Seated at the table, Gabe and Simon watched as Professor Alrik made his way over to them. Their gazes, however, were firmly locked onto the leather-bound book he was holding delicately between his fingertips.
“The second floor is much the same as this one. A single large room with a smattering of furniture. I was about to disregard it when I had an intuition that there might be something there. A quick Reveal Hidden spell clued me into this,” he said waving the book. “It was behind a desk that was set into a corner. It must have fallen back there and been forgotten when this place was abandoned.”
He settled into a chair next to Simon and began flipping through the pages.
"I have never encountered this script before," Professor Alrik mused, turning the book so that the others could see the elegant, swirling text that adorned its pages. The letters flowed like water, each character gracefully merging into the next.
“Well, it’s not the first time we’ve come across an old book written in a language no one has seen before,” said Simon. “Do you think your spell will work on this one as well?”
“Only one way to know for certain.”
Professor Alrik set the book on the table and began an incantation. His hands glowed with a soft golden light and he began tracing arcane symbols into the air. As he chanted, the symbols started to float down onto the pages of the book. The characters in the journal began to shimmer, twisting and morphing until they settled into a more recognizable script.
The professor paused, studying the now transformed pages. "Ah, much better."
Gabe leaned in curiously. "So, what does it say?"
Professor Alrik scanned through several of the pages. "It appears to be a journal.
11th Day of Liren: Today, yet another Elder lost his connection. The luminance of his spellform, once vibrant, is now dimmed. The marketplace whispers have turned to urgent debates. The city is restless."
Gabe craned his neck to get a look at the journal. “What do you think they meant by ‘lost his connection’?”
“Sounds like something was happening to their magic,” suggested Simon.
Alrik nodded and continued to read. "15th Day of Liren: The council convened again. Tensions were high. Elder Nalos can no longer command his protective barriers. The loss of an Exalted Shieldwarden has fueled the flames of division within Daerlym. Some claim that a second Cataclysm is upon us. The first led to us hiding away underground, I fear what consequences a second would bring.”
“‘Exalted Shieldwarden’”, repeated Gabe. “I wonder if that’s similar to Drevock’s Titan mana pattern?”
“It has to be,” chimed in Simon. “We know that the Vlatiryx were able to weave complex mana patterns through their souls. I had assumed that the title of Estariqu was a cultural thing amongst Drevock’s people, but what if it meant something more? What if it was more like a job or a role people played in Vlatiryx society, a way to differentiate who had what skills?”
"I believe that is the correct line of thinking Simon,” replied Professor Alrik.
“Though without further evidence, it will be impossible to know for certain whether these are titles unique to particular individuals or if they applied to whole groups.”
“Well, I suppose that means we should keep reading. What does the next entry say?”
“23rd Day of Liren: The city's harmony is fractured. Queen Skanaskir has pledged some of her brood to help enforce the peace. It seems whatever is befalling us is sparing the spiders. This has only added to the conspiracies swirling around. Branot claims that we have strayed too far from our ancestral ways. He was in the marketplace today with a group of his Sunshapers. He said that by moving underground, we’ve broken our connection with the stars and it is only by reclaiming what we’ve given up that our souls will begin to heal. He thinks we need to wage war on the surface and rebuild Vlateria here on Pelios. I don’t know what worries me more, what’s happening to our people or that so many in the crowd cheered Branot on. The humans wouldn’t stand a chance against us but the elves and dwarves wield powerful magics and I am uncertain if we could survive a prolonged assault with so many of our Exalted unable to access their spells. So far the Wardsmiths can maintain the protections that keep us hidden but a direct assault will reveal our presence.”
“Well that doesn’t sound good,” said Gabe. “I know my knowledge of historical events is lacking, but I don’t recall ever hearing about an attack like that so it stands to reason that this Branot character wasn’t able to get his way.”
“I’m more interested in these titles that keep being used,” responded Simon. “Now we have mention of ‘Sunshapers’ and ‘Wardsmiths’. I wonder just how many classes of people there were in Vlatiryx society.”
“There is also the use of the term ‘Exalted’,” added Professor Alrik. “In the previous entry, I believed it to simply be a part of Elder Nalos’s class, as you put it, Simon, however now I am wondering if it is better understood as a signal of rank.”
“You mean like how the title of ‘Knotted’ is used to denote how many compound nodes a wizard has access to?” asked Gabe.
“Perhaps something like that. We will have to see if there are any further mentions of it or anything else that would signify a particular threshold of power.”
He flipped to the next page, ready to begin reading but stopped when the cacophonous mix of clicks and hisses sounded from outside the building followed by the chittering noise of the Soul Weaver spider. Simon brought a finger to his lips as a sign for the others to be quiet as he went through the motions to cast Earthsense.
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“I think it’s another group of four,” he said quietly. “So far they’re just standing there but-” he was cut off as another loud shriek echoed through the area.
“They’re using similar tactics as the other group,” he continued once the cry ended.
“Two just ran up to the roof of the building next to us. The other two are circling the spider. I don’t think it’ll last long by itself, but I also don’t think the creatures know we’re here. We could hide out until they leave.”
“We can’t do that,” Gabe said adamantly. “It helped us out when it likely could have escaped, we should do the same.”
“Gabriel,” Professor Alrik began gingerly. “We were nearly overwhelmed before. Our set of skills does not favor direct battle. It might be more prudent to take a more cautious approach as we navigate this city.”
Gabe just shook his head. “No, I don’t think we can hide from these creatures forever. Sooner or later they’ll catch us. We need to figure out a plan for dealing with them.”
“Well whatever we’re doing, we should figure it out fast. They’re drawing in closer to the spider, an attack is coming any second,” said Simon.
Gabe quickly ran through the last battle in his head trying to identify what did and didn’t work.
“Simon, your stone spears weren’t enough to break through their scales, but I take it you used metal-tipped ones in the pit trap, just like with the shadow prowlers?”
At his nod, Gabe continued as a plan quickly formed in his mind.
“Professor Alrik, your Ray of Light spell was the most effective, but the issue is that the creatures are very mobile. Maybe if we can catch them by surprise, we’ll be able to take them out without too much hassle. Simon, quickly before they attack, cast Earthen Pit below the two creatures still on the ground. With Earthsense active you should know exactly where they are. Once you’re done, shape a hole through the wall so that Professor Alrik can conjure another flare to blind the ones on the roof. Once they’re all trapped and disoriented, we can take them out.”
Instead of answering, the earth mage simply closed his eyes and began casting with both hands. They moved in perfect synch with each other and Gabe belatedly realized that Simon was casting the same spell twice at the same time. He filed that away as something he should try with Repair next time someone had a major injury. Judging by how quickly this group of creatures found them, he held no illusions that there wouldn’t be future battles.
Simon finished his spells just in time as twin predatory growls morphed into screeches of shock. With an almost lazy flick of his wrist, a large section of the wall dropped to the ground, revealing the fighting going on outside. The Soul Weaver spider was halfway up the side of a building, its front legs up and striking out toward the two creatures harrying it from the air, their wings beating furiously to keep them aloft. On the ground were two pits and already the front claws of the trapped creatures could be seen as they worked to pull themselves out of the trap.
Professor Alrik wasted no time in belting out an incantation and Gabe quickly turned his head to the side to avoid being blinded by the bright swell of light that engulfed the street. The two flying creatures stopped their assault on the spider as their flying became erratic. One turned blindly towards the ground and intersected
it hard while the other hovered in place as it clawed at its eyes. The Soul Weaver spider lunged toward the grounded creature, its spear-like legs easily punching through the hard scales of the beast.
Bolts of light shot from the professor's hands, targeting the wings of the still airborne creature. Within moments it too went crashing to the ground and upon impact several metal-tipped spears impaled it. The first of the creatures that had been dropped into Simon’s Earthen Pit had just managed to drag half of its body out of the hole when it received a Ray of Light straight to its face, causing it to release its drip and fall back into the pit. The experience was repeated with the second creature as it too was hit full on with a Ray of Light as it tried to escape.
Rushing forward, Professor stood at the edge of the first pit and fired a rapid volley of Ray of Light into the creature trapped within. As the smell of cooked flesh wafted through the street, he moved over to the next pit and took care of the final creature.
“Wow, that was a lot easier than the first time,” Gabe said stepping out into the street.
"I would attribute that to better planning and a cohesive strategy," Professor Alrik noted, exhaling as if releasing the tension of the encounter. "Quick thinking and adaptability are often the keys to survival in such situations."
Simon joined them in the street, dusting his hands off. "And let's not forget teamwork. We all did our parts. Well, most of us anyways.” He bumped playfully against Gabe’s shoulder.
“Hey, it’s not my fault my only offensive attack is an enchanted item with a limited number of charges,” Gabe responded with feigned indignity. “I thought about using it to take care of the ones in the pits, but it seemed like a waste.”
“It’s alright, you did well coming up with the plan. That counts for something. Not as much as much as my efforts, or Master Alrik’s, but a solid third place. Actually,” Simon brought a hand to his face as if he was deep in thought. “The spider killed one of the creatures too, so it should be in third place. You’re an honorable fourth place.”
“Eh, I’ll take it so long as that means I didn’t have to heal anyone. It’s much better when the only bloodshed during a battle is that of our opponents,” replied Gabe.
“We all did well in this encounter,” Professor Alrik said. “Though we will not always have the benefit of surprise. Not every fight to come will be like this one.”
As if brought on by his words, the odd clicking hiss noise the creatures made sounded through the empty streets of the city.
“That was much faster than this group found us,” said Gabe worriedly.
“Well, we did have Master Alrik send up a bright flare in an otherwise dimly lit cavern and the creatures weren’t exactly quiet as they died,” replied Simon. “I’m not sure what these things usually eat, but I’m betting any of them here would love to add us to the menu.”
“I think it is for the best if we move on from here. While hiding in another building is an option, we risk attracting a larger group of these creatures than we could handle to this location. Simon, maintain Earthsense so that we can be forewarned if any of them are sneaking up on us,” said Professor Alrik.
“I can do that. It doesn’t cost too much mana to maintain even if I overcharge it to increase the range and I’ll cycle as we walk so I’m not empty when we need to fight again. Do you have an idea of where we’re going?”
“For now we should continue heading deeper into the city. My hope is that this journal will provide additional clues as to where the Vlatiryx stored their records, but any such building will likely be located in the center of the city. We should also keep an eye out for any buildings that stand out from the others. There might be additional clues located within them.”
With their plan of action decided and the sounds of the creatures drawing nearer, Simon went back into the building they rested in to grab the pack he’d set down and they began venturing down a side street that went the opposite direction from where Simon sensed the creatures.