Delayed Arrivals
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Felix scratched at the stubble on his chin as he gazed up at Joristral Mountain. Standing beside Stryria and Talric, especially Talric, he looked even shorter than he actually was. Unlike when they'd first met in the Adventuring Guildhall some days ago, he was wearing his adventuring gear. Clad in tight-fitting and dark grey stained studded leather armor, he was a much more convincing image of an adventurer. A dwarven battlehammer was slung across his back, and a number of knives and various other tools decorated his belt and bandolier. He even had a number of rare Gnomish alchemies tucked away safely in a pouch to his side.
Styria was wearing the same thin leather armor as when Felix had first met her, though freshly cleaned. The same two wands rested on her belt. Felix knew after a few days of travel that one was just a Manawand and just to aid in the channeling of mana, while the other was a rare Spellwand. He'd been allowed a closer inspection a few nights ago, the small runes dancing up and down the delicate sides of the wand clearly magical in some manner. In the end, he'd shrugged and handed it back to her. Magic was never his specialty. The shield and weighted mace she carried in addition to her spellcasting materials were much more up his alley.
Talric on the other hand, had changed up his armor some once they'd gotten a distance from the city. A new set of thick, scarred leather armor replaced the previous set. At first Felix hadn't seen much difference, that was until Styria explained the difference to him. The new set was partially enchanted. Apparently every rank of adventurer that Talric went up, his family would pay to enchant his armor more and more. It served as a mark of passage or rank or something. He changed into a non-enchanted set when in the city so as not to tempt any of the more unsavory figures into trying to steal the enchanted set of armor. Enchantments were expensive, and just the fact that Talric's family could afford it made Felix burn with curiousity.
Nevertheless, the trio had made it all the way to the base of Joristal Mountain without encountering much difficulty. Now, staring at the incredibly tall mountain and the large cave entrance they would be entering, Felix couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated. It only took a few minutes of absorbing the sight though for his determination to reassert itself. My brother is down there somewhere, most likely trapped or dead. I will not leave him behind like that. No matter what.
Felix cocked his head up to look at his taller companions, "You two ready? Once we go down, its an all or nothing. I doubt we'll have much of a trail to follow even now, let alone if we try coming back even later." Styria glanced down at him before looking back at the cave entrance.
"We know. And yes, we're ready." She glanced at him again before jerking her head towards the cave. Talric saw the movement and grunted before starting to walk forward, his heavier armor and tougher physique having made him their defacto pointman. With Styria following behind, and Felix taking the rear, the trio began trekking the last stretch before finally heading underground. Their focus all increased in intensity the moment stone was overhead. They'd all heard the stories and rumors about the caverns under Joristal.
Tales of Rock-Claw Lynxes, Giant Spiders and Bats, ambush predators by the dozen, a strangely massive amount of underground water sources. There was supposed to be almost thirteen separate identified underground streams, five lakes, and even a massive river flowing deep below the surface. There was a common theory that a massive water-filled cavern existed below the mountain, below where even Goblins feared digging. Felix had always shrugged off such rumors, it made far more sense to him that the waters all flowed through the area or out to the nearby Tyranean Sea.
The stories and tales that worried him the most, were those of Hive. If that prolific, swarming species truly did have a colony below the mountain... The relatively little city of Derien was most appealing because of its isolation on the frontier. But if Hive were discovered only a weeks journey away, the Army would be dispatched to burn the caverns until they resembled the Hells. Then they'd flood as much posion into the tunnels as possible while collapsing every possible entrance and exit they can find within fifty kilometers. Hive could not be allowed to live... The lost continent of Exandros was a terrible reminder of that.
Regardless of rumor though, Felix kept marching down the tunnels, following behind after his impromptu allies. He would see this out to the end, for his family. For his brother, who deserved the proper rites and remembrances.
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The trio was deep in the tunnels. Four days had passed since they'd first entered the mountain so long ago. While few monsters has attacked them, the trio was slowly growing tired of the endless rock halls. The grayish-brown stone was simply far too unbroken and unblemished. It inspired an uncanny, nervous feeling. But somehow, at the same time, it lent the corridors a monotonous and neverending aura, one that weighed down the contemplater with weariness and exhaustion. Luckily, the trio knew what this was.
Styria spoke quietly, "Anyone else getting real sick of the Valley Stone? I thought knowing what it was was supposed to make you immune or something..." Felix sighed, earning a slightly irritated glance from Styria as she heard.
Felix glanced around before answering, "Valley Stone has a tiring and mentally stressing effect if you know what it is. People who don't know what it is have been known to be so lost in despair that they've killed themselves." His words earned him an instantly mollified look on Styria's face. She looked at the surrounding stone with newfound respect and moved to center herself in the tunnel a little more.
After another five minutes walk, she whispered back to him again, "How do you know so much about Valley Stone anyways?"
He held in another sigh, knowing it wouldn't help. "Materials and tools are my specialty. Gnomish Alchemies, Goblin Munitions, Dwarven Enchantments, and Human tools. That's how I fight and work. And I do all of that a lot better with a wide-spread knowledge of materials and their effects." Felix knew that his specialty and technique in adventuring was rare, but he still wished he didn't have to explain it so much to those he worked with. He kept talking, hoping she would be satisfied with that explanation and that he could distract her from it if she wasn't. The in-depth version was always far more frustrating to give.
"Valley Stone was first discovered in Tirel Valley, thus the name. I simply spent time researching what was known about the place my brother disappeared and then researched everything that I could find there." He shrugged, having forgotten that with them walking forward in a line they wouldn't see it. "It's simple. Just takes time is all, it's the only reason I wasn't already here when you saw the quest on the board." When Styria looked back to question him again, he pointed towards where Talric walked ahead of them.
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"It's a combination of Dwarven Enchantment and Gnomish Alchemy that makes the tracking compass that we're using work. Using enchantment for seeking and tying it into the alchemical ingredient of my blood, we can track a relative of mine. Thus searching out my brother." Styria's eyebrow rose as she looked over his crowded belt and bandolier, and then paused on his large bag. Noticing her gaze, he patted it, "This is regular gear and some spares. Never too prepared," Felix shrugged after speaking again, Styria seeing this time.
She was halfway through nodding in understanding when they heard stone splintering. Their heads both snapped up and forwards, their eyes widening as they saw the source of the sound. Looking forward, they could see Talric recovering from leaping backwards, quickly regaining his feet even as he slung his massive greatsword around the side to wield it. A two meter thick, gray-skinned worm creature and slammed through the side of the tunnel. It's end was a gnashing, slavering maw that was even then beginning to release a horrid roar at them. They couldn't see the creatures full length, the rest of its body still hidden through the tunnel wall.
They both spent a moment longer processing, having been caught off guard. Talric on the other hand, had his greatsword in hand and swinging by the time the other two were starting to reach for their own weapons. Even in the face of the humid and horrid breath of the creature roaring directly at him, Talric still charged forward. He released a challenging cry of his own before slamming his greatsword in a wide horizontal arc. The blade slammed into the creatures side heavily, the edge cutting in deep.
A piercing cry escaped the creature before it flexed and flailed its head forward in reflex. Talric only barely managed to pull back his blade in time to interpose it between him and the grinding teeth. The force of the creatures sheer mass still knocked him back almost three meters. Before he could recover and charge forward again though, Felix and Styria entered the fight. A hissing spear of ice soared past him, having been conjured into being and hurled forward by Styria. The magical projectile struck and sunk in deep, but only seemed to madden the creature.
Less obviously, a small and hardened clay ball with a lit fuse was tossed past Talric's recovering form as well. The great open maw of the creature proved a detriment in this case, having served only as a larger target for the munition. The clay ball had only made its way partially down the large creatures gullet before the Goblinoid munition detonated. A dull, thumping boom echoed for slighly behind the tunnel wall. The creature released a horrid scream of pain, its movements having lost all aggression.
Talric was already charging forward once more, his form suddenly enveloped in a slight green glow. The glow emanated from the empowering spell cast by Styria was quickly joined with a harsh yellow light coming from the hidden runes on his armor. The enchantments and spell each causing each step to be made with more strength and more weight each. Talric bounded forward and swiped his greatsword down in first one, then two, and finally three powerful strokes. As each slash appeared on the creatures hide, it released additional anguished wails.
Even as it slid backwards, seeking a retreat, its massive form slammed into Talric once more. And while his strength and weight were enhanced, his resilience was not. The additional weight he had collided with the sheer mass of the creature and kept him from moving. Unfortunately it couldn't keep his arm from breaking. Talric released a loud roar of pain, his left arm dropping to his side. Felix was holding another munition ready in case they needed it when his eyes widened. Talric dropped the greatsword from his right hand too, balling it into a fist and cracking it against the side of the retreating worm creature. For the briefest of moments, Felix could have sworn that there were claws on Talric's fingers and that there were gouges in the creatures hide. But before he could really recognize anything, the creature had withdrawn back into the wall.
He and Styria wasted no time rushing forward and towards Talric. Styria ran to the kneeling warrior, looking over his arm carefully and quickly. Felix on the other hand glanced into the hole the creature had burrowed out. Looking down it, he could see it slope downwards and he saw the barest flash of the tail end of the creature sliding down and away. Faster than most would believe possible, he had another munition lit and tossed it down the tunnel after the creature. He waited until he heard the blast before listening closely. Hearing nothing else, not coming nearer or going farther, he finally allowed himself to turn back around.
Styria was kneeling beside Talric now, inspecting his arm as it hung loosely by his side. Felix couldn't help himself, but when he saw Talric's hands were as normal as always he chided himself for being silly. He stayed standing even as he asked, "Will he be alright?"
Talric glanced up at him then, almost the same heigh at Felix even when kneeling. "I'll be fine, just gotta see how it broke- fuck!" He swore suddenly as Styria ran her hands over the broken arm. She gave him a moderating look before continuing her inspection. Talric swore again before biting out, "Just cause i'm more used to it doesn't mean the pain isn't there woman!"
Felix tore himself away from watching to make sure nothing was sneaking up on them. When he looked back, he saw Styria pulling out the Spellwand. He watched curiously before his eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. A soft white glow emanated from the wands tip, and he heard a sudden and horrible fleshy sound. Talric swore again, his jaw clenching before he suddenly relaxed. When Talric began flexing his arm again, bringing it up and moving it about, Felix finally broke.
"You have a goddamn healing Spellwand?! Do I even want to know how much that cost you?!" Felix exclaimed loudly before flinching and remembering where they were. He checked their surroundings again before leaning in and hissing, "How the hell did you even afford that??"
Styria gave Talric's arm another once over as she answered, "It took saving up a lot of money for a long time. And it needs a lot of mana stored in it to work, but... It's invaluable." Felix shook his head as he leaned away again, forcing himself not to stare at the Spellwand. He could easily believe the wand was invaluable. Healing magic was in one of two brands, either Arcane or Divine. Divine healing was far more common, but getting a divine healer into an adventuring team was incredibly difficult. And Arcane healers were just as rare as divine ones were to convince to join. As such, healing was usually handled through the expensive potions that most of an adventuring teams money went towards buying. Having a healing Spellwand would let a team of adventurers spend more of their funds on better armors and weapons, and other materials and tools. Felix himself carried three healing potions that cost almost the same as a fourth of the rest of his equipment.
He shook his head slowly, "Holy shit... That's.. I'm starting to see how you're D-Rank while being a two person team..." Felix himself was a D-ranked adventurer, but he was what was called a Drifter. He would attach himself to larger teams as a supporting member, helping them on one or two missions at a time before detaching again. The fact that the were D-ranked while alone had been puzzling him. He could only guess what rank they would be with a proper team, high C-rank maybe? Maybe even low B....
Talric looked up quickly before looking away just as quickly, "Yeah well.. We have some advantages that others don't. It helps.." He pushed himself to his feet before rolling his arm in a wide circle. After making sure his arm was working correctly, he gave a confirming nod to Styria who put her Spellwand away. He grabbed his sword from where it had rested on the ground, looking around at the tunnel walls. Finally, he settled his gaze on Felix again. "I think it might be a good idea to hear all the things you researched about down here. I don't want to be surprised like that again."
Felix nodded slowly, looking over and seeing that Styria had agreed with Talric. "Well.. Alright," Felix glanced at the walls again before continuing, "But can we not do it in front of the gaping hole in the wall?" He gestured with a thumb at the pit in the wall. Looking at it over Felix's head, Talric slowly assented.
"Fine, lets get a bit further in. Then we'll talk," Talric turned around and started making his way forward down the tunnel again.
Styria nodded to Felix, "I saw your.. munitions? That was good, powerful. Glad to have you." She seemed to think that was enough said, as she started after Talric's slowly moving form. Felix blinked for a moment before swearing under his breath and starting to mentally review everything he knew about the tunnels. No doubt the two of them would be trying to wring every last detail out of him soon enough.