Even in a fortress at war, a peaceful quiet gripped the morning. Hump and Celaine made their way through empty streets, other than a few patrolling guards who looked on at Nisha with caution and awe.

They found the rest of their party at the barracks, along with the other party leaders within Bud’s company, crowded together discussing the trip ahead. Waiting nearby with the horses were the rest of the company, their total number being just over thirty. It was a strong group, perhaps surpassing the entirety of the force that tackled Bledsbury Dungeon under Overseer Oswald’s command.

There was Henrietta, of course, Bud’s sister knight and second in command. With her were the former squires, Kat and Rufus. Then the newer additions: Gideon, Beatrix, Joric, and Rianne—all of them Chosen. Other than Henrietta, Gideon was the strongest amongst them. As a second circle warpriest of Lady Light, he was someone Hump was particularly pleased to have along. It was always nice to have someone with strong healing capabilities on an expedition like this, even if it wasn’t supposed to be too dangerous.

As for his own party, seeing everyone in their upgraded equipment was enough to bring a smile to Hump’s face. Emilia wore mostly leather armour, with a light chainmail chest piece. From the slight sheen of pale white essence, Hump guessed it to have a wind-based enchantment. On her belt was her rapier and the Thunderclap Buckler awarded to her after the Battle of Sheercliff. Dylan was the least changed, still wearing the tough brown furs of the razorclaw that they’d killed in Stonebark Forest. He had his usual quarterstaff, along with Countess Daston’s moonstone that shone around his neck.

Bud was most striking of all. He was without a helmet, and grinned at them with his annoyingly handsome face, blonde hair like gold in the morning sun. Donned in full plate armour, his already giant figure was elevated to something truly terrifying. Each component of interlocking plates was polished to silver. Draped loosely over the top was a blue surcoat held in place by pauldrons and embroidered with the silver flame sigil of Kelisia at the chest. His sword was at his hip, contained within the Singing Sheath gifted to him by Countess Daston, enchanted to keep his blade perfectly sharp. He'd certainly come a long way from the rusty knight he’d once been.

Passing through the north gates required an official seal. Security was as strict as one would expect of such a key fortification, even in the early hours of the morning, though the guards recognised Bud which seemed to speed the process along. Still, the guards wouldn’t open the gates until they’d recorded their names, time of exit, time of return, and assignment. If they weren’t back by the scheduled date, they would be deemed missing.

***

The roads northwest were old and broken. Many were gone entirely, forcing them to find their way across hilly moorland. It was hard going, and Hump was pleased to have his sturdy gelding, Fleetfoot with him. As attached as he was to Prancer, he was a small horse and getting on in years, whereas Fleetfoot was bred for an adventurer, having a calm and obedient temperament and seemingly no end to his stamina.

Nisha, on the other hand, had not taken so kindly to him. While it hadn’t been a problem during their travels to Fort Nordric as Hump had mostly ridden in the wagon, it seemed riding Fleetfoot while she was forced to keep up on foot left her feeling jealous. Hump sensed her eyes on them regularly, a strange sensation in their bond that he could only describe as plotting. It seemed she’d decided to make it a contest of favourites. One Hump tried to put an end to quickly with some very stern rebukes. It seemed Celaine was right, and his little Nisha really was going to start being some trouble.

They made fast progress, led by Joric, the scout of Bud’s company. He was a Chosen of Seres, and if gossip were to be believed, a man with a nose that was as strong as a bloodhound’s. They crossed rolling foothills of nothing but grass, broken up by clear streams and rushing rivers. There were a few woodlands here and then, full of towering evergreens, yet the land was largely barren, like a desert of grass. Mountains pierced the sky in the distance, their peaks shrouded by low clouds.

Hump liked it even less here than where he and Celaine had travelled to reach Drakalyn. Here, the wind blew hard and cold, even in the waning summer. There was no shelter, and certainly nowhere to hide or run if monsters did strike. At the same time, he supposed that gave them plenty of time to respond to any such threat.

It took Hump a while to place what felt strange about this area—it was the quiet. No birds, no insects, not even any monsters. The world lacked life. It was hard to imagine that this had once been a vibrant part of the kingdom, thriving on the waters brought by the Golden River.

At one point, they passed through the ruins of an old village, where little but crumbled stone walls remained. As they left, they came to a giant pillar of rock slabs as tall as a house. Each rock seemed as if it had been cut by hand to be flat, and they were all so weathered Hump was amazed it still stood.

“You’ll find waystones like this all over the lands,” Bud said. “Apparently the locals used them to mark graves. A big one like this must have been someone important.”

“We’re all the same once we’re in the ground,” Hump said.

“Isn’t that a lovely sentiment,” Dylan said.

***

Three hours of casual riding brought them to the ancient keep, sped on by Joric’s blessings. A dirt path wound its way up the rocky outcrop, the ground worn smooth by years of wind and rain. The tower stood atop the tallest rocky outcrop in the area, granting it a view of the surroundings. It was a depressing little thing—grey and worn with age, and smaller than one would want for a tower in the Fallen Lands. He spotted a few men at the top of the tower and heard voices shout within as they approached, yet the gates did not open for them.

“Who goes there,” came a voice from above. A man with a twisted moustache and thinning hair looked down at them.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I am Robert of Blackthorne,” Bud said. “My company comes here on order of Overseer Oswald to combat a group of monsters found in the area. I was instructed to meet a scout here to take us to the location.” Bud took a letter from his saddlebag, stamped with an official seal. “I have written instructions here.”

There was a pause as the people above discussed something, then the moustache man returned.

“Is that a… dragon with you, sir?”

“Don’t worry,” Bud said. “She’s friendly.”

“Understood,” the man said. I’ve been given a password, sir. Please repeat it, just to be safe. Can’t be too careful with imps roaming the hills.”

“Let the Light of the Twelve shine our way,” Bud recited. “And indeed, one can never be too careful.”

“Thank you, sir. Open the gates!”

Hump noticed runes on the gates and walls in the style of Loften, no doubt reinforcing its defensive capabilities and enhancing the defenders. Inside, the knight in command of the defence came down to meet them. Sir Nicholas was a Chosen of Byzantius, but Hump sensed little strength coming from him. That meant one of two things, either he was only a first circle Chosen, or he was far more powerful than Hump and concealing it. Considering the location, Hump was betting on the former.

Under the knight’s command were roughly forty soldiers. Most were ordinary people, but there were a few practitioners mixed in amongst them. Still, it was a tall order to maintain the defence of a keep with such a force. The runes of Loften had to help, but he wouldn’t want to put his life in their hands when the next monster wave came.

As they entered, Hump restrained Nishari with another command. She sat down on her best behaviour, eyes roaming to anyone that moved in a desperate attempt to get them to come closer. Many an eye watched her, but none dared to approach. It was for the best really, she needed to learn to wait quietly.

“We weren’t expecting you so soon,” Nicholas said. “These days we’re lucky if aid arrives at all when we call. It is all we can do to maintain the keep.”

“Command is eager to have this investigated swiftly,” Bud said. “There are concerns that what you’ve discovered is a developing node connected to the Infernal Halls. We can’t allow it to fully develop.”

“Isn’t that just the blessing of the Twelve.” He spat on the ground. “Well, we haven’t got supplies or manpower to speak of, so I reckon you best plan on fixing that problem yourselves. But the least we could do is give you shelter as we need it. As you can see, we have plenty of empty barracks.”

“All we need is to be shown the way,” Bud said, ignoring the man’s tone. “I was informed your scouts could lead me to the dungeon.”

“Scout,” the man corrected with a scowl. “We lost two during its discovery. Kasper is all that’s left.” He gestured to a man in his thirties. He was dressed in furs and a cloak, with a small hunting bow.

“I can get you there,” the man said. “Won’t be going close though. That’s on you.”

“That is more than enough,” Bud said.

“Before we leave, what can you tell us about this gathering of monsters?” Hump asked.

“Not a whole lot,” Kasper said. “We’d gone up to the top of a ridge for a look at the area. On the way down, one of the lads got his foot caught by something in the wall. Ursa tried to get him out, and it took her too. I tried cutting them free but before I knew it, these… worm-things had wrapped around them and wouldn’t let them go. “It was like all the blood was sucked from them after that, leaving nothing but a husk. Don’t know where they came from, but it’s something to do with that ridge.”

It wasn’t a huge amount to go on. Hump wasn’t even sure how the commanders of Fort Nordric could suspect a dungeon node had spawned off that little information. He supposed losing two scouts in the middle of nowhere wasn’t all too common in this area of the Fallen Lands.

“How awful,” Emilia said. “I’m so sorry.”

The man gave her a sad look. “Just kill ‘em, would ya? Wipe the bastards out.”

“Now that we can do,” Bud said. “We’re going to need to find them first though.”

“If they’re coming out of the rock, there’s probably a cave inside,” Celaine said.

“Didn’t see no cave,” the scout said.

“Are you sure it was worms?” Dylan asked.

The man wrinkled his face. “Not like the bug. More like… tendrils. I don’t know. They were thin and white, and seemed to grow out of the rock.”

“A bit like roots or vines?” Dylan offered.

“Yeah, I guess maybe.”

Hump turned to Dylan. “You have an idea?”

“I think we might be dealing with some sort of fungi,” Dylan said. “I’ve heard they sort of mummify their victims. They’re also hard to entirely wipe out. Their spores get everywhere.”

“Where would we find the node?” Bud asked.

“Celaine’s probably right about it being in some sort of cave. It seems like the logical location for one to take root.” Dylan addressed Kasper. “If you can take us to the spot where it killed your friends, I might be able to track it back to the source.”

The man stood. “I can do that, but no closer. I’m sorry, milords, but it ain’t safe.”

“On my honour, no harm shall befall you,” Bud said. “Sir Nicholas, we shall return to you once our quest is complete. If you receive no word from us by this evening, please have word carried back to Fort Nordric that we may be in trouble.”

“Of course, sir. Best of luck. May the gods be with all of you.”

***

The scout led them farther north. Out here, the land remained relatively unchanged, but the atmosphere was entirely different. Essence filled the air, tinged with the chaotic power of dungeons. It was only slight, but even the existence of dungeons was enough to change the world. The more they spread, the more that would be corrupted by them. Their essence permeated everything, adding a layer of chaos and unease that was far from pleasant. Still, Hump was relieved that he no longer felt called by it. It seemed that part of his life was truly over.

“They were right here,” Kasper insisted.

“You’re certain?” Dylan asked.

Kasper had led them halfway up a rocky hill, until they reached a steep incline with the ridge Kasper mentioned up above. Strangely, the hill was covered in woodland and grasses, unlike the barren lands that surrounded it. If there was a dungeon node close, it made for easy cover for whatever monsters might be lurking.

“Never more certain about a thing in my life,” Kasper said. “Look. That’s where I slipped and sent a rock tumbling off the ridge.” He pointed at a spot nearby where the ground was disturbed. “And right there’s where it got them.”

This time he pointed at the rocky incline, perhaps fifteen paces off the ground. Dylan dismounted, handing his reins to Emilia, then climbed the ridge.

“Careful,” Kasper said.

“Dylan is a fourth circle Chosen,” Bud reassured him. “There is nothing to fear.”

The scout’s eyes widened at that, realising that it wasn’t just any ordinary druid standing before him, but a powerful servant of the Pantheon.

As Dylan went higher, Hump sensed essence stir within the hill. “Do you feel that?”

“I feel it,” Dylan said.

He stood straight, watching the ground, waiting.

Nishari hunched forward and a deep, rumbling snarl erupted from her.

Then, suddenly, a white tendril pierced through the stone and reached for him, swooping back and forth in the air as if sniffing for blood. Dylan reached down and grabbed it, clamping his hand tightly around it and releasing his essence. The tendril shuddered. Its white flesh erupted with green light, following it back into the ground along its body.

Dylan continued to pour essence in, then turned his eyes upward.

“What is it?” Bud asked.

“I expected to find the source beneath us, but it’s coming from above.”

“Can you find it?” Bud asked.

“Already have. Follow me.”