• PM To Join • A Tale of Two Jewels, The Value of Life [Part 3]

[Kaladis Anar]

A Tale of Two Jewels – The Value of Life [Part 3]

1st of Ashan
Nashaki North West Quarter, Digsite.
Morning, Cold and Daybreak
The Scrolls of Anar Verse One, The Jewel, #18 The Value of Life.
Continued from Here
Former Dungeon Visit Here

T

hree of them, Ralari, Kaladis, and Alaya made their way toward the former digsite, the two Eidisi keeping careful eye on Alaya, who neither of them trusted, her employers the Aurora were a known wildcard with aggressive tendencies. There were not too many people around at this time of the morning, but they were starting to wake up and move about. Alaya happened to have a way with stealth, in that she was able to gauge when the best time was to move unnoticed, though it was not a hard task this early in the trial.

The entrance to the second half of the digsite was still camouflaged, someone had stacked boxes in front of it, and as well as the shrub that grew there naturally, they were hiding the door. Moving back the boxes from the dungeon door and pushing the shrub out of the way, Kaladis clicked the handle, and pulled it free with a creak. It being unlocked calmed him somewhat, if the council knew there was something valuable in here, the door would have been chained.

“Why are we not going in the digsite's front end?” Ralari asked Kaladis, that was where the symbols had been after all.

“When I was pushed through the rupture portal, that push didn’t come from the side you were on.” Kaladis had realised, adding, “there was someone else there." Ralari’s jaw chomped his teeth together, that meant there could be someone left alive that knew they were necromancers. How could they miss something so simple?

While this interested Ralari, it didn’t answer his question as to why enter this side where the cells were. Alaya dressed in her usual black leathers and knives meanwhile was becoming impatient while the Eidisi discussed. The Aurora assassin pushed on ahead of Kaladis, grabbing a torch to light it. “Come on!” She said.

The three of them descended the small dark tunnel, dry sandy stone steps underfoot, and dim flickering light illuminating the passageway they had fled from. To return to the scene of the crime was not something he’d done before. He was here to investigate one simple clue: Why had a small one hallway dungeon been built in the middle of nowhere, attached to nothing?

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

T

he trio continued down into the hallway, the eerie cells there all too familiar for Ralari at least, and his days spent in one, rubbing his face he remembered the bruises. Kaladis looked at where Laventia had stood and escaped, remembering the conflict for a time, the sounds of battle and the look when he’d beaten her.

Alaya however was proving the most impatient, all she saw were about a half dozen empty cells, a dirty floor, and obvious signs of scaring on the walls where magic was used a season ago. The council had taken what little remained, the bodies and any scraps of evidence anything had been here at all. The Aurora assassin stood by the dead end, just as Laventia had a month before, looking at them both. “Now what?” Alaya put her hand on her hip, and pushed her weight to one side.

“You brought us here.” Ralari said to his friend, “think Ralari, why is this here at all, why is it disconnected by that dead end from the main digsite, why build a single hallway exiting into the middle of nowhere?” Kaladis was intelligently trying to investigate what didn’t make sense here. “Perhaps they just wanted a secluded spot to hold people?” Ralari offered, though it didn’t explain why two tunnels were disconnected by a dead end, the digsite at the front and the dungeons at the back. Then there was the matter of symbols and the digsite mysteriously disappearing from view on a whim.

T

his particular game of intrigue and possibility had engaged Alaya more than before, she seemed to enjoy working her way through puzzles, searching across the stone end with the palms of her hands. Ralari was checking the cells melodically as usual, most of which were open now. Kaladis was instead looking at the structure of the hallway tactically, one exit and entrance didn’t seem practical, it left you boxed in. Laventia had a rupture mage working for her when they’d faced them, his intellectually considered if that’s why she’d design a dead end, but Kaladis didn’t picture Laventia building anything, it didn’t seem her style, she had been more the bookworm type.

Following the lines of the roof he caught a break, joining Ralari in a cell, “you’ve seen it too?” Ralari asked him, and Kaladis nodded. The central cell on the left of the hallway looked like it was part of a T-junction not a line of cells. The roof pattern gave it away, it was dirty, old and cobwebbed by now but you could see the first design of it.

Alaya popped her lips casually and joined the pair out of curiosity. Soon all three of them began pushing and probing objects in the cell. They spent a break doing this, and it was hopeless, Ralari sat down on the bed dejected. There is nothing here Kaladis, just another dead end,” he lent back to have a rest and the bed rolled over, throwing him aside and...

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

R

alari found himself clinging on for dear life to a ladder under the bed. Kaladis extended a hand and pulled his friend back up. Alaya in the meantime giggled, and got a markedly raised eyebow from Ralari. The aurora assassin answering him with a curling smile as he brushed himself down and composed himself, she found it all very amusing.

“You won’t mind going first then?” Ralari said hoping for a small amount of revenge. To his surprise however Alaya was keen to go first, stepping around the sideways cell bed, and working her way down the ladder quietly.

Kaladis followed with only a small hesitation to check the ladder could carry his weight, something a climber might do, having to adjust his posture to get his shield and swords down the hole in the floor. Ralari more than happily let them both go first, bringing up the rear, he was also the only one of the three that thought to take a torch off a wall before he did so.

Hopping to the bottom they came to a crossroads. “Ha! Tower agent’s missed this,” Alaya mocked openly, drawing her sword and beginning to stalk, deeply amused about it all still. “Quiet,” Kaladis said, showing the first pangs of leadership, and looking out for any dangers. The crossroads had light coming in from one direction, Kaladis certainly couldn’t detect the source, not skilled enough yet to do so, and neither was anyone else. “We should split up,” Alaya said, walking off to her right. “Split up in a dark dungeon to who knows where, that’s smart,” Ralari muttered.

Kaladis had drawn his own sword, “stick together, no immediate need to be reckless, and nobody else knows about this place.” It was a command, and again one of his first displays of leadership, taking charge when the situation demanded it. There was a rush to get the jewel, so time was a factor, but not so much they would risk their lives needlessly in such obviously dangerous surroundings, it didn’t seem tactically wise. “Move fast,” Kaladis added as an afterthought.

Alaya scoffed at being given an order but didn’t change direction either, heading toward the most lit end of the crossroads as the likely spot; her emerald eyes were fixated ahead, and she moved softly as an assassin might. Ralari on the other hand seemed happy to be travelling in numbers, led or not, and as long as he was at the back of the trio he was happy! Though the older Eidisi could be seen constantly checking over his shoulder with his torch, he’d much prefer a marrow to be bringing up the rear!

Kaladis walked beside Alaya, he judged there was room enough for both to move and swing, forming a forward line should they need it. Sadly all that planning was completely useless, because they just came to another dead end, one thing Alaya seemed to enjoy was puzzles, Kaladis also for that matter. Ralari had no dislike for puzzle, but watched their efforts from a few feet away, happily standing back in case anything fell on them both.

Click, this time Kaladis beat them both to it. A fairly obviously stone button found by his palm, but nothing happened. He pressed the button, once, twice, three times. Ralari heard a shifting noise from the darker hallways behind them, and the older Eidisi moved his torch around but saw nothing. “Well what now?” Alaya said impatiently. Kaladis investigated the wall, “Ralari this looks like the wall from the digsite,” it appeared similar to the one that had the symbols on, but Ralari wasn’t listening…

He was too busy looking at the mass of shifting black shadows coming from the corridors behind them.

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

P

assing the research notes to both of them, for this puzzle Ralari and the assassin were as a good as him. Kaladis however could buy them some time, tactically positioning himself at the back, shield up. After throwing down Ralari’s torch ahead of him to fully illuminate what was coming, he put his sword back into his hand. “Work fast,” Kaladis said as he saw what was approaching, a shifting black mass of who knows what, disciplining himself to stand firm in the face of it. Not that he had anywhere else to go!

While Ralari puzzled over what exactly he was supposed to be doing with a blank wall and research notes, Alaya looked at it like an assassin might, looking again for buttons or devices along the surface. All that she saw was, “just one button!” She clicked it again as Kaladis had to no effect. "Stop pressing that damn thing!" Ralari said frantically.

“Anything on the floor or ceiling?” Kaladis called back, and those behind him looked for clues.

The first of the shadow spirits had reached the torch which lay before the Eidisi guardian, it had the effect he had guessed and made them hesitate; with two more writhing shapes joining the spirit and more on the way. The first tried to lunge over the light, connecting with his shield but was forced back just as fast. The torch had become a shield over a shield to him, and importantly tactically a bottleneck for those facing them, allowing them only hasty attacks toward him.

“These ancient writings, they make no sense the more I read them, they come out as gibberish,” Ralari’s keen sense of self preservation motivated him to work very fast indeed. The older of the two Eidisi was starting to work well under pressure, with now at least six black shapes the other side of the torch that was pressure enough. “What sense do they make?” Alaya asked thinking outside the box, “no sense,” Ralari cut her off. Kaladis thought she was on to something, “Unlikely to be random symbols, perhaps they are not a langu…” Now Kaladis was cut off also, because another spirit had pushed over the torch.

When this next opponent struck, Kaladis angled the shield to deflect more than brace this time, having noticed if he did it hurt his arm underneath less, opening up the lashing spirit to a counter strike too. “Audrae hide my strikes,” What good they did as the sword passed through the thing he had no idea. “These shadows and secrets should be yours, they defy you by remaining a mystery, let us solve them for you,” Kaladis said defiantly, only realising too late that Alaya now had heard his dedication to his Mistress well enough.

The wall! Spirits being spirits didn’t play by the rules, one half moving through the wall to circumvent the torch, going straight for the assassin's back. “Alaya!” Kaladis called, she spun and joined him making lunges at it, keeping her weapon up beside his to create a barrier of blades. Whether these lunges hurt or simply reminded the spirits of pain Kaladis couldn’t say, but they had the effect of forcing them back. Sadly what one spirit could do, the others could do, and that's exactly what they did….

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

“Dot Dot Dot three, hold, Dash, Dash two, Dot. It’s a code.” Ralari was keenly aware that there was hissing coming gradually closer to him, and rushing all the more. “A rhythm,” Kaladis corrected, “the torch Ralari, scorch them back.” The flames began to burn brighter from his Mentor's defiance, giving the spirits pause and freeing up Kaladis to try.

P

ressing the button three times slowly, holding it, then twice quickly and once slowly again, the final push was the charm. The stone began to lower ahead of them with a slow grinding noise. Kaladis went back to the spirits who were still trying to run the three of them down, all of the travelling party had swords drawn by now, holding them back. It was confusing to Kaladis that no spirit simply went through the wall and around them, like they were fixated on coming down that hallway no matter what.

Backing up past the lowered stone to see what awaited them, they kept glancing over their shoulders while thrusting or waving their swords ahead. Entering a cylindrical blue lit chamber, it didn’t seem to deter the spirits from entering after them. Kaladis deflected another lashing hand against his shield, but his attention was drawn to the walls, bodies tied to in a circle around them with their heads hung loose. Not the escape they were hoping for!

Ralari ran to the furthest door of course looking for a handle to open it, but the spirits were no longer interested in them, perhaps they never had been? Each spirit found a lifeless body and tried to attach or enter it instead.

Watching the spirits wrestle with the bodies, each cried out or shrieked, each except one who opened her eyes and looked up at them. “The door, open it,” she said. The stranger was a young woman with emerald green eyes, who was looking remarkably well for being a body hung on a wall. Ralari pressed the stone button on the wall near the far door, and down it lowered, the lost spirits compelled to exit through it while Ralari pressed himself up against the wall out of their way.

“What. Who. What.” Ralari said losing his cool, his heart pounding in his chest. Alaya giggled slightly again, the assassin remarkably casual given what had just happened. Kaladis was as usual serious, turning to this, whatever this was on the wall. “What is going on?” He said in no uncertain terms.

“Untie me and I will tell you,” the woman bargained.

Ha! Alaya could be heard commenting, but Kaladis held up a hand to quieten her, “Not yet.” Kaladis told the chained woman, and she was well chained too, Kaladis detected not one but three on her as well as the restraints. He would be cautious, “who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“I am Jewel.” The bombshell dropped, the jewel wasn’t a gem at all, her emerald eyes glistening all the brighter as she waited.

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~

[Kaladis Anar]

A

laya was incensed, she’d risked her life expecting a payout of gems! Ralari was intrigued, especially now the danger had died down, and some sense of decorum had exerted itself on the Eidisi. Kaladis however was concerned about the implications, not of some perverse form of magic or possession in front of him; Kaladis was concerned why a half dozen spirits were running around freely beneath the city, why the Aurora were hunting them and primarily why Jewel had three chains on her. Were the chains to keep her here or keep her captors safe? Who were her captors? Was it the Makers keeping her here for a reason?

“Undo the restraints,” Jewel asked calmly.

“Leave her here to rot,” Alaya was in a foul mood, “she’s not worth the risk.” Maybe Alaya’s employers expected an actual gem too? Kaladis had referred to the gem as it in front of them, not her, and they hadn’t commented.

“Remember our deal with them,” Ralari told Kaladis, “to tell them where the Jewel is.” Thinking of self preservation as always.

“Which Jewel?” Jewel began her bargaining.

“There are more of you?” Ralari asked quizzically.

Jewel’s head turned to look at the spirits coming back. Everyone drew their swords again readying themselves for whatever was about to happen. The spirits completely ignored any of them not blocking their way, going straight to the bodies and repeating the process. The entities wrestled with the bodies and tried to get back in them, wailing horribly and then continued off down the hall again.

Before anyone could ask what was going on: “A cycle,” Jewel told them, “it’s their purpose. You started it when you opened the door for them, and for me.”

“Purpose, kind of looking like torture.” Alaya cut in, but she was fixated on this other jewel now. “Torture, hmm, where’s this other jewel?” The greedy assassin got really close to the bound woman, playing with her knife and trying to intimidate her. In fairness Alaya was doing an okay job on Ralari at least who wasn’t even anywhere near her, but intimidating Ralari wasn't hard!

“Release me first, your knives don’t matter to me.” She glared at Alaya, who shrugged flippantly and spun the knife in her palm, seemingly ready to torture her all the same. Kaladis pushed his way between them before anything got out of hand.

“What happens to these other spirits if we do?” Kaladis asked Jewel directly, having taken quiet time to analyse the problem. He could still walk her bound to the Aurora, and keep the other jewel for himself. “They will continue as long as I do,” Jewel told him honestly.

The value of life in death. Kill her or save her. Condemn a half dozen spirits, souls or whatever they were to endless cyclic torment, or kill her and condemn himself to several angry assassins. It didn’t seem like much of a choice. Leaving the chains around her for his own protection, he worked the iron manacles to free her arms and legs for limited movement.

Jewel waited for him to remove her other restricting chains, “first you’ll take us to the other jewel.” Kaladis told her, “no tricks. Is it a gem I, we, can sell?”

Jewel now had a distant look in her eyes, “if you can hold on to it.” Kaladis got the sinking feeling she'd missed him telling her no tricks.

Fin For Now
Continued in Part 4 Too Many Fingers in the Pie

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~

[Nymph]

REWARDS

KALADIS ANAR

• Knowledge:
  • The Aurora: Alaya's Employers
  • Alaya: Know Of Your Allegiance to Audrae
  • Digsite: Secret Passage
  • Digsite: Hidden Area Guarded by Spirit Guards
  • Digsite: Jewel's Prison
  • Jewel: A Person, Not a Gem
  • Jewel: Hiding Something
  • Climbing: Checking for Security
  • Leadership: Situational for Kalaris
  • Ralari: Geriatric Caution
  • Discipline: Facing a Fearful Enemy
  • Tactics: Fighting Darkness with Light
  • Spirits: Some with Purpose
  • Spirits: Unaffected by Physical Weapons
  • Spirits: Induk have a Single Purpose
  • Intelligence: Code for Buttons
  • Shield Combat: Angle of Deflection
  Loot: None
  Injuries: None
  Fame: None
  Devotion: +1 Audrae (Prayer)
  
  Story: 5/5
  Collaboration: 0/5
  Structure: 4/5

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Comments: It is interesting to see this story progress. As always, I find your plots riveting.

I am deducting a point from structure to provide additional feedback. It is hard to grade so closely back-to-back. Hopefully my feedback is welcome. This time, I noticed that a word was used incorrectly. As before, there are several issues with use of commas.

Ralari was checking the cells melodically as usual, most of which were open now. Kaladis was instead looking at the structure of the hallway tactically, one exit and entrance didn’t seem practical, it left you boxed in. Laventia had a rupture mage working for her when they’d faced them, his intellectually considered if that’s why she’d design a dead end, but Kaladis didn’t picture Laventia building anything, it didn’t seem her style, she had been more the bookworm type.

!

Message from: Nymph

Ralari was checking the cells melodically methodically as usual, most of which were open now. Kaladis was instead looking at the structure of the hallway tactically. One exit and entrance didn’t seem practical; it left you boxed in. Laventia had a rupture mage working for her when they’d faced them. His He intellectually considered if that’s why she’d design a dead end, but Kaladis didn’t picture Laventia building anything. It didn’t seem her style; she had been more the bookworm type.

I look forward to the next part. I was expecting a gem myself, so this NPC has added a new twist to the story. Well done.

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Thank you!