Rune Seeker

“Yeah, I’d put that pretty high up on the ‘serious-scale’,” Yanily said, going so far as to hold a hand above his head.

“Our thoughts exactly,” Vorinal said.

“How do you go from invisible creature to extinction of our species?” Hiral asked, though having fought the squids and seen the results of their presence in the future, he got it. But, for Vorinal to know about that now? There was more to the story.

“As I mentioned, varied interests,” Vorinal said. “One of us, Neila over there,” he pointed at one of the women looking for the hidden switch to open the door to what they hoped was the vault. “Her speciality is actually archeology and history. Now, I’m not sure how familiar you are with the topic of Progenitors… though you did recognize the identity of TheCustodian of Tomorrow…”

“Relatively familiar,” Hiral said. “We’ve heard of a few of them.”

“Did you know they built entire cities on our world? Entire nations?” Vorinal asked. “Nations that stood for thousands of years. Until they didn’t. We’ve been finding evidence of these cities for centuries now, buried in deserts, hidden in dense forests, and even deep under the surface of the oceans.”

“Evidence, but not the actual cities?” Hiral asked.

“Exactly. They’d all been destroyed,” Vorinal said. “The prevailing theory is the Progenitors fought amongst themselves, waging war on each other until none of their nations were left standing. We’ve found evidence to suggest they weren’t on friendly terms with each other, which supported this theory.”

Hiral – and the rest of the party – turned a questioning look at Li’l Ur. What the lich had said before seemed to contradict that statement, but there would be time to ask him about it later, Vorinal was already continuing.

“However,” Vorinal said. “Neila recently made a very interesting discovery. A type of fossil we’d never seen before. Something with a shape similar to a squid, but with distinct differences. Even more interesting, this fossil was over a mile long.”

“It’s the same as the specimen you took out of cold storage,” Hiral said, already knowing the answer to the statement.

“Our specimen was significantly smaller,” Vorinal chuckled. “But, yes, we believe it to be the same species.”

Hiral’s eyes widened as his mind clicked the pieces into place. “And you think it was this giant squid that wiped out the Progenitors’ cities, not a war between the Progenitors themselves.”

“Exactly,” Vorinal said. “I believe these strange creatures – this unknown enemy – that we’d never seen or heard of was responsible for wiping out – or at least chasing away – a race of beings with godlike powers. A race that dwarfed us both in strength and knowledge. And now, according to the specimen that was found – a recent one – they’re here again.

“Maybe they never left – they’re invisible after all – but that seems too convenient. No, I think they’ve returned for one reason or another. Maybe we’ve done something to make them take notice of us, or perhaps they return to this world on a regular cycle. I don’t know. It’s one of the reasons we’re here.

“As soon as we connected the dots between the fossil and the specimen, we started our search along the nearby coastline,” Vorinal continued. “As a squid-like creature, we thought it would make sense for them to be water-bound. We came up empty. Further investigation in the area also led to nothing but dead-ends, until we found records of this facility. Top-secret as it was – even to us – it seemed like it might be exactly what we were looking for.

“Of course, there were those who didn’t want us wasting our time on this theory.”

“The people you keep referring to who are after you?” Seena asked.

“Yes,” Vorinal said. “Our learning of this facility – and coming here – breaks several laws. Nevertheless, I’m sure what we’re looking for is here. I can feel it.”

“And what is it you hope to find?” Gran asked. “Power for yourselves? Power to threaten even the Progenitors?”

Vorinal actually looked insulted at the question. “Just the opposite,” he said. “We want to find a way to prevent those monsters from returning to our world. Or, barring that, learning enough about them we have a hope of stopping them.

“If we don’t – and they come back – everything we know and love will be in danger.”

Hiral looked at Seena, her expression clearly telling him exactly what she was thinking – this wasn’t what they expected to hear from the Fallen. Was Vorinal lying to them? It was a distinct possibility. What would he have to gain from it, though?

“With this being one of Tomorrow’s facilities, there’s a chance we can find that information here,” Vorinal went on. “Yes, our priority is finding another specimen to study, because we’ve historically had very little luck decoding Tomorrow’s data. A second specimen will allow us to conduct our own experiments and research. The previous one was too damaged.”

“But,” Seena said, finger tapping her chin in thought. “You said people were chasing you. Aren’t you worried about leading them here?”

“We had no choice,” Vorinal said, deflating a little. “Once it was discovered we’d learned about the location of this place, the council and their lapdogs were already after us. We either had to wait for them come to arrest us, or rush here to see if our theory was correct.”

“And what are you going to do when they catch up?” Hiral asked. “Fight?”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Vorinal said. “If our theory is correct, they’ll have to let us continue our research. The alternative is too much of a risk, even for them. We’re betting everything on finding that proof here.”

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Hiral… couldn’t say anything to that. Even he realized how naïve that was. Sure, it was possible this council or whatever would side with him, but, likely? Having seen how the council on Fallen Reach operated – with the politics and backstabbing – the bigger part of him couldn’t imagine this going well.

What would his council do if they found a treasure trove of information like Tomorrow’s work? His father would try to get them to use it for the people – that was the point of the council after all – and they’d probably do that publicly. Behind the scenes though? It’d be just like the quills and the rebellion he’d helped stop.

There would be people looking for how it could benefit them.

He shook his head. There wasn’t anything they could do about it. This was a dungeon after all.

“Found it!” a voice suddenly shouted, and Hiral – along with everybody else in the room – turned to look at a man with half his body inside an open panel in the rear wall. A second later, there was a clear ker-chunk, like a heavy lever getting pulled, and a red light on the ceiling lit up. Just like in the last room, and that slight rumbling of vibrations he felt through the floor wasn’t his imagination.

Rumbling, like a large door opening back where they’d come from.

“I think that secret door just opened,” Hiral said.

“And I still say it’s not very secret if we know about it,” Yanily said.

“Hidden door?” Hiral offered.

“More accurate,” Yanily agreed.

“I don’t see any other new doors or paths opening up for us,” Seeyela said. “Back the way we came?”

“Wasn’t all traps this time,” Seena said. “Should be safe to backtrack.”

“I’d like to point out,” Hiral interrupted. “The path out of the last room wasn’t exactly safe.”

“Good point,” Seena said. “Everybody, keep your eyes open. Vorinal, your people ready to go?”

“Lusco?” Vorinal asked.

“I think I’m close to getting in,” the man said from an interface he was working on. “Or, I could be a million miles away. Can never tell with Tomorrow’s work.”

“Then we’ll come back later,” Vorinal said.

“Yeah, that makes the most sense,” Lusco said, then glared at the interface. “Don’t think I’m done with you. Your secrets will be mine.”

With the promise made, the researchers gathered up, then the two groups made their way back the way they’d come. Despite being ready for more Scorbalests to make an appearance, the return trip was oddly quiet. Almost too quiet, really. But, when they got back to the Y-shaped room, they found the large wall open, and a new tunnel leading down.

“Clearly the way we’re supposed to go,” Yanily said.

“And probably a Boss waiting for us down there,” Hiral said.

“I sure hope so,” the spearman replied. “Got at least another achievement or two to get from this place.”

“As well as some answers on how all this,” Seena gestured to the nearby researchers, “plays out. This isn’t what I expected it to be.”

“It can’t have happened like this,” Gran said. “These aren’t the Fallen we were taught about.”

“That’s definitely not the same Vorinal we met, either,” Seeyela said. “Something must happen to change things.”

“That something should be us killing them,” Gran hissed.

“We know that’s not what happens,” Seena said. “So, let’s put the hate aside for a little longer and see where this goes.”

“Easy for you to say,” Gran said. “You didn’t…”

“No, Gran,” Seena said. “And we’ll talk about this later. They’re ready to go. Hiral, traps?”

“Nothing,” he said, having already pushed his sensory domain down the new path. “But, is it just me, or does that next door look extra thick? And barred from this side?”

At the end of the hundred-foot hall stood another door, heavier than anything they’d found so far. Crossing it like an ‘X’, two bars of brass thicker than Hiral was wide seemed to brace it.

“Tomorrow didn’t want something getting out from here,” Vorinal said, a hint of excitement leaking into his voice. “We really did find it.”

“Think our Boss is another Enemy?” Hiral asked Seena. The one they’d fought back in the Rise of Fallen Reach dungeon had been a powerful opponent. Sure, they had a full party this time, but it was also a High-B-Rank dungeon.

“Could be,” Seena admitted. “Gran, Romin, and Yanily, you guys remember what we told you about that fight?”

“It’ll be harder for Wallop to keep its attention if it’s flying,” Romin said.

“Hopefully it won’t have that much room to maneuver,” Seena said, Vorinal’s people starting down the hallway.

Since they couldn’t just let the researchers wander off on their own and get into trouble, the party followed.

“Looks like another console over there,” Bellina said.

“Lusco,” Vorinal said.

“On it,” the researcher said, trotting over and immediately getting to work.

“I wanted to thank you again for agreeing to come with us,” Vorinal said to Seena.

“We’re paying through the nose,” Bellina pointed out. “The money is the thank you.”

“Doesn’t hurt to express gratitude when it’s felt,” Vorinal said, like he was educating a young child. “And I do feel it now. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. Tomorrow’s constructs have always been beyond what we could handle. Or so I thought. Still, if these weren’t as damaged as they are… we got lucky.”

“Again with the damaged thing,” Yanily whispered.

“They must be seeing things differently,” Hiral replied. “Just like they see us as somebody else.”

“Hey Vorinal,” Yanily said louder, the researcher turning to look at him. “What do you think hurt these things before we got here?”

“Time, mostly,” Vorinal said. “This place is ancient, though I will admit its – overall – in much better condition than I’d imagine. The battle-damage we see, though? At the entrance, perhaps it was from failed attempts to delve into this ruin’s secrets, before it was given up on as being too dangerous. Deeper in? I’m not sure. It could have something to do with the specimen.”

“This big-ass door is very closed,” Yanily pointed out. “Was it polite after it left?”

Vorinal’s head tilted to the side at the observation. “You’re right. That… doesn’t make sense. We’d been here under the theory it had escaped from this facility. Tomorrow was known for her experiments, after all. Other facilities of hers we’ve discovered – none of them quite as well-preserved as this one – often held other biological samples.”

“Biological samples?” Romin asked.

“People. Troblins. Other races. Things we could only classify as monsters, and even combinations of the two. Tomorrow seemed obsessed with the secrets of their bodies.”

“Ugh,” Li’l Ur said. “He’s not wrong. Tomorrow wants to make the perfect race. She was part of making humans, but only so she could steal ideas from Amin Thett. She was basically a groupie.”

As the little lich spoke, Vorinal’s face remained completely impassive, as if he wasn’t hearing a thing.

“Do you think that’s what Tomorrow was doing here?” Seena asked the lich on her shoulder. “Was she trying to use the Enemy to make a new race?”

“I…” Li’l Ur said, then simultaneously shrugged and shuddered. “I hope not.”

“I’m not liking where my imagination is going about what could be beyond this door,” Seena said flatly.

“Either way, I think we’re about to find out,” Hiral said, Lusco throwing his hands into the air with a shout of triumph.

“Got it!” he said. “Ready to open it when you are.”

“We don’t know what will be beyond that door,” Vorinal said. “I suspect it will be something you’ll need to deal with. Are you ready?”

While a notification window didn’t come up with a yes-no prompt, Hiral could almost feel it sliding into place. There was a Boss waiting for them on the other side of the door. Along with answers to all kinds of new questions. This hadn’t been the dungeon he’d been expecting. Not at all.

“Everybody good on solar energy?” Seena asked, and got the affirmative from each member of the party. “We’re ready. Open it up.”