Empyrean 35: A Match With Light (Patreon)

We wasted no time in walking down the corridor from the main entrance hall. The indigo shades from the gems seemed to grow more concentrated the deeper we travelled into the dungeon. With no doors or entrances to speak of as we walked, we could only follow the corridor to whatever we would walk into next.

Thankfully, we ran into no more insects on the way. I assumed that, especially considering what happened in the first room, they were only homed in the chambers where previous players would fight.

We walked for about two minutes before Adalinda, who had taken the lead, stopped abruptly.

“I hear something,” she said. “Like people talking. It’s still soft, but it’s there. We should move with caution.”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see it, and relayed the information to Soren. We stalked the rest of the corridor quietly, and as we neared the end of it, I heard what the celestial was talking about.

“We have to go through there…”

“Shut up, Jeremy.”

“You don’t have to be so rude!”

It was fighting. At least three or four people were talking, from what I could hear, and I could only assume it was the players that we had been after. The pathway turned a last corner to a large room, bigger than the entrance, and I finally saw them.

Twelve players, all standing to face a large metal door. There were three other doors in the chamber, of which all had been opened. I could only assume they had gone through each of them, seeing as we were able to catch up with the party. When we entered the dungeon, it said they had been here for two hours already, but now we were facing them.

But I didn’t want to fight. Not yet.

Twelve players, with one of them being at least level sixty, would be a significant hurdle to face—and I had Soren to think about. We were standing just behind the corner of the pathway we had come from, though, and we couldn’t afford to stay here. All in all, we were trapped. Either we waited and hoped they didn’t notice us, or we fought.

I wasn’t fond of either option.

“What now?” my brother whispered abruptly.

“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “Let me think for a moment.”

I peeked around the corner, ever so slightly as not to be noticed, and scanned the chamber. There were a few large gems protruding from the ground, ones we could hide behind if we reached them. In fact, there were enough that led to one of the open rooms. If we could reach it in time, then we could hide in there until the players moved on.

Pursing my lips, I nodded to myself as an idea formed in my head. It was risky, but we had no real choice.

“I have a plan,” I said. “Give me a few moments, then follow my lead.”

My companions waited patiently while I readied my spell. Even though it felt quicker to summon elementals, it was essential that I had time to cast the spell. It was something I could use as a surprise attack, but as time went on, I desperately wanted to figure out how to use the strength in the midst of battle.

It took me a short while of chanting before the elemental appeared before us, just behind the group of players.

You have summoned an air elemental.

“Distract them at all costs,” I commanded softly. “As long as they don’t see us, your job is done.”

As the animated wind moved swiftly toward the players, I indicated to Adalinda and Soren to follow me. From the corner of my eye, I watched as the elemental tore through the players—knocking them away and positioning itself in the opposite direction of where we were moving.

Trying not to get distracted myself, I blocked out the shouts and commands from the group and moved toward the large gemstones where we could hide. One by one, I tread carefully behind each one before we came before the open door on the left of the chamber. With a final look, I checked to see if anyone was looking in our direction, and when I was sure we were unseen, slipped into the room.

Adalinda and Soren made it in just as safely, and I sat with bated breath, waiting to hear if anyone had seen our movements.

“Kill it! It’s tearing us apart!”

“Where did that thing come from?”

You have killed a level 15 mage.

Your summoning skill has increased to level 36.

Your air magic skill has increased to level 17.

Your air elemental has dissipated.

“Morenia! No!” I heard one of them shout. Impressively, the elemental had not only managed to distract them, but also killed one of them.

But then I heard a rugged voice, one that spoke with a certain command I had not heard before. “Search the room,” it said. “That thing didn’t come from nowhere.”

That must be Alastair, I thought.

I turned my head to my companions, who were sitting right next to me, and held a finger to my lips. Now was the time to hide in the quiet, as much as possible, and hope they didn’t find us.

✵ ✵ ✵

Minutes—what felt like hours—passed, and we had not been discovered. But they were getting close. Discovering that there was nothing to be found in the main chamber, the players had started searching the individual rooms for anything. I held light’s fury ready in my hand, just in case. If anything, I could surprise the first one I saw with a shocking grasp.

But there was still Alastair to contend with.

I listened as they scurried from room to room, searching every corner for an enemy, and moved on to the next. From what I could tell, they were closing in on ours. Thankfully, they had decided to search in one large group instead of splitting into smaller ones—we would have been found quickly otherwise.

“Nothing here,” I heard one shout.

“There’s only one room left,” Alastair deduced. “They must be in there.”

I held my breath as I heard footsteps quickly shuffling toward our position. Next to me, I felt as Soren stopped taking in air, and I knew he was waiting for a big fight as much as I was.

And then, suddenly, a golden voice echoed through the main chamber.

“What do we have here?”

I furrowed my brow. Another group of people, it sounded like, had moved into the chamber. Who could that be?

The shuffling toward our room stopped immediately, and I heard Alastair talk again.

“Arinna,” he said simply. “I did not expect we would meet.”

My eyes widened. What the hell was Arinna doing here?

“Ah, that’s how you would have liked it,” she said coolly. “Am I right?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Alastair quipped.

“You come into my city,” the goddess continued. “You cause havoc in the poor quarter, and now you enter my dungeon without my permission. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”

“This dungeon is not yours,” the player sneered. “We both know that.”

I heard a scoff emanate, from who, I was not sure. But it was Arinna who spoke next. “You will regret this, boy,” she said. “How did you even come to know of this dungeon? Why are you here?”

“You know why,” Alastair said plainly. “It’s the same reason you don’t want anyone who aren’t your sworn to discover it.”

“The soulbound artifact,” the goddess said softly.

“Exactly.”

Congratulations, Elana! You have completed the task: The Devils in the Details. You have discovered the reason why the players were in the poor quarter and what they were looking for in the dungeon.

As a reward for completing this task, you have gained 2 attribute points.

“You will regret this, boy,” Arinna warned. Then, in the calmest voice I had ever heard someone command murder, she said “Kill them.”

And what sounded like a small war broke out. I hesitated to peek around the doorway to see anything, at first, but then I thought that we would not be noticed. I turned my head slowly, trying to use my cloak to disguise my face as much as possible, and watched as the players and Arinna’s sworn fought each other.

The goddess had come with a legion of fighters, but against a Power, I doubted the players would have any chance.

And I was right.

One by one, Alastair’s followers died, and Arinna had barely broken a sweat. In fact, she was just standing back and watching her own guard slaughter the players. As I watched the goddess, though, I saw a familiar face—Celeste.

She must have gone back to tell her about this, I thought. Maybe she knew about Cantos’ plan to turn the players in and did it herself.

“El, what’s going on?” Adalinda asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“They’re all fighting each other,” I said. “I can’t see a way out for us.”

“Maybe we should join the fight?” the celestial suggested. “If we join Arinna, she might grant us passage.”

“I doubt that,” I said. “She seems quite angry about the players’ presence here. I don’t see why she would act any differently about us.”

Adalinda said nothing more, and I continued to watch the fight between the groups. As much as the outside players were struggling, they had managed to kill some of Arinna’s sworn in the time I was talking to the celestial. At this point, if they did not have a Power on their side, there was no real way of telling who would win.

“Get back!” I heard Alastair shout. “We have to run!”

As he screamed and the rest of the players retreated with him to the last closed door, tendrils of light emerged from Arinna’s hands. She uttered something in a language I had never heard before, and the light reached Alastair within seconds. As it wrapped around him, he fell to the ground and curled up, screaming in pain.

I had no idea what the goddess had done, but the player was in dire shape. His three companions, while shocked, managed to pull him up and through the door. His cries of pain echoed slightly through the dungeon until I could not hear them anymore.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, I thought we could wait out Arinna and the rest of her party until we left ourselves.

“You can come out now, girl,” the goddess said.

I felt my heart stop. Is she talking to me?

“Yes, I am,” Arinna responded to my thought. “Come here. And bring your friends with you.”

I stood up shakily and shot a glance at Soren, who could only shrug. A bead of sweat ran down his brow, and I couldn’t blame him. Not only had Arinna been aware of our presence, but now she wanted us to present ourselves before her. There was no way of telling what she wanted, and I knew that if she wanted a fight, we were doomed.

The three of us walked slowly toward the goddess. Her long sage robe dragged along the floor behind her, but somehow the muddy ground had not dirtied it. She had a truly regal air about her, only emphasized by the stark white color of her hair.

As we approached, she whispered something to Celeste, who nodded. I would have given almost anything to know what they were talking about.

“The Empyrean,” Arinna said, turning her head to face me as we stood in front of her. “My spies told me about you.”

I eyed her suspiciously. “What did they say?”

“Nothing of your concern, really,” she said. In the moments of silence that followed, I looked at Celeste. The silver-haired woman was looking down, a shy demeanor I had not come to know her for. Arinna took a deep breath in, and with as much confidence as her own power suggested, finally spoke again.

“Your only priority right now should be telling me why I shouldn’t kill you.”

✵ ✵ ✵

“Why would you want me dead at all?” I demanded.

“Ah, so you don’t know then,” she chuckled. I was getting frustrated. The goddess obviously knew something about me, something that threatened her. Why else would she want to kill me?

“Is this about my mother?” I asked. “I have no intention to join the resistance.”

“This is not about those petty fools,” Arinna snapped. Her anger came out of nowhere, and I had to hold back a smile knowing how much trouble The Insurgence had caused her. “Although that does not help your case.”

“Look, we only came here to hunt down Alastair and his party,” I said simply. “We don’t want any trouble with you.” I could not find any reason to hide that from her. If anything, it could be our ticket out of this situation.

The goddess furrowed her brow as if deep in thought. Everyone, including her sworn, looked around the chamber awkwardly, waiting for her to respond.

“There is no guarantee you will not be trouble for me down the line,” she said, keeping her vague reasoning for threatening me. “But if we could make a deal, I will let you live.”

“What kind of deal?”

“You can continue your little hunt,” she said. “But you must never return to Mesina.”