Rune Seeker

The walk back away from the edge of the island was a quiet one, with each of the party members stuck inside their own heads as they considered everything they’d just learned. There were supposed to be four islands in the sky. And yet, only one would make it.

Well, maybe one and a bit if that’s really the Grower island back there.

Still, what had happened to make things go so wrong? Given they were in a dungeon, they were bound to find out, and even that made Hiral a bit nervous. The islands weren’t moving yet, but the party itself was obviously on a collision course with something powerful enough to completely derail Dr. Benza’s plan.

Luckily for everybody involved—Laseen and Fenil most of all, by the looks on their faces—the group didn’t need to travel all the way to the center of the island. The base of operations had been set up only two miles from the edge. Little more than a collection of tents and a roped-off area for the “teleport building”—which honestly looked more like an outhouse than anything—it was a bare-bones operation. The only truly notable feature about the whole place was the mountainous amount of building supplies.

Literally mountainous.

Millions of tons of stone and wood stretched as far as the eye could see towards the true center of the island.

“We came prepared,” Cederk said, motioning for Hiral and the others to follow him a few steps. “And, just in case you thought this small group”—he pointed at the two dozen visible tents—“was going to build everything…” His voice trailed off as they rounded a small corner, encountering a veritable army of meticulously lined tents that ran down the side of the supply mountain.

“How many?” Hiral asked.

“Fifty thousand on this island,” Cederk said. “Fifty thousand people who know what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and who’ve sworn to leave when the work is finished.”

“They’re over twenty,” Seena said.

“Most of them, yeah,” Cederk said. “They have the old magic needed to build the city, but we can’t stay after it’s done.”

“You’re really going, then?” Seeyela asked. “After you do your work?”

“We both are,” Dr. Benza said, coming over to join the group.

“I don’t know if I could leave my daughter like that,” Seeyela said.

“You could,” Cederk said confidently, “if you knew it was the only thing that would really give her a chance to live. The men and women in these tents all feel the same way.”

“Do they all have children getting onto the islands too?” Hiral asked.

Cederk shook his head. “Some of them do. Those who don’t, well, they know what’s riding on this.”

“After this is all done, what will you do?” Hiral asked. “Go to one of the cities underground again? We already know those aren’t safe. Asylums?”

“The Asylums don’t hold enough people, and the few we’ve managed to build will barely be enough for the parties traveling from dungeon to dungeon,” Dr. Benza said. “We have a few cities we’re confident in.”

“Like Ratchett?” Yanily asked, and Dr. Benza couldn’t do more than grunt in response.

“When will the others be arriving?” Hiral asked. “The citizens? And any more supplies you’ll need?” He eyed the outhouse-portal building again. How did they even get all the supplies in here?

“The next scheduled opening is in one year,” Dr. Benza said. “The first groups of settlers, the biggest ones, will be coming through then. They’ll help with any final preparations in the year after that until the last groups come through a year later.”

“Why only once a year?” Yanily asked.

“That’s how often the main portal opens,” Dr. Benza said.

“When was the last opening?”

“Well… today. That’s how you got here,” Dr. Benza said. “Though, it’s odd where you ended up. Fenil! Fenil?”

“It’s already in my notebook to look into,” the assistant said, scribbling a few extra notes on a small pad.

“Can anybody enter this place outside of the main portal openings?” Hiral asked.

“Nobody should be able to,” Dr. Benza said. “Since we can’t be one hundred percent sure, that’s why you’re here. We’re not taking any chances.”

“As good as we are, I don’t think we can cover four islands this big,” Yanily pointed out.

“Good thing there are hundreds more groups with PIMs like you,” Dr. Benza said, though he quickly held up a hand. “Please don’t take that the wrong way. After what you did for us in Ratchett, I’m very grateful you’re here with us, and I’d feel much better if you stayed close.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“While the other groups are like you—early adopters of the PIM—few can match up to what I saw you do. I wish you’d mentioned at the time you were users of our research…”

“Had a lot on our hands,” Seena reminded him. “Deadly spider abomination. Infested. Crazy monkeys… to name a few.”

“Still, I would’ve taken more notes…” Dr. Benza said.

“You mean I would’ve taken more notes,” Fenil muttered.

“Whatever! Back on topic. You have some of the most advanced PIM systems integrated with your magic I’ve seen. So, we need you close.

“The most important work is still happening here.”

“Ahem,” Cederk said.

“The most important work besides the actual construction,” Dr. Benza said. “Though, I’d argue the entire future of this project still resides in our research.”

Cederk gave a small harumph, crossed his arms, and looked at the party. “While you’re not out patrolling, I’m hoping you can help out with some of the construction as well. Any problems with that?”

The party exchanged a quick glance, and then Seena shook her head. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Great. What can you do?”

“Uh, I can stab things really well,” Yanily said. “Really, really well. Seeyela can too. If you need something poisoned, she’s your gal.”

“It’s venom, not poison,” Seeyela said. Then she looked at Cederk. “Not that I’m thinking you want us to go around stabbing the things you’re trying to build.”

“Preferably not the builders, either,” Cederk clarified.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Seena said while patting the air. “If we’re talking about abilities that can be useful for construction, we have a few. Seeyela can create portals for moving supplies, though size and weight are important considerations. Hiral also has some control over gravity. You can probably use that to help move stuff, too, right?”

Hiral nodded at the party leader. “Yeah, my rune should help if we need to move things around.”

“I’m sorry, did you say a rune?” Dr. Benza asked.

“Yes. Rune of Gravity,” Hiral said.

“There’s a rune of gravity!?” Dr. Benza shouted, spinning and pointing at Fenil. “Why didn’t I know about this!?”

“Because I didn’t know about it!?” Fenil shot right back. “But… I guess it could be…”

“A more complex interaction between other runes, such as the Runes of Rejection and Attraction,” Hiral said. And despite knowing it wouldn’t really matter, he offered, “We can talk more about it later, if you’d like.”

“Yes. Yes, we will,” Dr. Benza said, eyes narrowing in a slightly terrifying way.

“Uh, I can also help if you need fire for anything,” Seena said, thumbing at the waterfall of flame draped from the mantle hovering around her shoulders. “Roots as well. They aren’t permanent, but I’ve used them to help set up temporary frames and scaffolding back home.”

Cederk nodded, seemingly making mental notes of what the party could do, then turned back to Yanily again. “And you?”

“Told you,” Yanily said. “I stab things. Really, that’s my calling.”

“He’s also got the fastest mount,” Seena said. “If we’re helping you, we still need somebody scouting around. I guess he could also help with running messages.”

“You’re going to make Thunderclaws into a courier?” Yanily asked.

“Yes,” Seena said crisply.

“Right. I’m sure he’ll love it,” Yanily said quickly.

“Knew he would,” Seena said, turning her attention back to Cederk and Dr. Benza. “With that figured out, when should we start all of this?”

“Tomorrow,” Cederk said. “The supplies and people just came through. Everybody needs one last chance to rest before things get crazy.”

“Is it always going to be sunny here?” Hiral asked, looking up—and squinting when he couldn’t actually spot the sun. The sky was bright, like it should be up there, but no matter where he looked, it was just clear, blue sky.

“No,” Dr. Benza said. “It follows the same day-night pattern as outside. We have quite a while until the sun completely moves away, since it’s not even right above us yet, but it’ll eventually get dark.”

“And stay dark a long time,” Cederk said.

“Don’t worry, though. As a dungeon, one of the things we built into this space is a process to replenish solar energy. You’ll probably find it quite a bit slower than normal, but if you ration and…”

“Will Cycling help?” Yanily asked.

Dr. Benza slowly turned his head in Yanily’s direction, as if he was upset at being interrupted, but then a puzzled look crossed his face. “Cycling? That technique the Squalians talked about?”

“Yeah. Them,” Yanily said, cocking his hand to point at the doctor and giving a wink.

“You’re telling me you know that technique?” Dr. Benza asked. “They took us through their temple with a group of their toddlers, and told us humans could never learn the skills from the Urn. It was part of the reason it was so important to build our own PIM system! How did you…?”

“It was where we were sent after we rescued you,” Hiral said. “Helping the Squalians was where Nivian and Wule…”

“Ah, I see,” Dr. Benza said, nodding slowly. “I won’t pry into the details, then, but if you think you can teach others how to use this technique, it could drastically help us.”

“We can try, but we don’t have the tools they used to train us, so no promises,” Hiral said with a shrug.

“Hrm. Well, we have time until the sun fades anyway. For now, why don’t you folks go back to the other side of the supply line where my team set up? Quieter over there. We’ll get started on everything tomorrow, after—like Cederk said—we all get a good sleep.”

“There’s food set up over there as well,” Fenil offered. “Follow your nose; you can’t miss it.”

“Thanks,” Seena said. “I guess we’ll get started on everything tomorrow, then.”

The party made their quick goodbyes to the others, then followed the party leader over to a plot of empty ground on the far side of the researchers’ camp.

Like Fenil said, it wasn’t difficult to find the food. With warm bowls of stew in hand—not nearly as good as Nivian’s—the group ate quietly, then set up their own tents. Since none of them had gotten any sleep since the Asylum, they all resolved to discuss what they’d learned when they woke up, then figure out what they’d need to do to clear the dungeon.

Even with the questions bouncing around his head, Hiral curled up in his bedroll and easily fell asleep.