I decided against following the crowd into the inn. From a glance it barely supported the crowd threatening to spill out into the street. Like one would a celebrity back on earth, the crowd followed the guildmaster with an excited fervor. I doubt there wasn't a single person by the end of today who wouldn't know about the duel.
I knew Brelten was strong. That he stood above us with his tiers and knowledge. I knew that objectively; tier three was insanely powerful. But, understanding it all as a vague fact paled to having it proven to you in person. Seeing it with my own eyes, feeling the vibrations of the fight with my own body, was an out-of-this-world experience. Realistically, it was entirely within this world, but to me, it was fantastically awe-inspiring.
Sam channeled her energy by spending the night with Nadia, so I was alone for now. Relatively alone since both Zharia and Áine rode my shoulders. For fun, I pulled out the mask and placed it over my face.
"What do you guys think?" I asked, forming a large eye in the middle of the mask.
"Ok," Áine whispered.
"Weird," Zharia chirped.
I chuckled and let the masks ettle.
Should have seen that coming.
I'm sure even in the spirit world, running around wearing masks would be weird. We walked in silence, enjoying the cool night air. I wasn't afraid of being attacked by any beasts. With the arrival of the caravans, the surrounding aggravated fauna had primarily been pacified. Waiting a week was already taking its toll on the impatient adventurers.
I halted in my tracks when I heard a noise. The sounds of combat were unmistakable in the silent forest. I began cautiously, making my way towards the source. As I neared a small clearing, a bright orange light flared. Crouching behind a tree, I waited till my vision returned.
"That was fire, Master," Zharia chirped out.
Fire?
That explained the orange light. When my eyesight adjusted to its surroundings again, I crept back towards the treeline. Blackened grass lined the forest. Most of the forest had been burned away leaving smoking char in its place.
Standing in the middle of the ashen ground was a lone figure.
They were a beastkin, judging by the irregular shape of their legs. However, much like the ground, they were a charred mess. On the person's back was a bleeding and smoking circle. It looked like someone took a pentagram and added several lines of runes into its design. A slight breeze blew through the clearing, and I recognized feathers ruffling over the beastkin's body.
Both of my summons were silent and still, but through the mental connection, I could sense that they were ready for an attack at any moment. I summoned my spear and walked forward. I tried to be audible enough that they could hear me, but the person didn't react.
"Hello? Are you all right? I saw a fire and came over. I can heal you if you're injured," I called out.
I hesisted. They didn't respond, but... I gripped my spear tightly and decided to circle around. The moonlight provided ample light in the clearing for me to see with my enhanced vision, but the naturally dark surroundings and the blackened mess that was the person's body didn't help things.
When I finally got into view of the person's face, I paused. The beastkin was a bird varient. I only knew of a single bird-like beastkin in Edolus.
The crow man's eyes were cloudy. The inner fire inside his eyes was now dim and sputtering. I looked over at Áine and nodded. The little fairy flew forward carefully and put her hands on his beak. I held my spear poised, just in case. Even if I recognized the adventurer, I wasn't about to let my guard down and let Áine get hurt.
Áine channeled her healing skill for about thirty seconds. Once again, burn-related injuries always seem to require more effort to heal. I had Áine cancel her skill and hold some mana in reserve. She flew back and stood on my shoulder, eyeing the beastkin wearily. His eyes were still clouded over, and I was tempted to give him a poke with my spear.
A second later, he closed his eyes and cawed. I jumped back at the unexpected sound and bent my legs. He shook his body, his feathers raising and lowering in a wave. Blinking rapidly, he finally seemed to notice he wasn't alone and centered his focus on me.
"You feeling better?" I asked carefully.
His head bent sideways, the way some animals turn their head when confused. The flames in his eyes slowly brightened until they looked the way they did when I first met him.
"Hatchling," he greeted neutrally.
"Err, yes, it's me, Cyrus," I responded, slightly bewildered. This whole scenario was getting weirder at the moment. Seriously, who responds so casually after regaining consciousness? "I saw a flash of fire and came to investigate. I found you burned and unconscious."
His head was still turned at an angle, and he did not make a sound. Another gust of wind blew, and ashes started scattering. Thankfully, my mask protected me from devolving into a teary-eyed coughing mess. I also realized that without my summons, he wouldn't have recognized it was me.
"So you alright? Need any more healing?" I asked.
Utter silence. I swear I'm starting to hear crickets playing in the background. Maybe he's in shock?.
"Want me to try and find a member of your team? I can leave really quick and get some help."
That earned a reaction.. His eyes blazed even brighter, and his head snapped back upright so fast that I was afraid he hurt his neck.
"No. I'm fine; thank you for your help," he replied.
And with that final tense statement, he pivoted and left the clearing. All too soon, I was left standing in the burnt clearing.
"Weirdo."
"Yes."
The girls were right. I shrugged my shoulders and decided to head back to the village.
I gave one last look at the ash-covered ground before leaving.
I wonder what he was doing out here, alone at night. Judging from his eyes, he has use fire-based skills. Not sure what kind of skill would immolate him and cause a weird runic circle to burn itself onto his flesh, but I suppose anything could exist in this world. I doubt the man would cripple himself before the expedition. Team Talon seemed like they wouldn't take kindly to any risk to their entrance of the rift.
People still crowded the inn by the time I headed back. Seeing that Brelten was absent and Sam was enjoying her fun, I decided to head to bed and be fresh for tomorrow. It only took a few minutes of pushing and sorries to worm my way into the inn and up the stairs.
----------------
Zharia snuggled into a bowl of ashes, and Áine sat atop a mug's rim sipping at the juice through her skin. I chomped on some bacon and waved at Bera who smiled back before entering the kitchen.
Sam finally came down the stairs sometime later with Nadia in tow. I waved to them as they settled themselves at the bar.
Nadia avoided looking at me and kept her head down. I gave Sam a questioning look, but she just shrugged. Not feeling like having my peace disturbed, I decided to be blunt.
"So, why are you doing your darndest not to look at me? Did Sam tell you something embarrassing or what? If she did, then I plead the fifth," I asked casually while holding up my left hand.
Nadia turned her head and looked with confusion, and Sam snickered in response.
Turning to Nadia, Sam poked her in the belly.
"You look cute, all confused and whatnot," she teased.
Nadia's face turned scarlet. Honestly, it was an impressive shade.
"Don't just go blurting out things like that! It's... embarrassing," she retorted in pitched anger.
Sam and I shared a look and then laughed. Nadia pouted and decidedly looked away from us and down at the fresh plate of food that Bera put in front of her.
"You never answered my question, though," I said.
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She swallowed down her food before looking back at me. After a few seconds of indecision, she finally spoke up. "It's nothing. Just that last night, I asked to see Sam's mark. Legacies are fabled things, usually known only through stories. Yet here, in some newly built frontier village, I meet three people branded with them," she answered.
Her words brought me to a pause. She said three people. Who the hell had a Legacy other than Sam and I?
"Wait a second. You said three. Who else has a Legacy?" I asked.
Her eyes widened before making an oh face.
"It's one of the new adventurers that arrived, the guy with the giant pet bear. Last night, the rogue that Brelten fought let slip that Teddy had a Legacy," she replied.
"Teddy? Wasn't his name Theodore?"
"Oh, uh yeah, apparently he usually goes by Teddy."
"And that man has a Legacy. Did he ever show it?"
"No, he didn't. After revealing the secret, the rest of his team smacked the rogue silly. They left with Brelten soon after. I mean I get it. If I had something that important, I would smack Warren too if he just blabbed about it."
I apparently missed out on a lot of things during my stroll. I wondered what kind of skills that man had. And if the man indeed did have his own mark, then he was probably a noble. Brelten did mention that the team was special. Was that it?
Nadia finished her meal and left to go out on patrol for the day. Sam and I went over to the guild hall after she ate breakfast. When we got there, the main hall struggled. packed with groups of adventurers. Sliding ourselves through the crowd, we settled near one of the walls and waited.
We didn't have to wait long. Brelten came up the stairs and clapped his hands loudly. The room went silent, and everybody focused on the guildmaster.
"Good, you are all here. We will be heading out to the rift site in the next half hour. Bring everything you want to bring with you and meet together at the front gate. If you are not there when we arrive, I will assume you have decided not to enter the rift," he spoke out loud. The crowd grumbled in minor protest. Clapping his hands again, he silenced the room. "I won't blame you for choosing not to enter the rift. It is dangerous and poses a high likelihood of injury or death. There is no shame in knowing when to back down. If there is an absentee for whatever reason, I will have a replacement take your place."
The room cleared out quickly, with all the adventurers off to make last-minute preparations. Brelten approached us when the crowd cleared.
"Do you two still want to be part of the expedition team? As I said, I won't hold it against you if you decide to back out," he asked.
Looking over to Sam, she gave me a nod. With her answer set, I turned back to Brelten. "Yes, we do. We're not going to let this opportunity pass us by because of some danger. Besides, I'm mostly there to act as an alternative source of healing. I may not be able to do much, but I can ensure we don't have to waste any potions if we don't have to."
He smiled at us as he clapped a hand on each of our shoulders. "Glad to hear it. Meet at the gate, and we'll spend the next three hours traveling to the site. Don't worry too much about supplies; we have prepared packs for everybody," he instructed before walking off.
Thirty minutes later, we were standing at the gate with other adventuring teams. The expedition consisted of fifteen people in total. Talon took five slots, while Sam and I took another two. The last eight slots were filled by the recently arrived guild representative, one team of three and another team of four. Not everybody coming with us to the rift site was part of the expedition team. Some people were reserve members if we had anybody back out last minute.
Brelten arrived with the tier-two adventurers following him. The massive bear's footfalls shook the ground.
He stopped and surveyed the crowd. "Since everybody is here, let's head out. Do not stray from the group, and let the members of team Broken Tower handle any beasts."
Like that, we spent three hours walking through the Yidelwoods. We got attacked twice, but the beasts were killed so quickly that I couldn't see what charged at us. One of the members of Broken Tower had to have some form of dimensional storage because there were no bodies left on the forest floor, just red pools of blood.
During those three hours, Sam and I spent the time talking to the expedition team members. Ignoring team Talon's open disdain and slight hostility, the other members were friendly and welcoming. The team of three was a trio of elven brothers. Petraeus was the eldest brother and served as their group's leader. The man used a mixture of earth and water-based skills. His skills revolved around controlling and slowing enemies.
Matias and Xertalus served more straightforward roles as damage dealers. Matias, the shortest and youngest of the brothers, used wind-aspected archery. Xertalus, the middle brother, was the largest of the bunch. He used dual axes and some combination of ice and wind-aspected skills.
Petraeus was a little stiff, but the other brothers were complete goofballs. Ten minutes spent talking to the two was enough to make me realize why Petraeus was the way he was. I didn't envy the oldest sibling when it came to keeping those two in line.
The other group was a little more reserved. With a more standard setup, they seemed like a solid choice for the expedition. They were polite and cordial. Dyllan, their leader, was a tall, beefy man who functioned as the team's tank. Edithe was the party's stereotypical mage with lightning skills. Levin, filled the sneak role by being an acid-based rogue. The last member of the group was a diminutive man named Spencer. He was more reserved and severe than the other three. When asked what kind of skills he used, he just said buffs and continued walking.
We eventually arrived at the site and settled in a large tent. The site itself was surrounded by different tents and some people patrolling around the clearing. We were dismissed for the next thirty minutes to rest and make any final preparations.
Brelten came over with the guild representative after a woman delivered food and drinks to everyone. I saw glimpses of the guild rep but never a closer look. Unlike most beastkin, who tended to be based on mammals, the representative had a salamander-looking head. His skin sagged with smoky-grey scales speckled with shimmery iridescent spots. I couldn't make any apparent guesses as to what kind of mana his skills were.
"Cyrus, Sam, I want you to meet the expedition leader," Brelten said.
The man gave a polite bow. "Hello to you two. You may call me Orsk."
"Nice to meet you, Orsk. I'm glad we have a guild official as our team leader," I responded.
He flashed a smile before returning to polite neutrality. "I've been informed of your rank and skills. I'm glad to have a healer, even if you're untiered."
I winced. Our lack of tier made a glaring reminder of why Talon hated us.
"I'll do my best. I can, at least, promise to follow orders. No point getting in the way while I'm in there."
After a few specific questions about how my skills worked, Orsk and Brelten bid goodbye and moved around the camp to discuss with the other members. We were handed a large leather pack filled with supplies in the last five minutes. There were a couple of rations of food and water along with salves and potions. Looking through my bag, I noticed I was given an extra surplus of mana potions. I brought up the extra potions to Brelten, but he quickly informed me that since I was acting as a healer, I would have extra potions to offset my mana expenditure. Seeing no reason to complain, I thanked him and then had Chomperz swallow my supplies.
After sorting the supplies, everybody made their way to the front of the portal. Brelten stood before us with his hands behind his back. The pink light of the portal glowed and crackled with energy, giving the guildmaster an eerie shadow.
"We have no idea if the inside of the rift is time-dilated or not. You may end up exiting the rift and find that only an hour has passed or that it has been weeks. You've been given a week's worth of food and water just in case. Secondly, we have no idea what is inside this rift. As you all can see, the rift is wild and of the highest difficulty," Brelten stated.. His arms came from behind his back and crossed over his chest. "I expect you all to follow Orsk's commands. In there is the complete unknown, and the slightest mistake could result in the death of yourself and the rest of the team. Failure to comply in any way will be noted and punished later. DO NOT ACT STUPIDLY. I'm not going to give you a long speech about being courageous and brave. You need to do only one thing, and that is to survive. Good luck adventurers. Sally forth and plunder the rift of its rewards."
I could see some of the people tense at Brelten's words. Silence blanketed the crowd until the first members of the expedition got in line. Once the first person entered, we had precisely forty-five seconds to enter before the rift locked itself and denied further entry. Sam lightly squeezed my shoulder and I returned the gesture. It was time to enter the unknown. Positioned near the back of the line, I took a deep breath before pushing through the crackling pink portal.
Weird sensations assaulted my senses. It hooked my core and filled me with the sense of being stretched in all directions. Like a rubberband, I was pulled thin and then snapped back to normalcy. My feet hit the ground, and they squelched into muddy dirt. Regaining my balance, I looked around the new environment.
It was nighttime, wherever we were. The trees glowed from the crimson moon hanging above. There were no clouds to obscure the moonlight, just an empty black abyss. We were surrounded by equally black trees, gnarled and rotted. A worn dirt road stretched ahead of us.
"Everybody focus. Stay on high alert. We haven't received our prompts about the rift scenario. Melees make a circle around the group. Those with perception skills act as scouts and look out for any sign of danger," Orsk instructed.
Unsurprisingly, I found myself in the middle of the group, with Sam in directly in front of me. Everybody had their weapons out and gripped them tightly, ready for any possible danger. With no other apparent markers, we followed the dirt road. The ground remained muddy, and a chill wind blew erratically through the maked branches.
We stopped when Matias pointed ahead. "Over there! It looks like a village or town."
Staring at where Matias was pointing, I saw nothing. Further away, a light fog obscured our vision.
"Can you describe it?" Orsk asked the elf.
"Hmm. It's run down and creepy. The village wall looks short and made of the same black wood as these trees," he described. He leaned forward and squinted his eyes. "The walls have several scratch marks. The closer you move to the gate, the higher the density of marks. And I think I see several lights inside the village. I can't see more than that—no signs of life or anything to signify who or what lives there."
Orsk stroked his chin thoughtfully. "We proceed cautiously. Alert the group if there is any changes."
As we got closer, we all started seeing the village in more detail. It would have looked abandoned if it wasn't for the orange lights coming from the windows. When we approached the gate, a rush of shadows lined the wall. They looked like human guards; the only difference was that they had a third eye in the middle of their foreheads.
"Stop! Who goes there?!" shouted one of the men.
Melerna snarled ferociously. "Keep pointing those sticks at me, little man, and I'll feed it to you in pieces."
The guards clenched their weapons. I was inwardly facepalming. If we got killed due because of the cat's dumb temper, I'd find a way to haunt her in the afterlife. Orsk clamped a hand on her shoulder and yanked her back.
"Sorry for the animosity, sir. We're adventurers who got lost here. We saw your village and decided to make a stop for the night. Can you let us in?" Orsk called out.
The guards relaxed their shoulders but remained with their weapons poised and ready. We were scrutinized under the red moonlight, and a furious discussion was whispered between the shouting man and another guard. After a heated back and forth, the main guard turned towards us and lowered his spear.
"You may come in only if you agree to help defend the village!" he shouted.
And like that, we finally received a ding from the system.
Protect The Village of Holmfirth
The town has been beset by waves of monsters rising from the deep woods. Under the curse of the Blood Moon, the veil between life and death stretches thin. Protect the village and save it from destruction. The rift scenario is deemed completed if you survive all ten waves. The scenario is considered a failure if less than thirty percent of the town's population survives. Good luck, Ascendants. May you weave a hopeful tale into this bloody story.