After the attempt on his life the night before, Ezekiel was stuck being supervised by either Garrad or Gerome at all times. Along with one of these two was at least one member of the team he’d been essentially attached to at this point.
They weren’t hovering over him at all times. It was very much like what Ezekiel imagined bodyguard or escort missions would include. He was accompanied everywhere but was permitted his privacy after a given area was checked, and that was it.
They were already sharing a room and campsite, while traveling, so there wasn’t much of a change with their rooming arrangements either.
This also meant that Ezekiel got to have a front row seat when it came to Guild management, as on the few occasions that Gerome had to deal with something separately, Ezekiel was forced to accompany Garrad as he managed the Titans’ part of the expedition.
He’d learned more of what the Guilds were planning when it came to logistics and training, as well as a bit of what had happened during the previous expedition.
It seemed that a team from the Roaring Ruins Guild found a sealed passageway in a collapsed building not far from the central area of the Ruins. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get in, as it was sealed by a Void lock, something only the Ancient Void could make.
They realized that this must’ve been a broken-down Temple of the Void. A place of worship specifically reserved for those dedicated purely to the worship of the Ancient Void.
In the current era, only one such temple still existed, in working order, amongst human societies, and it was not present in the Empire. Upon asking, Ezekiel learned that it existed in the Kingdom of Quintessa, on the far east side of the continent, past the Desolate Lands.
Given this information, Ezekiel made it one of his goals to eventually make his way to Quintessa. He fully believed that answers to some of his questions would likely be found there.
Regardless, upon realizing that they were in a Temple of the Void, the Roaring Ruins Guild attempted to open the Void Lock, to no success, as they were neither keyed into it, they didn’t know the passcode to open it, nor were they Void Mages, who could connect with and open such locks.
Unfortunately, the Reaching Spires Guild also discovered this passage, resulting in a fight breaking out.
This caused the Void Lock to break, and the resulting explosion disturbed a containment chamber that had apparently sealed a large number of Rot Cruor.
The expedition was able to fight back fairly well, and several relics from within were acquired, as were numerous pure mana crystals, but each of the Guilds lost members in the ensuing battles.
The loss of supplies also meant that they weren’t able to hold the Ruins for too long, and were forced into a full retreat, rather than successfully setting up a temporary outpost for the Guild to use as a base. Currently, the Reaching Spires had been chosen to become the vanguards to hopefully clear out some of the Ruins for the rest of the Guilds that would be following after.
The Spires would not be permitted to take first crack at the Void Passage, however, as another Void Lock had appeared further in the temple after the first one had exploded.
But, for now, Ezekiel and his team were still traveling in the carriage towards the Desolate Lands.
Gerome had gone off to kill a few Umbral beasts so they could continue traveling at a steady pace, as they were a few hours behind schedule due to experiencing several attacks over the past couple of days.
They had crossed the Turnbout a few days ago and were nearing the edge of the Desolate Lands. Where they would be two days out from the location of the Ruins.
“So, question,” Ezekiel said upon learning that they were nearly at the edge of Human territory, “other than the Cruor, is there anything in particular that I need to be wary of when we cross over?”
His teammates shared a few looks before replying.
“One thing you need to look out for is light.” Herend said.
“Light?”
“Yes, light. We’re still a ways out, but can you see those clouds in the distance?”
“Yeah?”
“Those constantly block out sunlight. The further you go into the Desolate Lands, the less light there is.”
This shocked Ezekiel, as he had thought the weather was just going to be bad.
“Wouldn’t light be a good thing? It would mean that there’s either a Radiant Mage or a torch, or something, right?”
“As you’ve described it, yes. Light is a good thing. But what if the light you see isn’t from a Radiant Mage or a torch? What else do you think it comes from?”
Herend’s question actually stumped Ezekiel for a minute. The only things he could think of were Relics of some sort, like the ones that they’d be looking for, and electricity, which he didn’t think would be the answer Herend was looking for.
“I don’t know...”
“Eyes, or bait.”
Herend’s immediate response pulled Ezekiel from his thoughts. He looked confused as he turned to Herend. How did they indicate eyes or bait?
“You haven’t seen them in the Umbral beasts we’ve faced so far.” Herend continued. “In the Desolate Lands, more Umbral beasts were born in the dark environment. As such, they’re particularly adapted to it. The Cruor are the same.”
“Glowing eyes, in part to see, due to their highly reflective properties, or bait, to draw in others on which they feast. It also means that something is glowing, and if you can’t confirm that it’s a Radiant Mage, then it’s likely something that’s trying to kill you.”
Ezekiel couldn’t help but shiver at Herend’s description. It sounded far too much like the creepy crawlies from the deep oceans, or the ancient caves that could be found in his old world.
He’d never liked such areas. Old tombs and ruins were fine. He always found those interesting, but this seemed like it was quite a bit more than he was used to.
“What’s worse is that the shadows are just as bad, since we can’t see things nearly as well as the Cruor and Umbral Beasts can.” Tracy chimed in.
“So, I need to be wary of the light and the dark. Well, that makes things simple.”
The sarcasm in Ezekiel’s voice was obvious, and his teammates chuckled nervously as they didn’t know how better to explain things.
“Be wary at all times.” Garrad said, his voice cutting through the laughter.
“There are few, if any, forms of sustenance within the Desolate Lands. Hence why we have to have a regular supply chain to pick up the slack when it comes to food. Mana can somewhat cleanse food and water for eating, but don’t rely on it.”
“Finally, if you see lights in the distance that aren’t brilliantly shining, do not assume that it is safe. Most lights you see will be bioluminescent, I believe is the word, which tends to be a softer glow than the light produced by a Radiant Mage or Spirit.”
Garrad’s explanation was more in depth than Herend’s or Tracy’s, but that only made sense since he’d been in the Guild for far longer than anyone in the team.
“Once we cross over, Leader Gerome will no longer be taking up any duties besides being your bodyguard. Do as he says whenever he gives you instructions. That also goes for whoever in this team is helping him at a given time.”
Everyone in the carriage nodded their heads in unison. None of them doubted that Garrad and Gerome’s orders would be helpful, if not lifesaving.
A loud crash suddenly echoed from the side.
The caravan stopped momentarily as everyone readied their guard and turned to the source of the disturbance.
They relaxed slightly and began moving again as they all saw Gerome sitting atop Westly’s back as they exited from the trees and bushes to the side of the mostly overgrown trail the expedition was slowly traversing.
Gerome approached the carriage with Ezekiel and his team in it, nodding to Garrad as he got closer.
“Garrad, I think it would be best if you went to the front. It seems like the Spires didn’t bother properly clearing the path we made on the first big trip. They’ll need your help to clear the road.”
“Right.”
Garrad made his way forward, hopping out of the carriage wagon and onto Brucey, who had grown in size, and began making his way to the front. The earth beneath their feet began leveling out, and the overgrowth was pushed to the side.
“You six,” all the humans in the carriage turned to Gerome, “get ready. We’re ahead of schedule, but it’ll be two days at least before we get to the edge of the Ruins, and from the look of things. Something either happened to the Reaching Spires and their supporters, or they’ve purposefully made things difficult for us.”
The members of the Wandering Titans were confused as Gerome said this but accepted it as they knew Guild competition was fierce.
Only Ezekiel knew that he was the source of the Reaching Spire’s animosity.
He could only hope that the people he had grown close to over the past couple weeks wouldn’t be forced to suffer unduly during the inevitable conflict with the Spires.
----------------------------------------
It was several hours later that Ezekiel noticed they were coming up to what appeared to be the edge of the dark clouds he’d seen in the distance previously.
The horizon had turned dark and shaded a while back, and it was almost like a curtain of shadows now stretched across the horizon.
Looking out at the forest around them, Ezekiel could also see that the foliage was different too.
The leaves had begun to turn from healthy browns and greens a while ago. Becoming more autumn like in their coloring. But now the color of the trees’ bark was cracked and splintered everywhere.
The few trees that still had leaves on them seemed dried out in places, their branches short, jagged, and snapped.
The forest itself grew thinner and thinner, to the point where Ezekiel was able to see hundreds of feet into the distance without any obstructions.
Beyond the lack of trees and bushes for foliage, there was also an upturn in scrub plants, but they were incredibly dark in color, as well as having little to no leaves when compared to most of the trees they’d seen.
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There were also mushrooms and other fungi that drew Ezekiel’s attention.
“Those aren’t connected to the Rot, are they?”
Ezekiel’s question drew a few stares from his teammates.
“No, fungi just grow better in environments like this, that’s all.”
Gerome explained as they continued onward.
“Will we be stopping for the night on the border, or going further in first?” Ezekiel asked as he looked forward into the Desolate Lands.
“No. We’ll likely move for a few more hours once we cross the border. Getting to the Ruins and setting up stable fortifications is our goal right now.”
“The temporary protections we’ll be making will not be enough for a sustained campground. But it should hopefully last as a base for the Roaring Ruins Guild that are bringing up the rear. If things go well, they’ll meet up with us tomorrow, and we’ll arrive at the Ruins by evening the following night.”
Gerome’s explanation of their planned movements helped set Ezekiel at ease, but one thing stood out that raised a question for him.
“How do you know when it’s night and day here?” He asked.
“The clouds are not so thick as to block out every ounce of sunlight. As well, there are sometimes breaks in the clouds, allowing some light to stream through, but those are like rain showers that pass in minutes. They are not a reliable source of light. As well, the land is barren enough that, as close to the edge of the Desolate Lands as we are, we can see when the sun is setting in the evenings.”
“One of the reasons that we usually only allow Tier two Hunters to join our Guilds is because they can enhance their senses, and for a long enough time so as to actually be useful. I’m sure you know this already, but Mages of any affinity besides Void tend to be unable to enhance their senses until Tier two. Their bodies lack the natural strength that Void Mages have that allow such enhancement of the senses to occur without causing physical damage.”
Ezekiel was, indeed, aware of this due to his readings and studying, but to have it confirmed by someone who had experienced it personally helped.
That’s not to say his parents didn’t answer any questions that he had when he raised them, but it was obvious that they’d always hoped that he’d never try to go on an expedition for the rest of his life.
The fact that there were no known Void Spirits in existence added to this, as it meant it would be impossible for him to join an actual Guild.
Gerome suddenly perked up as he looked toward the front of the caravan.
“Look alive, people, we’re coming up on the official border!”
Ezekiel looked at Gerome in confusion.
“Official Border? Are there markings or something that will be popping up? I’d have thought that anything like that would get taken down by Umbral beasts or the Cruor.”
“They would be. The border is more... ‘natural’ than anything that humanity could make.”
Ezekiel wondered what Gerome meant by that. He didn’t have long to wait, however, as the carriage he was in finally reached the so-called border.
As they got within a hundred feet of the border of the Desolate Lands, Ezekiel couldn’t help but shudder as chills ran up and down his spine.
The border appeared to be a gray, cracked, desert landscape that spanned roughly ten feet wide, and had a length that Ezekiel couldn’t determine, as it reached into the distance, well beyond the horizon.
Looking up, Ezekiel saw that it seemed like this barren strip of land lined up perfectly with the clouds above.
Beyond this strip of cracked and ash gray land were trees and fungus that weren’t just sickly and foreign. They were twisted and broken. Shaped in ways that couldn’t be natural, yet no signs of artificial shaping were present.
Pools of oily liquid were seen here and there, where it seemed to seep from cracks and cuts in the plants that Ezekiel could see. It wasn’t Ichor, it was too clear to be, but it was still disconcerting.
Thorny brambles and writhing vines littered the ground and climbed the trunks of trees and mushrooms that were several meters in height. Far larger than the ones Ezekiel had seen so far.
“This is the border. An area of land perfectly encompassing the entirety of the Desolate Lands. Its shape lines up perfectly with the clouds that cover it. We don’t know if the border reflects the area covered by the clouds, or if the border is a restraint that shapes the clouds instead.”
“The one thing you need to know about this area, more than anything else, is that your mana will be drained here, much like what happens when a Mage touches Ichor for too long.”
Everyone around him tensed as they felt a sucking sensation on their mana after setting foot on the border area.
Ezekiel looked down at his body. He held out his hands and clenched a few times before looking over at Gerome.
Gerome was giving him a questioning look, to which Ezekiel just shook his head.
Once again, Ezekiel wasn’t feeling the effects of the supposed draining of his mana.
“It’s a shame there are no Void Spirits. If you could become a Hunter, we’d be able to reclaim these lands far more quickly. Maybe even kill a few Broodlords, without having to sacrifice our Tier five Hunters.”
Gerome sighed in resignation. He’d been alive for a very long time and visited a lot of different places. He’d even been to the Eastern continent, and many other places. But he’d never seen a Void Spirit before.
Given the properties that Void mana had, however, it was starting to become clearer as to why that was. Void mana did not remain pure in this world for long enough to condense into a Spirit. At least, not as far as history had shown.
Ezekiel also knew this, and the reminder that he would never have a Spirit to bond with brought down his mood slightly as the party finished crossing the border. They all sighed in relief as the drain on their mana disappeared.
“Well, who knows. Maybe we’ll find something interesting in the Ruins that can change that.”
Gerome had noticed Ezekiel’s mood. His words were meant to bring his mood back up, but Ezekiel could tell that the words were empty platitudes. If such a Relic existed, it would’ve likely been found and used by now.
Nonetheless, Ezekiel figured there was no reason to give up just yet. He’d discovered his own means of meditating and gathering Mana as a Void Mage, after all.
ROOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR
Ezekiel was pulled from his thoughts as cacophony or roars, howls, and shrieks reverberated through the air.
Due to their proximity to the border, even though it was late afternoon, there was still some light that allowed the expedition to see.
From what Ezekiel could tell, there were dozens of Umbral beasts closing in on their position. Most were Bone types, but there were a few Fang types as well.
“Ancients damn them!” Gerome suddenly exclaimed. “What the hell were the Reaching Spires doing when they crossed through here? There shouldn’t be this many attacking us after just a couple of days.”
The carriage Ezekiel was inside emptied quickly as all hands were called to carry out their defense.
“Ezekiel, get out here! I can’t just leave you in the carriage, in case an attack gets to it before I do, and I can’t leave the Guild alone given the number that are attacking right now. Westly will protect you right now, so stick with him!”
Ezekiel hopped out of the carriage and landed on Westly, who was roughly the size of a horse at the moment.
“Filia! Nathanus! You stay back as well. I’ll rejoin you when I’ve cleared some of the herd!”
Before Gerome could run off, Ezekiel remembered something when he thought about Gerome leaving Westly to him.
“But don’t you need Westly in order to fight properly?!”
Gerome didn’t reply. He just charged into the fray, a large stone hammer and tower shield pulled from his Void Pouch and started swinging as the first of the Umbrals reached the caravan.
Two of them went down in one swing. They were only Tier two, from what little Ezekiel could tell. Their blood contained only hints of two colors mixed with the oily blackness of their Ichor.
A third and fourth were taken out in a backswing. Ezekiel was no longer concerned for Gerome.
Taking a look away from Gerome, Ezekiel turned to look at the rest of the team he was part of.
Philip, Herend, and Tracy were attacking with another group, taking out a large Bone Umbral that Gerome had ignored due to it being further away than the ones he’d already killed.
Tracy’s Spirit, a little rose with multiple stems that acted like limbs, extended her roots into the ground. Thorny roots spread out from where they stood. The earth beneath them began entangling and binding the various Umbrals that got too close, granting the teams within the root’s radius a small reprieve, as there weren’t many enemies with ranged abilities.
“Down!” Nathanus yelled as a number of smaller Umbrals jumped from a few nearby trees.
A Gust of wind knocked them off course, so they wouldn’t land on Ezekiel and his companions.
Before anything else could happen, Westly let out a loud chattering noise. Immediately the numerous Umbrals on the ground were speared upwards.
The scene beside them now looked like a small forest of stalactites tipped with overly sized rodents.
A low rumble in the earth could also be felt. But as Westly lifted his foot and slammed it on the ground, a small sinkhole appeared off to the side. Ichor leaked from the ground above what Ezekiel assumed was a now crushed Umbral beast that had tried digging beneath them.
Looking around, Ezekiel saw that, after destroying the ones closest to them, Gerome had apparently gone after the various Umbrals with ranged abilities.
“This is going a lot faster than the previous battles.” Ezekiel muttered under his breath.
“Of course, it is. Back then, we were basically training against live targets. It’s why we didn’t have every team out and fighting at the same time before now. There wasn’t any need, and we still managed to keep on schedule.”
Ezekiel knew this already, having seen the teams switch out when they were fighting before entering the Desolate Lands, so he wasn’t surprised. But as Nathanus voiced this reasoning, Ezekiel felt his stomach sink as a thought occurred to him.
‘What if the Spires didn’t bother holding back before this? What if they have several days on us, not just one?’
Ezekiel glared into the distance as he thought about this.
If the Spires really had rushed ahead, they could only have done it after crossing the Turnbout river, as the outpost there would have alerted the following teams if that was the case.
Although he didn’t know how fast the Guild expedition caravans could travel when rushed, even just an extra day or two would explain why there were so many more difficulties than they had expected.
“Ancients damn them!” Ezekiel furiously muttered, much to the shocked and confused looks of Filia and Nathanus.
“Kid?” Nathanus hesitantly questioned.
“It’s nothing. I just thought of a problem we may have when we get to the Ruins.”
“What kind of problem?”
“The competitive Guild kind of problem.”
Filia and Nathanus fell silent at that. They knew that there was bad blood between the Spires and Ezekiel’s family, but a part of them couldn’t believe that another Guild would sabotage them like this. Especially since they knew that specialized contracts were signed beforehand.
“Well... maybe you should talk with Garrad and Gerome before making any accusations.” Filia said as they looked around.
It seemed like this area had been mostly cleared out, and most of the teams were moving back to their carriages in order to move closer to the front.
Gerome had also turned back and was walking towards Ezekiel and his current protectors.
The old man was covered head to toe in Ichor with a variety of colors mixed into it.
“Guild leader!” Filia and Nathanus said.
“No problems on our part. Westly took care of everything that got close.”
Gerome nodded briefly before looking at Ezekiel.
“Are you alright?”
Ezekiel didn’t answer for a minute. The battle had calmed down, and while he wanted to discuss his thoughts regarding the Reaching Spires, the scene of the battlefield around him made him hesitate.
He looked around at the mutilated bodies and various corpses of the Umbral beasts around them.
The area ahead of them was also calming down, as the sounds of battles were quieting.
The world seemed to grow colder as Ezekiel finally realized what he was looking at. This wasn’t like the battles from before. Those were essentially skirmishes with two or three Umbrals that were taken out easily enough.
This was a practical warzone. The difference in scale was just too large. None of the kills were relatively clean like before. Guts and bones were strewn about, and the way the Ichor boiled from the Flame magic that had been cast seemed to have a reaction with him.
He felt his head spin slightly as he jumped off Westly’s back and fell to his knees. He immediately puked up what remained of his lunch as he emptied his stomach.
“Ezekiel!” Filia exclaimed as she tried to move forward to help.
Gerome held up a hand to stop her. He looked down at Ezekiel as he tried to calm himself and hold back the rest of his lunch.
Ezekiel forced himself to take a few deep, calming breaths as he regained a hold of himself.
“... Sorry.” Ezekiel muttered quietly as he wiped his face and spat out what remained in his mouth.
“To be honest, Ezekiel, that’s the most normal reaction you’ve had since we started this trip so far.”
Gerome’s voice was bland, but serious all the same.
“Do you mind if I ask you what happened?”
Ezekiel was silent for a moment. Collecting his thoughts before he spoke.
“I think it’s the scale and the ferociousness of the battle this time. Before, the Guild teams would try to make as clean a kill as possible, so that parts could be harvested for enchanting later.”
Ezekiel waved his hand, gesturing to the scene around them.
“This... is far more gruesome. Hrk!”
Ezekiel moved to brace himself against the carriage as he forced himself not to throw up anymore.
Gerome nodded his head at Ezekiel's explanation.
“That Would make sense. The conflict from here on out will be far more dangerous, and we will not be able to spare time harvesting. So, there is no need to be careful with our kills.”
By this point the fighting had been completed, and the rest of the team had returned.
“Guild leader. It seems like the Umbrals this time were weaker than expected, but still more numerous. Only Tier two and Tier one, however. No Tier threes.”
Herend reported what he had been told from a runner from the front.
“Good. That means that the Reaching Spires did kill off some Umbral beasts, rather than just bullrush through and leave the enemy for us to get stuck with.”
“Uh... Sir?”
Nathanus’ hesitant voice directed Gerome’s attention to him.
“Ezekiel apparently had a thought about that. He also mentioned something that we’ll need to watch out for when we get to the Ruins.”
Everyone turned their eyes towards Ezekiel, who had tried to clean himself up as much as possible before speaking.
“Right... out of curiosity, does the contract you guys signed mention anything about how long they have to take to clear the way as vanguards, or just that they do clear the way as vanguards?”
The rest of the party looked confused for a moment. As did Gerome, but as he thought about it some more, his face grew more and more angry as he glared at the ground.
Turning to the rest of the party Gerome gave his commands.
“Get me Garrad and the rest of the Tier three captains! We need to have a meeting before we continue our march! Go! Now!”
Gerome’s voice was raised to a loud yell by the time he finished speaking. The party scrambled to fulfill his order as he stayed and watched over Ezekiel.
Nothing more was said, but Ezekiel could tell that things were about to get more heated in the upcoming discussion with the other captains and Tier three reps from the Drifting Feathers Guild.