NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 80: Everything To Be Afraid Of
After Odi told them about the massiveEnemy, he didn’t have much else to offer on the Fallen or the squids. His focus of study had been on the Urn as a means to save his people, and he had little time to dedicate to other things—not even the monsters wiping his people out. And he’d never even heard of Fallen Reach.
So, while the others focused on recharging themselves through Cycling, Hiral turned his attention to the seal plate on the table. The runes inscribed across it were definitely similar to his runes. To the Enemy’s runes. Small differences here and there showed themselves in how the script was written, but he could make out the equivalent of his Runes of Attraction and Absorption.
Makes sense, considering the function of the seal. But what are these other ones?
It wouldn’t take the others long before they were ready to go, which meant he didn’t have a lot of time to study or figure out the rest of the script.
“Odi, do you have… paper?” Hiral asked. “Something to write with?”
Odi gestured around the workshop at the paper practically everywhere. “Help yourself,” he said. “Though, if I may ask, why?”
“I’d like to copy down what’s written on the plate to refer to later,” Hiral said.
“Oh, I see more exploding in our future,” Nivian said.
Hiral turned to argue… but the tank was probably right, so he left that alone and looked back at Odi.
Hiral’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t stop the smile from splitting his face. “Really? And I can have this?” he asked, gently reaching out to take the thick tome.
“Of course,” Odi said. “What am I going to do with it? In fact, if my research will live on past me and help you somehow, isn’t that every scholar’s dream?”
“I think this will help me quite a lot,” Hiral said, running one hand reverently over the cover, then opening to scan across the pages.
Seena’s hand, almost immediately, planted itself on the page in front of him. When he looked up at her, she was already shaking her head.
“That can wait until later,” she said. “We’re going to be ready to go soon, and that means you have to be too. Besides, Left is out scouting. We can’t have you exploding right now.”
Hiral glanced from her eyes down to the book in his hands, then back up, and he nodded. “You’re right,” he said, gently closing the book after she moved her hand out of the way.
A pull of solar energy, and a few seconds later the book got sucked into his Interspatial Ring. Next in went the seal, safely stowed away, and Hiral sat down to Cycle like the rest of them.
By the time Left returned twenty minutes later, everybody was just about at their capacity limits, and they’d even had a small snack, courtesy of Nivian. Customized sandwiches gave them each buffs to their most important attributes, and Hiral had an additional plus 10 to his Dex and Atn.
“What did you find?” Seena asked the double.
“The museum is right where Odi said it would be,” Left said.
“You made good time to get there and back,” Hiral pointed out. Even with the Way of Shadow, he would’ve expected it to take longer while Left was dodging undead.
“I didn’t spot a single undead between here and there,” Left said. “But the museum had… almost an aura to it. My instincts screamed at me not to go in by myself.”
“A wise choice,” Odi said. “If you value your life.”
“Sounds like it’s time for you to tell us what you know about the second seal guardian,” Seena said.
“I don’t know what it is,” Odi said. “Like your smart friend said, whatever is within the building gives off a terrifying pressure. I’ve never gotten closer than a few blocks. I just know something is there.”
“Any ideas what it might be?” Hiral asked.
“Yes and no,” Odi said, holding up his hands to beg for patience as Seeyela slipped one of her daggers out of its sheath. “The research facility in the museum was focused on unique specimens. Things we’d never seen before, or only ever saw one of.”
“So?” Seeyela prompted.
“Many of those unique things were the corpses of extinct or powerful creatures,” Odi said.
Seeyela opened her mouth as if to ask what that meant, but then understanding seemed to click behind her eyes.
“The Urn resurrected something, didn’t it?” Hiral said.
“If you can call this resurrection,” Odi said, gesturing at himself.
“Were there any squids in there? Fallen?” Nivian asked.
“No, we never killed or captured either of those things,” Odi said. “Not a single one, for all the lives we lost over the centuries.” He stepped out into the rain and looked straight up. “Not even one…”
Hiral walked into the rain as well, the water slipping off his Second-Skin of Ur’Thul like it was made for it, and put a hand on Odi’s shoulder. The scales were cold to his touch, but not uncomfortable, and he gave a gentle squeeze.
“Do you have any idea what could’ve risen?” he asked quietly. “What we’re up against?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t,” Odi said, still staring up. “If I could tell you, I would. As much as I hate the squids, I hate the emperor and Ur’Thul just as much. You’re my best bet at seeing them destroyed. I want you to succeed more than you do.”
“I dunno, I want to succeed a lot,” Yanily said to Wule.
“Whatever is guarding the seal, it shouldn’t be beyond us,” Seena said, “or we wouldn’t be here. It’ll be a challenge, like the Hulking Behemoth was, but it’ll be doable.”
“She’s right,” Seeyela said. “And the only way to find out what it is, is to get going.”
“Alright,” Nivian said, stepping out of the building into the rainy street outside. Lightning flashed somewhere distant, and thunder pealed, but the party followed him out.
“We’ll stop Ur’Thul,” Hiral said, giving Odi another pat on the shoulder, then heading outside to join the others with the Lizardman at his side. “Left, show us the way.”
As requested, the double led them down the narrow streets.
They moved quickly but carefully, their eyes on the shadows and windows, wary of another rager attack, but nothing came. No movement but the rain. No sound but the thunder.
And yet, the hair on the back of Hiral’s neck climbed and climbed with every step they took. By the time Left finally slowed, it felt like insects were crawling across his skin.
“We’re getting close,” Left said.
“So, you all feel that too, then, right?” Yanily said. “It’s not just an allergy to Nivian’s cooking?”
“I say we throw Yanily at the museum and see what comes out,” the tank said.
“That’s not very nice,” Yanily whined.
“Then don’t insult the man’s cooking,” Wule said, but the party inched ahead to an intersection.
“Just around this corner,” Left said.
“Is this feeling going to get worse when we go inside?” Seeyela asked. “It’s going to be distracting.”
“My hand is actually shaking,” Seena said.
“A fear effect,” Hiral said. “It must be. The Banner of Courage will make us immune to it.”
“Should we carry it in?” Seeyela asked, her eyes darting to where the tattoo sat on Left’s arm.
“And advertise we’re coming with a fifty-foot glowing dome?” Seena said. “No. We tough it out for now. When we find the Mid-Boss, Left, that’s got to be your first priority.”
“He won’t be able to fight much holding the banner,” Hiral said. “And planting it only gives us a few minutes.”
“But the rest of us will be able to function,” Nivian said. “Sounds worth it to me.”
“Me too,” Seena said, waiting for Left to nod at her. Then she tapped Nivian on the shoulder.
The tank shook himself like a wet dog, then jogged around the corner. The rhythmic sound of his feet on the stone snapped the others out of their stupor, and they quickly followed. Nobody wanted to be left behind—alone—with the strange aura.
Immediately after turning, Hiral spotted what had to be the museum. It was made of a solid black stone like obsidian, easily several blocks in size, with a wide, domed roof. Rain ran down and across hideous statues on the corners of the roof and along the walls. With every flash of lightning, it was like the statues themselves shifted to look at the party approaching.
“Nope, that’s not sinister at all,” Seeyela said.
“The architect… only did the one building in the city,” Odi said.
“Wonder why,” Yanily said flatly.