Standing there with the rest of his party, a concept he was still getting used to, Gabe felt more apprehensive than he usually did before starting a job. Part of it was certainly due to the vision, but Gabe had mostly come to terms with that. Well as much as a person could come to terms with a prophetic vision of their death.
The truth was life within the Iochians was dangerous, especially for those who ventured into Dweller tunnels. If anything, the vision provided Gabe with some assurance that he wouldn’t accidentally trip and fall into a bottomless pit. Symbolic or not, a bleeding chest wound was a pretty distinct injury and Gabe had taken steps to mitigate as much of the harm as possible. In addition to his gryphon leather armor, he also wore a small silver pendant around his neck tucked underneath his shirt.
It had been a gift from Freya who gave it to him the previous night. The two had met at The Flaming Boar for a few rounds of drinks and food. It turned out that Aura of Vitality was very efficient at removing the effects of a hangover, so they’d used some of Gabe’s remaining gold to make a night of it. Though neither said it directly, they both understood that this might be the last time they’d see each other. It was only after several bottles of both Wypsi ale and fulnok when both of them were well past tipsy that Freya pulled out the necklace. It held a simple enchantment that allowed someone to store a single tier two spell into the gem set into the center of the pendant.
“As a lasht resor’ measure, ya kno’? Jus’ chuck yer shhield spell in there an’ maybe, when the attack c’mes, the regerashun will keep yous alive.”
Working as a clerk for the Adventurer's Guild earned Freya a modest salary, but Gabe knew from his recent purchases that such a necklace was easily worth several months of pay for her. He appreciated the gift and stored Restorative Shield in it, though it did take him several tries and he had to use both hands to get it right in his addled state. He was lucky that life mana wasn’t nearly as reactive as some of the other prime types, otherwise his misfired spells might have set the place aflame instead of just causing a sharp pain that radiated down from the tips of his fingers.
Feeling the weight of the pendant against his skin provided a measure of comfort and reassurance to Gabe, which in turn made the apprehension he felt all the more obvious. He chalked it up to being nervous about going into the tunnels and tried to push down the feeling. He began to cycle the mana in his life node as a means to focus his attention on something other than his potential impending demise.
He was currently waiting with Simon and Drevock while Professor Alrik was speaking with Thalia. They were going over the recent scouting reports to find the best access point to the tunnel system. In theory, since all the tunnels were connected deep within the mountains, they could choose any entry they wanted and Professor Alrik’s magic would guide them where to go. However, he’d explained that since the purest use of his magic was in revealing lost or hidden things, they would have the best chance at locating the correct path if they started somewhere that hadn’t been traveled through yet. Something about stronger spiritual resonance in undisturbed materials.
When Professor Alrik returned a few minutes later, he was carrying a rolled up piece of parchment almost as big as himself. A gesture from Simon caused a slab of rock to rise from the ground to form an impromptu table. Professor Alrik unrolled the parchment which revealed itself to be a map of the wilderness surrounding Aranthia. Gabe noticed that there were two locations marked on the map, one about a two day hike out towards the east and another that was closer, only about a day's journey, but higher up the mountain.
“There have been two entrances to the tunnels discovered within the past week. According to Thalia, a group of adventurers left yesterday for this one,” said Professor Alrik as he pointed at the eastern circle. “No one yet has been dispatched to the one to our north, however that likely will change in the coming days. Thalia received a report from the Guild Hall in Tonclay that one of their elite teams was on their way here.”
Gabe nodded along to this as it was what he’d expected. The higher up the mountain one traveled, the greater the dangers you’d face. The monsters that lived there were often much larger and much more vicious than those found in lower elevations. Add in steep cliff faces and the treacherous terrain and you got an environment that only the strongest would be able to survive.
It appeared that Simon had also reached the same conclusion as Gabe as the apprentice earth mage gave out a low sigh. “Let me guess. The elite team is on their way because no one around here is dumb enough to try to reach that access point. Most likely the scouts who found it came across something particularly nasty?”
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He looked at Professor Alrik when he said that last part who responded with a nod.
“According to the team who discovered it, the tunnel entry is located in the back of a cavern whose opening is approximately 15 feet off the ground. They were able to gain entry using some ropes, however in addition to the tunnel opening, they also found what they believed to be a wyvern’s nest. While they left before encountering the creature, the piles of animal bones and freshly molted skin led them to believe with high confidence that the nest is still occupied.”
That was bad news. Wyverns only shed their skin a few times during their life cycle. Each molt corresponded to a transition to the next stage of their development and was accompanied by increased size, aggression, and at later stages of development, magical ability. All wyverns were born with an incredibly toxic venom that coated their claws and fangs, but once they reached maturity they also formed a core that allowed them to wield magic. Wyvern cores were some of the most valuable magical components that could be harvested from a monster and suddenly it made a lot more sense as to why an elite team was being sent to deal with it.
Simon simply nodded as if this was what he expected. “And rather than wait until the professionals from Tonclay arrive to take care of it, we’re going to go ahead and attempt to deal with it ourselves. I know you can weave some impressive spells Master Alrik, but this might be pushing it even for us. Well, it’s good that we have the Titan of Tur’nyoc with us. It should be interesting at least.”
During his training with Simon and Professor Alrik, Gabe had inquired about Drevock who was always near the group but rarely spoke and didn’t participate in the exercises except when helping test out the limits of Gabe’s Restorative Shield spell. According to Simon, Drevock had come from one of the wandering tribes that practiced Vidjeun casting. Simon didn’t know much about the man’s past, but he did know that Drevock left his tribe after some incident in the city of Tur’nyoc, which is where he and Professor Alrik had met him,. The people of Tur’nyoc all referred to Drevock as estariqu, which translated as titan in the Delariq language, though none of them would reveal why they called him that. Professor Alrik offered him a fair amount of gold to serve as his personal bodyguard and that’s how the group came to be.
Gabe wasn’t as certain about this plan as Simon seemed to be, but he knew they didn’t have a lot of other options. Professor Alrik clearly believed that they needed to enter the tunnels as quickly as possible and since he was the one with the ability to see the future it was hard to argue with him. They could wait for the elites to arrive and take on the wyvern themselves, but that risked delaying their trip at least three or four more days. Alternatively they could go to the other entrance that had been discovered and hope that the team that was already there didn’t disturb the tunnels too much as to impair Professor Alrik’s magic. Depending on what they found, they might still need to go to the wyvern cave and would be in the same situation as before.
He took in a deep brief to steel himself mentally. This is what he wanted. He chose to take on this quest and face the unknown. Granted a wyvern was a little more than he anticipated facing right out the start, but if everything went according to plan he wouldn’t be in too much danger. He wasn’t a frontline fighter, his role would be there to support the others as they took on the creature.
While experimenting with his new spells, he had been pleased to discover that Aura of Vitality was able to cleanse more than just the effects of alcohol. He wasn’t sure how effective it would be against wyvern venom, however it had to be better than nothing. Plus he’d restocked his healing kit with all the herbs and poultices he was familiar with. He was as ready as he could be given the circumstances.
“I think going for the wyvern’s nest is our best bet. If we’re lucky, it’ll be off hunting when we arrive and we won’t have to fight it. If we leave now, we should be able to reach the cavern before nightfall. We can set up camp nearby and monitor the nest to see if there’s any pattern to its comings and goings. Simon will be able to use his magic to help us get up to it and Professor Alrik should be able to help us locate the tunnel entrance quickly. Fighting the wyvern would be tough, but if we can avoid it we should be able to get up into the tunnels without an issue.”
“Those are very excellent points Gabriel. I agree that while not ideal, if we proceed with caution then we should be able to mitigate much of the danger. Drevock, do you have anything you would like to add?”
Professor Alrik turned his head so that he could look up at the much larger man. A part of Gabe hoped that Drevock would say something to assuage their fears of the wyvern, perhaps recounting a tale in which he fought a similar creature. Instead he merely gave another one his characteristic grunts before speaking in a slow, accented manner. “Da scion of poision, he is vorthwhile enemy.”
With the four in agreement, they set off towards the gate that would take them out of Aranthia. Before they left, Gabe turned around and took in one last look of the town that he’d come to call home. He half expected to see Freya amongst the throng of people going about their day, but he knew that she’d be at her desk in the Guild Hall. They had said their goodbyes the previous night at the bar. Turning back around, he ran to catch back up with the group. According to the map, they should reach the area with the cavern in six or seven hours depending on how hard they pushed themselves. Unfortunately for them, it was only three hours into their trek when they were attacked.