“Which means I’m going to have to deal with these three guilds and their constant infighting.” He gestured at their makeshift prison. “Those two represent a good-faith gesture. They might show that things will be different under my rule – and they might speak in our defense.”
“After we tried to kill them?” Julia offered with a laugh. Then her expression sobered as she saw the dour look on Finn’s face, no amusement lighting his eyes.
“I get the sense that you don’t think you’re suddenly going to become the new Emir…” She trailed off, letting the statement hang there in the air.
Finn shook his head, rubbing at his eyes. “I don’t know… it seems too easy. Too neat. And there are still a bunch of questions that don’t have answers.”
“Like, for example, why the hell are we here to recover this gem?” Kyyle offered, coming up behind the pair and taking a seat. In his hand, he held the glowing orange crystal, the relic nearly blinding in Finn’s sight as the earth mage offered it to him.
Finn took it with gentle fingers, inspecting the crystal.
Heart of Passion (Relic)
This crystal seems to be composed of dense fire mana, perhaps a crystalline version of the liquid mana that lingered within the Seer’s mana well.
Finn didn’t receive any quest update or notification upon receiving the relic. Apparently, the game didn’t view the Seer’s blackmail as update worthy. Even more telling, Finn hadn’t received any information regarding the Emir’s competition either. Although, he wasn’t certain what to make of that mysterious silence. Did that indicate the quests weren’t real? That they were a ruse? That there was something more to be done still?
Or maybe he was just reading into it.
Either way, it left him feeling even more unsettled.
“That’s a good first question,” Finn murmured, glancing at Kyyle as he swiped away the prompt and stowed the gem carefully in his pack. “Bilel’s journal ended abruptly. Someone tore out the remaining pages. Near the end of his writing, the mage had gotten sick and had been looking for a cure. He described a relic held in the temple, an item that presumably had incredible healing properties.”
Finn’s companions stared at him, mulling on that “gem” of information.
“Even worse, the Seer held me up in there,” Finn continued, a low growl rumbling from his throat as he gestured at the temple and recalled their mental exchange. “She spoke to me before I connected to the mana well, allowed me to channel the energy without dying immediately, and supplied the spell needed to open the vault. In return, she demanded I amend our bargain in some unknown way.
“So, I did.”
“You did what?” Julia snapped, anger flaring in her eyes.
Finn shrugged. “I’m not happy about it. But what choice did we have? She was only going to help us bring Rachael back if we completed this damn competition, and we needed the gem to do that. And if we all died, we failed anyway. She had me between a rock and a hard place.” His daughter winced and settled back on her perch, some of the fire in her eyes beginning to extinguish.
“So, we’re recovering a relic that might heal sick people – or something – for an old ruler that is clearly dying. At the same time, we’re also completing this competition in order to fulfill a bargain with a fire god to bring back your deceased wife,” Kyyle said slowly, running a hand through his hair and his eyes distant as he spoke.
The earth mage’s attention shifted to Finn, his attention snapping back into focus. “Sounds like the two things are connected.”
Finn nodded. “It feels like it, but I’m just not sure how yet. What’s worse is that I’m not sure what the Seer’s motive is here. She sent us down here to retrieve this relic, but if this is her temple, she must have known that only a fire mage could get inside. So, she set us up to fail? Or maybe she set this in motion in order to amend our bargain? Or maybe she’s trying to help the Emir?” Finn shook his head. None of those explanations felt right, but he couldn’t see the goddess’ endgame.
“That doesn’t make me feel any better about her following through on her bargain or how she’ll end up altering your arrangement,” Julia muttered. Finn just grunted noncommittally in reply.
“In contrast, at least the Emir’s potential motive is somewhat obvious. He’s probably searching for some way to heal himself. But if we do give him the gem, do you really think he’s going to give up rulership of Lahab – especially if this thing is part of some sort of cure-all for whatever sickness he has?” Finn asked bluntly.
That gave Kyyle and Julia pause.
“We could just keep the gem,” Kyyle suggested tentatively.
“Which means we’d have to give up on even the slim chance that the Seer is going to hold up her end of the bargain and bring Rachael back,” Finn retorted. “Plus, Bilel’s writings mentioned the possibility that the relic had been broken into two pieces. So, there’s at least a chance the Emir can’t do anything with it – assuming he doesn’t already have the other piece, of course.” The earth mage grimaced and let out a frustrated sigh.
“Well, shit,” he muttered. Finn could certainly sympathize with that statement.
Then Julia gestured at the structure that they were using as a prison for Malik and Kalisha. “So, those two aren’t just a goodwill gesture in case you become the new Emir. You’re also hoping to make some allies in case this all goes sideways.”
“Pretty much,” Finn offered. “We have plenty of enemies as it is, and I’m tentatively putting both the Emir and the Seer in that group right now – they could both fuck us royally. So, we could use a few friends. Especially if this turns out as badly as I expect it will. Right now, it feels like we’re just a pawn in everyone else’s game.”
At that statement, the group lapsed into a tense silence, the same severe expression now lingering across all their faces. It seemed Finn’s funk was contagious – and perhaps with good reason.
“Well, on that happy note, what do you say we get going?” Kyyle suggested, abruptly rising and hefting his staff. “We can’t do anything about that other stuff – at least, not right now. But we can finally get out of this hellhole!”
“I second that!” Julia offered, a small smile tugging at her lips.
She paused. “Although…”
“Oh shit, you’re going to raise another problem, aren’t you?” Kyyle muttered, rubbing at his eyes, and sinking back onto his boulder.
“It’s just that we don’t know who’s waiting for us up there,” Julia said. “Could be the Khamsin. Could be Altair. Could be nobody.”
Finn grimaced. “Well, I have some ideas if it’s Altair or nobody. But I’m not sure what to do if we meet the Khamsin,” he offered. “I suspect they might not be too happy about us handing over this relic to the Emir, especially if it might heal him. And I bet they aren’t going to love the idea of letting Malik and Kalisha go either.”
Julia nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face. “I think I might have an idea for how to handle that, but we can discuss it on the way back up.” She rose to her feet, gesturing at the building where their prisoners were stowed. “For now, I’m going to go see to our guests and get them ready to move.
“I don’t want anything going wrong on the hike back topside, at least,” she muttered as she walked away.
“Can’t say I blame her there,” Kyyle murmured as he watched her walk away. Then the earth mage glanced back at Finn. “Speaking of which, how exactly were you planning on traveling back up to the top of the Abyss?”
Finn grimaced and rose slowly to his feet.
He turned to look back at the temple. Bilel’s story – and the way the Seer had fucked with his family and memories – was still fresh in his mind. Finn’s anger flared as he recalled how she had effectively blackmailed him into amending their bargain. It seemed the goddess was fond of messing with mere mortals.
Even now, Finn could see the glowing orange mana that lingered within the basin inside the temple. He knew
from firsthand experience that even though the vessel had been cracked and much of the liquid mana had drained away, the remaining energy was more than enough to level the side of a mountain. Kyyle hadn’t been exaggerating there. And there was still a cluster of brightly glowing points lingering in the ground below him – the explosives that Kyyle had set before they entered this cavern.
Bilel hadn’t managed to destroy the temple, only bury it, but perhaps Finn could finish the job. And if he sent a message to the Seer at the same time – an expression of his irritation?
That was just icing on the cake as far as he was concerned.
When Finn turned back to Kyyle, a fire burned through the dark metal in his eyes, causing them to glow behind the thin cloth bandage, flames licking at his skin. His lips curled into a small, excited smile. He could see a faint tendril of dark energy curl through the earth mage’s torso as Kyyle took in Finn’s appearance.
“I was thinking we could bring back one of your favorite modes of transportation,” Finn said softly. “You know, really go out with a bang…”
Chapter 49 - Prophetic
Altair had been having a truly awful week.
Or, at least, that was roughly how long he thought had passed since he had been forced into escorting the three champions out to the gods-damned glass pit that lingered just a few yards away. It might have been longer, but the days had begun to blend together, filled with hot sand, scorching sunlight, and the ever-present burning pain in his wrists.
At least it was currently night time. The glimmering stars overhead were a blissful relief from the sun. He could feel a cool breeze drift across his sunburnt skin and blistered hands, providing a momentary respite from the pain. Altair gave the limbs an experimental tug – the movement gentle lest he break the skin, causing them to bleed once more. Open injuries were awful out in the desert, the stinging sand getting into the wounds, and the sun scalding the newly exposed flesh.
The metal manacles that held his hands behind his back rattled softly. The movement shifted the chain that was looped through the manacles attached to what was left of his soldiers. They were little more than shadowy outlines scattered around him in a circle. However, even that faint movement elicited muted groans from his men, as the metal brushed against their own blistered wrists.
The chain still held taut, embedded deeply into the glass plateau beneath them.
Damn it, Altair thought to himself. What a terrible fucking way to die.
He wished he’d never played that game with Kristoff.
A damn game of cards had resulted in him drawing the short straw – forced into this babysitting expedition out to this cursed wasteland. A wild goose chase in search of some fabled relic that had caught his Emir’s eye. As though the man lacked for pretty baubles. Altair was well aware of how many soldiers and adventurers the Emir had already sent down into the Abyss. He’d heard the stories and seen the few who had returned. All the same – empty-handed, with broken bodies and defeated spirits.
Given how long had already passed, their so-called champions had likely met a similar fate. There was a sort of morbid irony to that. At least his Emir would experience some disappointment – a minor consolation for his own pain and torment. Although, it still felt like a punch to the gut.
All of this for nothing, Altair thought bitterly.
Even worse, these desert savages were going to watch him die – watch the water in his body evaporate slowly with each passing day and his skin cook. They had even been feeding their prisoners some water each morning. Just a trickle. Enough to keep them alive and continue their torture. They likely viewed it as revenge for how the Emir’s guards and the Fighter Guild hunted their kind across the sands.
His gaze shifted to the nearby tents at that thought. The Khamsin had established a small camp farther away from the edge of the Abyss, piling up the sand into low trenches and then covering them with tarps. The structures blended almost seamlessly into the desert during the daylight hours. The beetles had all been herded into a tight circle and their dark bodies covered in more tarps, content with their new masters, who fed them buckets of lichen they must have harvested from the nearby rock islands. They were being cautious in case any of the Emir’s soldiers came looking for their lost caravan.
Not that Altair expected a rescue party. The Emir’s instructions had been clear. They were to proceed alone; no help would be forthcoming – the remaining soldiers tasked with ensuring that the guilds didn’t attempt to intervene.
Yet he had let his soldiers hope, hiding the truth from them.
He could offer them that.
Altair would bear the brunt of their ordeal, the truth of their circumstances even now simmering in his gut – reminding him that they were doomed.
It was as though that dour thought had signaled something. Altair almost thought he had imagined it at first, just a faint tremble in the ground below him. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him, a hallucination caused by the lack of food and water.
But then he felt it again, stronger this time.
The tremble grew, and the ground began to shake in a regular rhythm, as though an angry giant was pounding his feet against the sands. The other soldiers were becoming aware of the situation now, stirring from their pain-filled slumber and confused groans filling the air. The Khamsin hadn’t been idle either, the desert-dwellers filtering from their sandy dens, their bodies covered in layers of thick cloth robes and bandages.
The desert-folk circled their camp, scouts heading to the south in case of attack. However, the vast majority of the Khamsin turned their attention to the pit as the trembling grew more violent, perhaps sensing that something was coming. The ground shook harder now, loose sand spilling over the edge of the Abyss.
Then Altair saw what had caught their attention. A muted orange glow was coming from the pit. The light shined up out of its depths as though the sun was rising from the bottom of the Abyss.
The rumble turned into a violent shake, a true earthquake that caused the world to list and tilt. Several of the Khamsin were thrown to the ground, and Altair clutched at the chain despite the pain, trying to stay put and eyeing the edge of the pit worriedly. He could already see cracks forming in the glass plateau that ringed the chasm, one of the fractures spreading slowly toward the cluster of soldiers.
Black silhouettes rocketed up and out of the Abyss, hundreds of dark outlines framed by the night sky and the glow coming from the pit – the light growing brighter with each passing second. Their bodies caused the air to whistle and hum as they passed. Altair could just barely make out their outlines: segmented insect-like bodies and glassy wings that reflected the growing light. They filled the night sky, creating a vortex of dark shapes that spiraled atop the shaft.
It was almost as though they were fleeing something…
Altair soon discovered the source of their fear.
All at once, a massive column of fire and flame rocketed up from the pit, filling the circumference of the enormous chasm – a column of death and destruction the likes of which Altair had never seen before. It speared up into the air for hundreds of feet, erupting like a volcano. The fires filled the night sky, and the light suddenly spilled outward for miles, casting everything in a bright-orange glow. The firelight refracted off the glasslike bodies of the creatures, the insects now circling the spire of flame, creating a tornado of glimmering lights.
The fire picked up the sand and fragments of glass along the edge of the pit – or perhaps clumps of glass from the columns that may have once crisscrossed the chasm – turning the substance into molten droplets that were sent jetting up into the air before raining from the sky like hellfire, pelting Altair and his soldiers and stinging their skin. Screams and cries of pain now filled the night air, mixing with the roar of flame, the crackle of breaking glass, and the whistling whine of the flying insects.
The heat and force of the flames were also beginning to melt away at the side of the Abyss, and the surface started
to glow a bright red. The fractures along the ledge grew quickly, cracking and zigzagging through the glass of the plateau. Through those trenches erupted orange and red flames, the pit no longer able to contain the heat and pressure coming from its depths.
Altair struggled backward with the other guards, trying to put more distance between himself and the edge of the chasm. As the fractures stretched farther and farther outward, the chain finally ripped free, and he pulled himself to his feet, yanking the other soldiers up around him. However, their movements were awkward with the way they were bound together. Altair stumbled and nearly fell as the chain jerked taut.
“Everyone on their feet!” Altair shouted hoarsely. “Move away from the pit as a unit. We all move together, or we all die together!” At his barked orders, the soldiers’ training took over. The men began to move as a unit, and they rose to their feet and shambled awkwardly away from the edge of the abyss.
The Khamsin barely spared the soldiers any attention, the desert-folk standing amid their camp farther away from the ledge and their eyes taking in the glowing column of fire. Altair and his soldiers slowed as they approached the Khamsin, many turning to witness the raw power being funneled up into the night sky. There was no fighting without weapons and with their hands still bound. Yet there was nowhere to run, even if they tried to make a break for it and race for the dunes to the south.
The flames were mixing with the low-hanging clouds that dotted the sky and the movements of the insect-like creatures, creating a funnel of hot air that caused clouds to form and rotate around the column – a vortex of flame, moisture, and glittering creatures that spiraled across the sky.
And then the ground near the edge of the chasm began to melt away.
At first, Altair thought it was the glass finally breaking apart and beginning to cave in, but then he realized it looked too uniform. The glass was dissolving in straight lines, and the ground sinking down to form a flat ramp nearly twenty feet wide.
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