“You okay, Tallos?” Stella asked in a mocking tone, clearly enjoying her tease. “Sorry, I jest. You won’t feel a thing. I’m sure… Probably.”
“Don’t mind her,” I offered with a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “She just trying to pick on you a little.” Tallos wasn’t hearing anything of it though. His eyes were comically wide from Stella’s description of being crunched down during teleportation. It probably didn’t help it there was an ever-present risk of being buried in an avalanche should the ceiling above our heads collapse.
“I’m… not sure I want to be broken apart,” Tallos finally said, making eye contact with me while intentionally avoiding looking in Stella’s direction.
Xaz: Stella, you better apologize or take back what you said. It seems you freaked him out.
Stella: Fine. I didn’t think he would take it so poorly. You didn’t seem to mind. I mean, look at how narrow those silver veins are. How else are you going to teleport through it?!
Xaz: That’s because I’m familiar with teleportation. Tallos has probably never heard of it.
Stella: Alright, alright. Fine. It was just a joke.
Stella flew to Tallos’ side, and in a soothing voice tried to defuse the elf’s worry. “I was only kidding. I’m sorry,” Stella offered as she placed a paw on his shoulder. “You won’t feel a thing, promise. Remember it's magic so you can’t possibly go wrong.”
Her tone and words had the desired effect, though I suspected she didn’t know if what she said was accurate. Thankfully, it had at least a little effect. Tallos sat down, his body posture far less tense than before. If we did find a node, I could only hope the teleportation didn’t feel like she first described it. Otherwise, I doubt Tallos would want to do it a second time.
“Did you know what is essentially fast travel was a possibility?” I asked Stella, allowing Tallos some time to center and ground himself.
“Yes, and no,” Stella replied simply as she floated close to Tallos’ shoulder, something she didn’t normally do, in an attempt to soothe over the drama she had caused. I was happily surprised when he permitted her to land. “Yes, teleportation is a real thing. However, it can only be done at settlements if you have a high enough reputation with the city. At the same time, no. Other than that, I had no clue about other modes of fast travel, as so elegantly put it.”
“Wait, hang on a second,” I said, my tone raising an octave. “You didn’t say anything about teleportation being a thing when I became mayor of Merton?” With hands on hips, I pressed Stella. Thinking back, the whole ordeal started when the previous mayor had attempted to murder me thinking I was the Hunter Tsurra. Ripley’s blade quickly ended the threat. “Would I have the highest reputation possible, thus allowing me to teleport?”
Stella looked slightly taken aback. “Yeah, sorry about that,” she said under her breath. “I didn’t think it relevant at the time. We were just getting started and it seemed unlikely you’d jump enough reputation ladders with another settlement for it to become a concern. Not at least for a good long while.”
I stared at her for a moment, not saying anything else. I was wondering if anything else was forthcoming. Stella shrugged with an exaggerated grimace on her face as a way of an apology.
Looking to me like she was attempting to change the subject, Stella’s paws began moving through the air, touching menus and icons only she could see. “Good news, from what I can tell from my enhanced access since you’re now a tier three Hunter, we really want to find one of these node junctions. We wouldn’t be required to have any special reputation. Our ability to move around this continent would increase by a considerable amount.”
“Do you – can you see if there is one of the nodes in this cave system?”
Stella’s eyes flittered left and right. “Sorry, it doesn’t confirm it, though my guess would be it is highly likely we will. Especially if you consider we’re nowhere deep enough to begin encountering underground races if that’s indeed what killed Corm.”
Tallos looked calm once more after taking several deep breaths to settle his nerves. The once panicked expression was no longer etched across his fine elven features. Clearing his throat, he pointed toward the brightening path ahead. “The silver ore is growing more abundant down there. If we indeed want to find one of these fast nodes, I’d suggest we seek out those denser sections. Based on the tracks we’ve followed to this point; both are going the same way.”
I suppressed a chuckle at Tallos’ mention of ‘fast nodes.’ Considering he was getting back to normal after the fiasco Stella caused, I thought it wise to not mock him for it. Later, I would share that fast travel was simply slang for teleporting instantly from one place to another.
A short while later, we came around a bend and spotted Lowki pressed low to the cold stone. Lowki wasn’t hunkered down due to an unknown presence of danger ahead. No, he looked as if he was sniffing something based on his chest puffing in and out. His barbed tentacles were waving around restlessly, not at all tense like I would suspect if something dangerous was ahead. Coming around to see what caught his attention, Lowki's nostrils were flaring as he breathed in and out rapidly.
“What did you find, Lowki?” I asked the great cat as I knelt beside him. I rested my hand on his broad shoulders, grabbing his attention.
Lowki turned his face toward me, his mouth hanging slightly ajar. Instead of making eye contact, he gazed off into space like he was processing whatever smell he picked up. I recalled hearing cats do this so a scent would reach special receptors in the roof of their mouths. Usually, this was done whenever they found something interesting, or particularly smelly.
With no immediate response from him, I peered at the floor in an attempt to see what caught his attention. At first, looking like a puddle, I quickly discovered Lowki was standing above a pool of dried blood. Judging from the size, something or someone had been gravely injured here. Tallos joined us, eyeing up the puddle.
“Let’s see if anything else of note is nearby,” I said as the two searched around, doing a quick circuit looking for any other clues. Other than a blood trail leading away, we found nothing else. No body or other indication of who had been injured.
“If this came from a man, I doubt it would have been able to survive long without some magical intervention,” Tallos said as we regrouped. “It looks like he lay here a moment, causing the blood to pool, before moving quickly in that direction.”
“Do you think Corm caused this?” Stella asked. “I’m only guessing, but to me, it’s like he stumbled upon someone, and threw out a spell in surprise, before ultimately running away.”
“Possibly,” I replied. “Whatever he found must have been incredibly dangerous as his sprint back to the surface would have been a long one. If he thought himself capable of handling whatever threat he found, it wouldn’t make sense for him to run away like he did.”
“I agree,” Tallos added as his eyes continued to scan the floor. “It’s taken us over an hour to get here, so whatever spooked him must have been overwhelmingly strong.”
We were already on alert, but with what we found, I felt the need to turn it up a notch. “Whatever it was, we’re going to find it. Form up, they could be close.” Gripping Frostrend tightly, I attempted to dial my senses up to an eleven.
Nodding to Lowki, I motioned with the point of my axe for him to lead on. His eyes tightened and he crouched low as we moved in a tight single file. Tallos pulled out an arrow and notched it to his bowstring. Ripley, bringing up the rear, drew her curved blade and embossed heater shield.
Carefully creeping forward, we followed the blood trail as it made our path obvious. What started as irregular, stumbling footprints quickly morphed into a long unbroken furrow. Whoever had been injured must have been dragged out, no longer able to move under their own power. Their boots carved a channel into the dirt as they were pulled along. Someone had been forced to drag him to safety.
Coming around a bend, we discovered a large broken section of tunnel, as if the stone wall had been blasted inwards. Heavy rocks and boulders lay strewn around, as if a tsunami of stone had crashed outwards littering the space with stone debris.
Lowki paced forward to stand at the edge of the opening, his head peeking around the corner. His hackles weren’t raised and, with the absence of any growl of warning, I was confident nothing was around the corner.
“This sort of looks like a cave-in, but not quite what you’d expect,” Stella murmured. “It’s like something caused an explosion to breach the wall into here. Whether by some powerful magic or a type of explosive, I couldn’t say.”
“Take a look at the silvern ore down the new path,” Tallos observed, his fingers tracing a glowing line going around the corner into the side passage. “The glowing vein is more intense and denser this way, far beyond anything we’ve seen up to this point.”
“Yeah, and I’d be willing to bet the blood trail is going to turn down this new corridor,” I agreed, and, sure enough, the blood trail reappeared.
This new tunnel was far more roughly hewn compared to any we had traveled through earlier. Additionally, none of the wooden beams we had grown accustomed to lay beyond. My best guess was this passageway had never been used by the people of Mammoth and was only recently opened. It narrowed, causing us to move in a single file. While the tighter space could account for the absence of the support beams, it was likelier this passageway had only recently been excavated.
With the jagged stone so much closer to our bodies, we had to pause often as small outcroppings constantly attempted to snag our clothing and armor. The passage continued relatively straight with only subtle bends here and there. The stone though bore countless gouges as if worked by hundreds of pickaxes. The channel suddenly expanded substantially wider as we came around a bend. Perhaps three times as wide, whoever worked this passageway must have been hard at work for days, if not weeks.
“It looks like someone widened the narrow tunnel just enough to allow a person to pass through,” I whispered as we inspected the carved wall. I ran a hand over the gouged and pitted surface. “Then, whoever did this started widening it further, though haven’t yet completed the work. Even the short distance to the main branch, whoever did this still has a lot of work yet.”
“I think there’s two reasons why they would do this,” Tallos added softly. “Either to make it easier for more people to pass through or to allow the passage of heavy equipment. Either way, it’s not an encouraging thought. Whoever did this was also sure to remove any of the loose rubble this kind of work would have produced. The floor here is almost entirely free of clutter. So, if I had to pick, I’d lean more towards heavy equipment.”
“Could be both reasons,” Stella said as she bit her lip. “This feels… bad. Should we warn someone?”
“I think it’s too early for that,” I replied after a few seconds of consideration. “We need more information, otherwise we’re only relaying a suspicion. We need more evidence.”
“Corm may have said the same thing,” Stella said through clenched teeth. “Look where it got him.”
Corm had indeed stumbled upon something dangerous. However, had been spotted thought it important enough to chase him to the surface and take his life to avoid being discovered. I couldn’t shake the feeling we didn’t know enough yet. “The city is already on alert from Corm’s death. We’ll be careful, but for now, let’s keep moving.”
Seeing no further argument, we pressed on, doing our utmost to move as quietly as we could. Eventually, the passageway opened even further. This time into a brightly lit chamber. The opening was dome-shaped, much like a giant sphere, as if an air pocket had formed in solid stone. It was absolutely littered with hundreds, if not thousands of glowing silver ore. I couldn’t explain why, but I had a feeling this hollow was not formed by any dwarf or human hand. I got the distinct impression this was naturally formed, possibly by the System.
The cavern was awash in silvery light from the crisscrossing network of ore veins. Yet, it was not the most interesting fact about the cavity. In the dead center of the room stood a solid column of the epic-tiered ore, running for the slight depressing in the floor, all the way up to the high dome over our heads. As we gazed on in amazement, the pillar pulsed as if it had a heartbeat, the vibration reaching upwards from the cold floor into our legs. With each beat, the silvery light in the room intensified.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Looking back at my friends, Stella gave me a thumbs-up of encouragement while she rested on Tallos’ shoulder. I moved halfway into the room, standing before the shining silver column. It was as thick as a forearm and had a consistent cylinder shape to it. Every millimeter of the pillar was comprised solely of the special silvern ore. Not so much as an ounce of ordinary silver could be seen anywhere.
I hesitated a moment, my palm resting above the pulsing surface. Not sensing any threat or danger from the inanimate stone, I firmly pressed my hand to the column. The stone was warm to the touch. As I contemplated this as if in response, a flash of energy raced above and below where my palm made contact. In an instant, the entire spherical room bloomed with an intense silver light. As my eyes looked up towards the umbrella of intertwined veins over my head a prompt appeared in my vision.
Congratulations! You have found a Living Silvern Node.
Congratulations! You meet the minimum requirements to activate this travel node.
Notice! As this is your first discovered Living Silvern Node, you are only able to open a conduit to the next closest junction, regardless of the intervening distance between the two points. Know that as you uncover additional nodes, further travel options will become available to you.
Once activated, the travel point will remain open for 30 seconds allowing others to follow. This timer will reset each time someone passes through while the node remains active.
Finally, please note when used, this junction cannot be activated again for six hours as the conduit recharges.
Would you like to activate this travel junction at the cost of 1,851 mana? Yes/No.
“Now this is something,” I said in awe, my voice at a normal volume seeing as there was no other in the room. The branching networks of ore continued to radiate brightly. When I pulled my hand away, the light dimmed. Placing a palm to its surface, the final prompt appeared once more. “Say, Stella, do you think the mana cost is an indication of the distance between us and the next closest junction?”
“It could be,” Stella responded as she checked her screens. “Though I couldn’t tell you how much distance is between the two points. It could be we’re traveling one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one meters, or maybe the same number in miles. Perhaps neither. Other factors could be taken into account to reach that number, such as the density of either the stone or the mana in between. We have no way of knowing yet.”
“Only one way to find out,” I said eagerly. There was some hesitation in my gut as I reviewed the message one more time. “Looks like it’s a one-way trip, at least for several hours while the conduit ‘recharges.’ We’re going to be in trouble if we get dumped into the middle of an enemy stronghold. So, there is some risk here. We don’t know what is on the other side. What do you think, go or stay?”
Tallos spoke up first. “I say we go and hope for the best. Being an adventurer means you’re already putting yourself in dangerous situations. This is no different.”
We both looked at Stella, who was chewing her lower lip. “While I’d like us to send word to the city, it could take hours to get back here.” She sighed. “I think you’re right. We need more information. We haven’t uncovered enough yet. Let’s press on.”
I turned my gaze towards Ripley and Lowki. Neither could speak but were intelligent enough to indicate their preference. Ripley nodded and hefted her shield in a show of confidence. Lowki, for his part, tilted his head in acknowledgment before returning his attention to the stone column.
“Alright,” I said with a bright smile stretching my face, confident we could handle whatever we might face. “Be ready. I’ll go first, followed by Ripley, then Lowki. Tallos, you’ll be last since you’re better at longer ranges. If we find anything hostile, we’ll rush forward to give you space to engage with your bow. Let’s roll.”
Pressing my hand once more on the glowing column, I mentally clicked on ‘yes.’ A flood of magic drained away and, with a brilliant flash from the pillar, I vanished.
The transportation felt instantaneous as if I blinked to suddenly find myself somewhere else. While at first, it looked like an exact replica of the spherical chamber I just departed, this one was slightly different. A pathway out was before me, instead of behind. Stepping forward a few steps, I examined my surroundings. In the middle stood another stone column of silvern, reaching from floor to ceiling. This one though was blazing strongly enough it left an afterimage in my vision from only a glance.
Thankfully, no shout of surprise or alarm echoed in the enclosed place. We were alone.
Announced by a slight popping sound, my party members appeared behind me one after the other. Going into stealth once more, I oriented on the only exit in the room. Nothing lay beyond, though we all became aware of an oppressive heat as it washed into the room like a tidal wave. It was like suddenly finding ourselves standing completely dressed in a sauna that had the thermometer set to maximum. Beads of sweat were already beginning to form on my brow with how hot the air was.
We exchanged glances at one another, ensuring everyone was alright from the teleportation. Tallos seemed fine, appearing no worse for wear. I was glad it had gone as well as it did. Tallos looked cheery at the instantaneous method of travel.
In regards to the extreme temperature, everyone but Ripley appeared uncomfortable. We all instinctually held our voices out of the risk of discovery. While we were currently alone, we didn’t yet know what was down the hallway leading out. The teleportation was nearly silent, the only sign of our arrival was the blinding illumination being emitted from the pillar behind us.
As I moved closer to the exit, the brightness behind us dimmed considerably in only a few seconds. Pulling our attention back around, the entire room seemed to power down. It must have been the thirty-second timer the System message indicated. Suddenly plunged into darkness, we switched over to our Darkvision. It would be another six hours before we could attempt to use it again.
Xaz: Any idea how far we traveled?
Stella: Take a look at your mini-map. It looks like we were teleported a hundred miles to the east and around a mile and a half down.
Xaz: Wow, that’s pretty far. I’m thrilled we teleported further east, it’s where we were heading anyway. Except we’re now really deep underground. We might have a hard time getting to the surface if there’s even a way out around here.
Stella: I guess we’ll find out. So, I say we press on.
Tallos waited patiently nearby, aware Stella and I could silently communicate with each other. Nodding at Stella, I motioned for Lowki to remain at my side. We were undetected so far, and I intended to keep it that way.
The path leading away from the node terminated after only a short distance. Opening to our left and right, we approached a passageway that reminded me of a subway tunnel, minus the train and tracks. Unlike the rough, uneven stone we had come to expect, this section had curved walls as smooth as glass. It was fifteen feet wide and the whole thing had a scorched and blackened feel to it, as if molded by intense heat. The domineering warmth in the air increased as we stepped inside the cylindrical tunnel, though nothing around hinted as to why it was so hot.
Upon closer inspection, I hadn’t been entirely right about the tunnel being completely smooth. The stone floor was flat and had a wave-like pattern etched along its surface. Kneeling low, the small ripple stood only a half-inch above the surface and looked to have been flowing to our right.
It reminded me of ripples in a pond. After considering it for a moment, I believed I knew what this was. “It’s an old lava tube,” I whispered after not seeing anything down either stretch of the tunnel. Tallos looked questioningly at me, clearly unfamiliar with what I said. “This was once full of burning hot magma. The molten rock carved this whole tunnel out as it rolled unrelenting to the south. As the height of the magma decreased, it started to cool. Eventually, it solidified into the rippled surface we’re standing on.”
“Do you think we run the risk of being flooded with more magma?” Tallos asked with a great deal of worry lacing his voice.
I reminded myself he was a woodland elf, and was likely the first time being underground for any significant period of time. “Possibly, but I doubt it,” I replied honestly. “While it is sweltering hot in here, I’m assuming it’s because other lava tubes are close by. Though we probably have many feet of thick stone between it and us. I think we’re safe as this one appears to have solidified long ago.”
“Okay,” Stella said with a heavy sigh, showing she had also been nervous. “Which direction should we go?”
“Hmm. Let’s see if we can pick up the trail. Tallos help me take a look around,” I replied as I moved around, my eyes searching the ground for a clue. Tallos, still an arrow notched to his bow, assisted as we swept around about the wide tunnel. Soon enough, my tracking skill highlighted several noteworthy signs in my vision. Chief among them was what appeared to be wear beginning to appear across the small ripples to our north. It looked as if dozens of heavy boots had slowly been eating a path into the surface. The path went straight towards the teleportation node, without any sign of movement to the south.
“We’re going left, to the north,” I said after checking in if Tallos found anything to the contrary. “As far as we can tell, the only detectable activity is that way.”
As we moved stealthily, the temperature of the air steadily grew hotter by the minute as if the source of the heat was fast approaching. When the brightness of the tunnel flared ahead, basking the area in light, I knew we had found the source. Switching back to our normal vision, the red glow of running magma could be seen near the lower quarter of the tunnel.
Approaching cautiously, a two-foot wide and three-foot high section of the wall had collapsed outwards. The heat of the fissure was so intense, we were forced to the far side of the tunnel, but it was boarding on unbearable. As we crossed by, a raging flow of magma traveled away towards the south. A roar cascaded outward like a flash flood was thundering a few feet below us.
Unfortunately, when our feet started to burn from the intense heat passing from the magma to the stone under us, we had to drop all pretense of stealth, fully risking detection, to avoid our shoes melting away. Hugging the opposite side as much as possible, we dashed away from the furious fissure. Thankfully, three dozen yards later, there was no sign our commotion caught anyone’s attention. I doubted anyone would have been able to hear us over the din of sound crashing into the tunnel from the running magma.
I hadn’t realized it at the time, but I was forced to hold my breath as we sprinted to avoid scorching our lungs. With the temperature dropping to bearable levels, we paused as our party took in great lungfuls of air. Ripley looked unbothered by the ordeal while Tallos and I were drenched in sweat, with Lowki panting away laboriously at my side.
Taking a moment to slow our collective breathing, each of us silently hoping it was the last we would see the blistering magma. Worries of collapsing through the floor into a pool of molten rock were not something any of us wanted to experience. Thankfully, the air, while still uncomfortably warm, cooled slightly as we continued in a mostly northern direction. The tunnel twisted slightly but ran straight for the most part. The air was thick with the taste of sulfur and was entirely unpleasant.
Eventually, we came upon a curious sight. Above our heads was a massive gaping hole of impenetrable darkness sloping up and away at about a forty-five-degree angle. Underneath and beyond, the once-round lava tube transformed back into a typical cave formation. My best guess was, at some point in the past, a magma flow broke through the ceiling and flooded back the way we had come, tearing at the stone walls with its unstoppable intensity.
Walking under the breach in the ceiling, the passageway beyond returned to the broken and uneven surfaces we had grown accustomed to, though many stalagmites and stalactites presented themselves. My tracking skill struggled as we tried to pick up the trail considering the ground had become so irregular. Few traces were highlighted in my vision, so I’d have to hope the tunnel didn’t diverge otherwise we could end up trekking through an unused cave system.
As deep as we were, the place was bone dry without a drip of water echoing anywhere. The stone walls were coated with a fine layer of dust. The passageway narrowed at several points as it snaked back and forth. Eventually, we came upon worked stone, though not as much as in previous tunnels. From the look of it, only the stalagmites had been destroyed giving credence to the thought some type of equipment was going to be brought through.
The tunnel diverged a few times, though our course remained clear as long as we followed whichever passageway had all the stalagmites removed. Perhaps twenty minutes and a half dozen of branches later, we came upon another curiosity.
Our path ahead continued straight on for at least three dozen yards, with an offshoot tunnel breaking to the left some twenty feet ahead. It wasn’t odd by any means, but the makeup of the tunnel was not what caught our attention.
Sitting square in the middle was what would best be described as a street lamp. It rose hallway to the stone ceiling and had four glowing orbs attached at the top. The balls of azure light were emitting a soft light in a wide area around it. We were well clear of the light, where we stood staring curiously at the anomaly.
“Wait here…” I began to whisper, but immediately shut my mouth when I finally felt pressure from my stealth skill. The force soon relented, returning to a barely noticeable level, indicating I was no longer in danger of being detected. It had been close though.
Someone was ahead and, by the look of it, was in the passageway to the left of the artificial shining light. I turned wide-eyed to Tallos and clamped a hand over my mouth before shaking my head from side to side. Tallos nodded his understanding as he tightly gripped his bow, a feathered arrow notched to the string.
Looking at Lowki, I pointed a finger at him, then back at myself. I mouthed the words, “You and me,” at the same time before pointing a finger down the tunnel. Lowki lowered his head, though made no other sound in acknowledgment. He understood the importance of stealth here.
Stella floated off Tallos’ shoulder, not wanting to potentially spoil his aim, and hovered close to me. We met each other’s eyes, Stella nodding before we skulked forward, Lowki crouched at my side. The azure glow from the lamp radiated out halfway to where Tallos and Ripley remained. As I tiptoed into the soft light, I instantly felt cooler. It was like going from a sauna to standing near an ice-covered embankment. It was disorienting, to say the least, but a welcomed relief to the constant heat that had been doggedly hounding us since we first appeared back in the node room.
I looked at Stella who was silently waving a paw in the air.
Stella: Whatever the light is, it’s countering the heat. The post is bathing the area with chilled air.
Xaz: Clearly, but why? Something’s just around the corner, but what function does this post play? Is it a sensor about to warn we’re approaching?
Stella: No, we would have already triggered an alarm if there was one.
Xaz: I don’t like it, this feels like we’re walking into a trap. Let’s take this as slow as we can.
Ever so slowly, we edged forward. I was aware of the pressure behind my temples, though it was minor at this point. The chill in the air didn’t deepen as we approached the opening, though the hair on the back of my neck stood on end, causing me to pause my next step. Straining to hear even the slightest sound, I finally heard something. It was like a faint swish of fabric brushing over clothing. It sounded like someone had shifted their position, someone standing watch.
Whoever it was, they were right there, a couple of feet around the corner. I dared not move a muscle as the panic ripped through my chest.