[Book II Chapter 31] FILIA: Crossing Nolfis
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The gate of the elevator clanged shut. On the other side, Oliva Eclair and Argus Lemont were standing on the quay to see them off. Cardium chains began lowered the four members of Aspire.
“Thanks again for your aide.” Oliva shouted. “Please remember to confront Jonathan Bark about this little episode, although it’s probably useless.”
Filia watched the two disappear into the white, and turned her gaze below. They’d spent the night in Glimvale, and today it was time to focus on their second quest. Investigate the Undermist.
The descent was brisk and uneventful, offering nothing of interest aside sporadic rock formations. Daylight receded, and soon only the elevator’s dull green lights lit the haze around them.
As Filia stared downward, the view suddenly cleared up. Glowing violet trees illuminated a fog-covered city. Nolfis, Glimvale’s deceased twin. The hundreds of sharp spires on rooftops were testament to their shared architecture.
<
A billowing cloud enveloped them, and once again they were surrounded by an indistinct void. The only indication they neared their destination were the approaching lights.
They exited into a spacious plaza. Although Filia couldn’t see it, she knew this was the Nolfis Base Fortress, the sole inhabited portion of the Undermist. The stronghold secured the flow of dark stones and other bounties up to Glimvale.
A man in uniform walked up to greet them. “I’m Philip Sabet, the commander here. Olivia sent word you’d be arriving. I trust your trip through the Well Of Sorrow went smoothly.”
“It did.” Zentrias answered. “Do you know why we’re here?”
“To survey the Undermist and ensure there are no threats lurking.” Philip stated. He then paused, frowning. “Is she alright?” Filia hadn’t noticed, but Carol was clutching herself and shivering.
“Of course, I’m not alright.” Carol spat quietly. “You still have that terrible thing lurking here, don’t you? I can feel its gaze on me”
“Sorry,” Philip sighed. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Juda and Filia looked at each other in confusion, prompting Zentrias to explain. “Carol and I came here once years ago to hunt a troll. Although he has a different last name, Philip is a descendant of Jonathan Bark. The author sent an invisible nightmare to watch over him. That’s what Carol is sensing.”
They heard the sound of an opening gate, and a convoy of trucks rolled in. Figures in the mist began offloading materials, carrying them to the lifts.
“Unless I’m getting turned around.” Filia said. “That gate leads away from the city.”
“Correct.” Philip answered. “We don’t gatherer dark stones in Nolfis. Too dangerous and disturbing.”
“Have any of your expeditions run into trouble?” Zentrias asked.
Philip shook his head. “More shamblers than normal, but otherwise nothing so far.”
Praying off the fear of undead, Shamblers took the form of humanoid zombies. The weakest and most numerous denizen of the Moonlit lands, they crossed over frequently, traveling the tiniest cracks in reality.
“It’s suicide staying here.” Carol spoke up, watching the workers. “Is dark stone really worth your lives?”
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“Sure, the profit drives some.” Philip responded. “But that’s not why I remain.”
“This base fortress is an advanced warning system in case of another rupture. Without us here, nightmares could rise up the Well of Sorrows without warning, overrunning the city. It’d be another Nolfis. I’ll not desert my post as long as Glimvale hasn’t evacuated.”
“Would a few extra minutes really make a difference?” Carol asked.
“On the tracks leading Neon, there’s always a train waiting. Several hundred people could escape. That’s better than nothing.”
“Anyway,” Philip continued smoothly. “I take it you’ll be visiting Thornbridge Manor. Will you head through Nolfis or take the way around?”
“Through Nofis.” Filia declared. “I want to see the remnant of what happened. Besides, we’d eventually have to check the city anyway.
Philip led them to another exit and wished them luck. Massive doors slammed closed behind them, driving home their isolation. Filia could tell they were on an avenue due to the row violet trees lighting the way.
Since it was too dangerous to travel the delapidated roofs, they walked the streets. The buildings around them were overgrown with purple vines.
“How is it?” Zentrias asked now that they were away from the base fortress.
“It’s definitely worst than last time.” Carol answered, rubbing her sides nervously. “There are so many eyes watching me… I knew this was a bad idea.”
Filia froze as a pale woman passed in front her. As she stared at the apparition, she felt a slight tap on her leg. She turned to discover a translucent boy scampering away.
“He seemed fascinated by your appearance.” Juda said. “That kind of superficial interaction is all they’re capable of.”
Before long they encountered two guards standing at attention and a crying woman surrounded by a crowd of curious children. Far off voices yelled encouragements to unseen troops, and in dark corners sobbing echoed. Everywhere, ethereal figures phased in and out of view, inaudible whispers floating on the mist. Nolfis truly is the city of ghosts.
With Carol looking unwell, Filia approach Juda, “What exactly happened here?”
“Between Nolfis and Thornbridge Manor, there was a rupture.” Juda explained. “Denizens of the Moonlit Lands poured out in droves. There were no witnesses to what happened next. From what was pieced together, after overrunning Nolfis, they moved on to smaller settlements. Those growing cave lilies and the likes. These easier targets are what spared Glimvale the worst of it.”
“By the time immortals gathered to investigate, the passage had closed. Everyone was dead, and nightmares wandered the Undermist. The affinity of the entire region was tilted towards terror.”
Judas stopped, “It’s about time to take care of our other guests.” He slowly formed a gigantic magic circle on the ground. Dozens of phoenixes shoot out, diving off into the fog in every direction. Before long the cries of flesh and blood bodies rang out.
“Shamblers were gathering around us.” Juda explained. “Now the survivors should leave us alone for a while.”
They left the city and ghosts behind, entering an inverted forest. As they wandered the trees searching for a path, Carol took the lead, moving at brisk pace. Then she was running, and Juda summon fire fairies so they wouldn’t lose each other. The necromancer accelerated again, as if chased, and disappeared ahead.
They caught up in a dirt field lit by a few purple weeds. Before they could ask what was wrong, she shouted back, “Something is coming. Run.”
Everyone broke into a sprint. Filia could now sense it too, the tension of reality gradually bending to the breaking point. Damn it… The only Moonlit Land sovereigns were capable of this.
They made it half a mile before they felt a surge of power behind them. The mist lifted as a sinister wind picked up, and they witnessed what had crossed over. The ghostly figure of a woman floated in the air, her long white hair fluttering madly.
“A banshee queen.” Carol yelled. “Oh god, I need to take off my rings——”
The nightmare screeched, and the world warped around Filia. She was back in Lomistan, at her family’s hamlet. Everyone she knew was strapped to the wall by thorny bramble vines. She was too. A fire was spreading across the houses, coming nearer. She struggled desperately to free herself, but the bramble wouldn’t budge. Her heart stopped as she heard a pair of familiar cries, and she turned too see her parents consumed by the flames…
Then she was back in a dark field in the middle of a tempest. Filia rolled on her back, deep in stupor. Juda was besides her in a similar state, and Carol was further back, utterly motionless. As if in a dream, she watched Zentrias fending off the living storm shaped like a woman.
<
Her body growing larger and covered with bones, Filia felt herself stand up without her control. She slung Juda and Carol over her shoulders and took off at a sprint. Somehow she knew Zentrias and the monstrous lady were following.
Filia watched in a daze as they reached a road and then a gate. On the other side was man dressed in the finest of black clothes. He walked forwards, tipping his hat as she raced passed.
A couple of paces later, she turned back and watched Zentrias run past the man. The woman chasing them held back, confronting the opponent blocking her way.
“You are not welcome here.” Said a deep voice. “Be gone.”
There was flash of red, the ghostly white figure dropped to the ground, split in two.