more than this?”

“Yes, Sir,” the scientist said, marking the meters, writing them down with his notes. The excavator that took the Sir looked at the disk array. Then, he saw something that looked like a button. He hesitated. But he pushes the button. There was engine-like noise followed by something ominous.

The Sir looked at the excavator as if maddened. “What have you done!?”

“I don’t know Sir!” shouted the excavator back.

“You fool!” the Sir pulled a pistol out of his holster. Unlike the pistols used by the common people, the pistol he pulled was finely crafted. Pulling the trigger, a pointy bullet instead of a ball came out. This bullet pierces through the skull of the excavator as if it was nothing.

“Damn it! Everyone evacuate now!” he hollered while pulling the trigger again. This time another bullet came out. He didn’t even have to take a paper cartridge or prime his gun to shoot another bullet. The only thing that happened was that the gun spits out a bullet casing. The Sir gritted his teeth, spitting at the scientist he scuttled towards the entrance only to hear something that he could never understand. Like someone speaking but through a machine.

“SHEOL IS HERE. THE QUIETUS WILL COME FOR ALL AND PULL US BACK INTO THE ABYSS. BE WARNED OF THE QUIETUS! SHEOL WILL COME. SHEOL AND THE LEGION OF QUIETUS WILL ASUNDER US.”

The Sir wanted to know what he just heard. But he could understand the language. He could not tell what the voice meant. He wanted to stay but the loud humming made him unable to stay. He ran as green fluid made of radioactive materials seeped out of the monolith. Before long, the room was filled with glowing green liquid.

It killed forty people as they exposing themselves to it.