Shadows hung low in the redness of dusk as Syler and his companions neared the Guild's main building, called Guild Central, directly in the center of the city. Lanterns on either side of the entrance emitted soft magical light. The white noise of the bustle of the city seemed especially loud tonight.
“Seven stories?” Twigly looked up in awe. “As tall as many of our trees!”
Guild Central's outer columns were of brilliant white dragon bones, which needed no magical reinforcement. The stonework masonry was immaculate, each brick set with Urrutia Stonemother's rune, embellished with shaped metallic dragon scales.
“Built during the days when dragon materials were abundant, several thousand years ago,” Winny said as though reading it from a book.
The interior was as ornate as the exterior, and despite the lateness of the hour people still milled about the foyer. No one paid them any mind as they maneuvered silently across the space to a set of elevators.
“Close your eyes, Twigly,” Destin said.
“Why?”
“Accessing the area we need is a trade secret,” Syler answered.
“Like stonecraft,” Twigly nodded in understanding as he turned to face a corner and closed his eyes.
“And we should wrap him in shadow,” Destin said, pointing out Twigly's leafy leathers.
“Agreed. With three it shouldn't be too heavy a drain.”
Syler, Winny, and Destin put a hand on Twigly's back, a bit of shadow shifting from each of them to wrap Twigly in similar looking shadowy leathers.
“This armor’s illusory, and close inspection will show it false.”
“Understood.”
Winny held up her hand to the series of buttons, willing a tendril of her shadow armor to an area beneath the basement button. The shadow passed through the panel, and the elevator began moving down.
“You can look now,” Syler said as he patted Twigly's shoulder.
The elevator went down far beyond the basement level, travelling for almost 20 seconds deeper down.
“It feels strange being back here,” Syler muttered.
Winny and Destin agreed. After the initial training was completed, most Agents never set foot in the training facility again. Unless they became trainers, of course.
Twigly gasped as the elevator opened, the internal lights going out as it did so. The darkness was so complete that it took Twigly several moments to shift into his innate darkvision. Their noses twitched as the smell of blood, sweat, and death hung heavy in the air.
A ten foot wide empty hallway of shaped stone reached for 30 feet before branching left and right.
They took the left turn, spotting movement near the end of the again branching hallway. Syler continued calmly, ignoring the shifting forms, trainees sneaking out late.
Twigly tightened his hands into fists, the slight cracking of his knuckles echoing impossibly loud through the silent hallway. Syler looked back at him and raised a finger to his lips.
The hallways felt to him like he had been there yesterday. The silence was as deafening as when he had first arrived to begin his training. Several doorways, all missing doors, dotted the labyrinth of halls as they walked about. The scent of blood and death grew stronger as they maneuvered deeper into the facility.
We are close to the Bloodpool, he signed to Winny and Destin. Twigly gagged as the smell became almost unbearable.
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He awoke in the dark, his body still sore from the training they had endured the weeks before.
Ears, his primary trainer, had his long ears tied back behind his head as he strode silently into Syler's room.
It's time to dip, Ears signed. Syler had barely managed to tap into the Penumbral magic to see through the darkness, and missed the first half. He didn't need it. He patted the still sleeping Tootsie on the head and loudly sighed as he stood.
Oops.
Ears struck fast, punching Syler in the face. The pain washed over him, and he grunted involuntarily, earning him another punch. He kept himself quiet and stood, wiping the blood from his nose, glaring at his trainer, but doing nothing but following behind.
The Bloodpool was possibly the worst part of the training. Ears pushed a switch slowly up, the light in the room gradually increasing. Syler let the darkvision ebb away and the pool lay before them.
The ten foot diameter pool was 5 feet deep. And full of viscera. Blood was the majority of what filled the pool, but innards and body parts also floated within it.
Ears handed him a potion that protected him from disease, which he begrudgingly drank, nearly gagging as he handed the empty vial back and taking a step closer. The stink was so strong in the room that the potion, if it had a different taste, ended up tasting like the smell anyway.
Syler had vomited the first time he entered this room two weeks prior, and the smell still made him want to gag. He had tried the first time to remove his clothing, but that had been met with a severe beating.
He stepped gingerly onto the first step, feeling his toes smash something against the hard step. Bile rose to his throat, but he managed to keep it down.
Another step. The solid viscera shifted around his knees. Another step. His hands dipped into the gore, making him recoil slightly. Not enough to draw attention, thankfully. Another step. Something spherical entered his right hand. He lifted it out of the pool. He wished he hadn't.
He couldn't stop it from happening, adding his stomach’s contents to the mix.
A shadowy dagger pommel struck him in the shoulder. Syler glared back at Ears and took the final step, now up to his chin.
He was forced to stay in the pool for ten long minutes, moving through it and even to submerge fully at least once.
A small section of the room was cordoned off by a curtain, a showerhead affixed above. He stood under the flowing water until Ears forced him out. He didn't think he would ever feel clean again.
Permission to ask a question, sir? Syler signed. Ears nodded. Why the Bloodpool, sir?
When you finish your training, you will shroud yourself with death, embrace the nuance of blood and bone, and dance in the shadow of justice. And none of it will be worse than this. Syler couldn’t argue that point.
It took another three weeks of daily dips for Syler to not throw up upon entry into the Bloodpool. It took him longer than Destin, and Winny took even longer than him.
Some time later, as their training neared its zenith, the entire class stood around the Bloodpool.
“It’s been years now since most of you have been this near the pool,” Ears spoke softly, but pierced the silence. “You have learned most of what I can teach you. Those of you who made it this far deserve to learn something new, something you may find useful. Syler, what is the Penumbral Sanctorum?” he asked.
“Where we store particularly powerful artifacts we don’t want getting out to the general public, sir.”
“Yes, and we are going to drop an item off there today.”
Winny slipped her hand into Destin’s hand and gripped tight, “Won’t that be dangerous?”
“Extremely, but we’ll be fine,” Ears whistled and ten Agents entered the now cramped room.
“Shroud your armors, and these Agents will amplify it. We will be all but invisible to the shades who watch over the Sanctorum.”
Syler and the others tapped into their learned shadow magic, deepening the strips of shadow that surrounded them. Dark tendrils drifted from the Agents that surrounded them, and all but their eyes could be seen.
“Very good,” Ears looked over everyone, then spread his arms out wide, “The entrance is here. Once we shadowstep into Penumbra, we are going to plunge into the Bloodpool.”
“Great,” one of the other students said with as much enthusiasm as they all felt.
They all stepped into the shadow plane.
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And took the plunge.
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The Bloodpool doorway, like the others, held no door. Syler led the way, sliding up against the wall and peeking into the room.
A single figure stood facing the steps, back to them. Ears tucked back.
“Your druid friend is quite loud, Syler Dunn.” They all stepped into the room, but said nothing, until Ears turned to face them. His fur was grey with age, but his eyes were just as fierce as Syler remembered.
“He is not, sir,” Syler answered without expression, “you knew we would need a stone.”
“As soon as I heard of Cara’s death, yes. And I see you dragged Winny and Destin with you.”
“You didn’t happen to have already gotten one for us, sir?” Syler expected the dagger that flew his way, and his fingers wrapped around the hilt before the blade struck his face. He smiled, and let the blade melt away before taking a step closer.
“Max’s death is not officially sanctioned, thus far at least.”
“Ask me if I give a fuck, sir.”
Ears ignored the impertinence, “You were the one who finally took down Malakia.”
“Yes, sir,” Syler answered, despite it not being a question. Winny beamed while Destin pointedly looked at the ground.
A faint smile dashed across Ears’s face, “I trained you well.”
Syler matched the smirk, “Yes, sir.”
“You won’t have the amplified shroud down there.”
Winny finally spoke up, “We’ll be fine, sir. Twigly will make us invisible.”
“We lost two of you last time even with the shrouding.”
“We,” Syler motioned to his compatriots, “are far more capable now than we were then, sir.”
Ears reached out a hand to Syler, much to his surprise. He gripped the hand of his mentor, who squeezed it for several moments, “You are capable, and I’m coming with you.” He held up his hand to silence the forthcoming protest. Syler nodded.
“So this is the one who trained you?” Twigly asked.
“It feels like he still is,” Destin said.
“Yes it does,” said Syler, never taking his eyes from Ears, “but we really should get started.”
Twigly pulled a small figurine from his hip pouch. It was draka shaped by a scalesmith made to appear as a stalking panther.
“There is already a ring around this pool. May I use it?” Twigly asked Ears.
“Of course.”
“I need,” Twigly thought for several moments, “85 white draka and about three minutes, less if you all help me.”
As they fished out the coins from various bags and wallets, he continued, “Invisible Passage will last for two minutes. We do not have the time for me to make it last any longer. Spread the draka in equidistant spacing along that inset circle.”
Twigly closed his gemstone eyes for several moments in concentration, and when he opened them again his right index finger glowed alum and the left was black as night.
In the air before him he began to trace the Hunting and the Shadow runes, leaving faint outlines of each as his fingers deftly wove. When he finished he began anew, the runes becoming more clearly visible with each passage.
With all four working to complete the ritual, invisibility washed over them all after less than a minute had passed.
Syler could still see their outlines using his eye, and he gathered everyone within touching distance.
“You may want to close your eyes for this part, Twigly.” Winny said.
“I have never seen Penumbra before. I will do no such thing.”
Winny nodded, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Syler gripped Twigly’s shoulder again, like he had before, and they all melted into the shadows. He had grown to enjoy the prickling tingle that accompanied the planar shift that was stronger when transporting others. He felt the energy leave his body and when they had finally arrived a heartbeat later, it took him a moment to catch his breath. The dark greys of Penumbra shifted to opaque black upon the surface of the pool.
Twigly fell to a knee, quivering. “What… were those… shapes?” he asked between dry heaves.
“No time,” Syler said as he stepped into the blackness of the pool.
The thicker shadow felt like walking through a heavy cream, and where the bottom of Bloodpool usually was there were instead more stairs leading deeper down. The shadow barrier was only five feet thick, the stairwell returning to the nondescript dark greys. The stairs extended 30 feet down, with a small landing every ten feet. At the bottom landing was a door.
He waited until everyone had reached the landing before gently pushing the door open. Twigly gasped.
The room was enormous, lined with tables on which were numerous objects of different sizes, shapes, and colors. Powerful artifacts, some older than Penumbra itself, lay tagged out in the open.
Floating above the tables near the high ceiling was a writhing mass of shades. It was difficult to tell where one ended and another began.
Ears placed a finger to his lips and crouched low, silently darting from table to table, hastily looking over them before moving on to the next. They all followed, flitting from table to table as they looked for the nullstone.
After what felt like an eternity, they reached a series of tables on which rested numerous stones. Winny, being the smallest, stepped out from the table and began gingerly looking. There were several seeing stones, a palm sized red stone of seemingly random jagged facets, and a large, rune covered diamond labeled as a solar crystal.
Near the center of the second table she searched were several null stones, small emerald stones the size of Syler's thumb. She grabbed two, slight surprise when she noticed she was visible again. A quick glance told her the rest.
Time had run out.
The movement on the ceiling stopped. Dark, veiled faces all turned at once to Winny.
They all reacted simultaneously. Ears darted out from under his table, throwing daggers into the writhing mass. Winny, to her credit, just began running to the exit, keeping low and trying to stay under tables as much as possible. Twigly rolled out and shifted, his form blazing with firelight which seemed to be largely absorbed by the shadow around them.
Syler shouted for them to run, to flee this place. He stood his ground, drawing his dark bow and firing arrows into the writhing mass. He called for his companion and added his Penumbral magic as she poofed in, glad to have Toots in his time of need.
The shades surged down at Syler, several dissipating from daggers thrown by Destin and Ears. Syler dove away from the hoard, the raucous noise deafening as it shattered a nearby table, scattering ancient artifacts.
Tootsie jumped from table to table, dark claws and teeth raking at shades that had separated from the hoard.
The shade hoard branched out, gouging bloody lines across Ears and Destin who fought desperately against them. Winny paused in her run to fire a few arrows, dissolving several shades in puffs of shadowy dust.
They kept moving toward the exit, dodging and shooting and throwing as much to simply keep the shades at bay as to harm them.
Syler cried out as claws scratched out at him from all sides. Twigly smashed shades with his flaming form as he floated onward, scattering ashy dust over the tables as he went. Before reaching the exit however, the shades focused on him, knocking away his fiery form and sending him smashing several tables as he was launched away.
“No!” Syler roared and ran to protect Twigly.
Tootsie was faster. She leapt across the large room in two bounds, sliding to stand over the struggling Twigly.
Ears was right alongside Syler, blood flowing from a spot on his head where one of his ears had been.
“Grab him and run!’ Ears yelled over the din. He spun and threw dagger after dagger.
It wasn't enough.
A tendril of the shade hoard smashed into Ears, ignoring the arrows from Destin and Winny, who both stood next to the stairs leading out.
With a cry Ears was lifted up into the writhing mass. Tootsie grabbed at his heel, trying to pull him back down.
The green Nature rune on Syler's chest flared to life as wings burst from his back. He flew straight into the hoard at the spot holding Ears, sending vines of shadow as he cut a swath through them. The dark vines cut through the shades like roots through stone, a cloud of dust trailing behind him as he flew.
Ears fell back to the floor, one of his legs crumpling beneath him.
Tootsie tugged all the harder, pulling Ears toward the exit, not waiting for the others as she burst up the stairs.
Twigly limped his way to the stairs as well, watching helplessly as the shade hoard, many of which were already reforming in the space above, roiled around Syler.
The darkness was complete inside the hoard, only his glowing blue eye able to pierce through to see his friends had reached the exit.
I will not die here! The thought continuously repeated through his mind. He felt his energy wavering. The wings and the vines had almost fully tapped him, and he could only summon a single shadow dagger to defend himself. He darted through the hoard, unable to avoid every claw. His wings faltered and he fell plummeting to the foot of the stairs, limp from unconsciousness.
Twigly and Destin caught him, pulling him up through the heavy shadow barrier before the hoard could grab him again.
Tootsie bounded to Syler's prone form as they all stepped out from the shadow. He was covered in blood and gashes. She gently pawed at him, the shadow retreating from her form back into him, the magic automatically wrapping the worst of the wounds to staunch the bleeding.
Twigly grabbed a small container from his bag and began meticulously applying a foul smelling ointment to Syler's smaller cuts and scrapes.
Winny began looking after Destin and Ears, who both bled from numerous sources. Ears shooed her away, plucking a vial from within his armor and staring at it for several moments.
“Twigly,” Ears grunted, pulling himself to a sitting position, reaching vial out to him.
Twigly took it and rushed back to Syler, administering the potion.
The seeping blood from behind the tight bonds of the armor strips stopped and Syler sat bolt upright, summoning his dagger and brandishing it around him.
“You do not happen to have any more of those, do you?” Twigly asked, having finished his task.
“No,” he said as he collapsed onto his back, his breathing coming in fast and shallow.
Syler crawled over to where Ears lay, grabbing him by the hand, “Come on, sir. Get up.”
Ears looked at each of his former students individually, “Not this time. I'm damn proud of who you all became.”
His breathing began to weaken.
“Winny, Destin, take Twigly to the elevator.”
Tears streamed down Winny's cherubic face, and Destin looked for the first time in many years at his former teacher. He nodded and they left the room, turning the corner out of sight.
“We were going to have to change your name to Ear,” Syler said as he pulled a metal knife from his side pouch.
“No, use the shadow dagger.”
“But then there's no way for you to come back.”
“I'm already tainted by the shades,” he pointed to his hands, the black tendrils already spreading through his veins. “Besides, I wouldn't want to return anyway.”
Dark tears formed around his eyes, the blackness even visible therein.
Ears placed his palm against Syler's chest, and the Penumbral magic that was his armor began to melt away, funneling into Syler. The tattoos on Ears also began to wane, becoming lighter and lighter, as much as Syler understood his own were becoming clearer and darker.
Syler felt his connection to the shadow plane, weakened from overuse in the Sanctorum, strengthened beyond what he had experienced before.
The removal of Ears's armor set his wounds to flowing faster, and his breathing grew more ragged.
The knife Syler formed in his right hand looked more solid than he had been able to manifest before.
“Be at peace, you go to join those who protect the realm of shadow.”
The elevator ride back up was a silent one.