Tale of Eldramir

The sun was setting over Dross as Ezekiel made his way back to the inn. His feet were dragging along the ground, and he was right on the edge of making the decision to use Shine as a crutch. Bone deep exhaustion seeped into his entire body after having fulfilled part of his bargain with Alphonse.

He barely managed to book a couple more rooms for himself, whilst in disguise, on separate floors before making his way up to the room he had booked previously.

Ezekiel collapsed bonelessly onto his rented bed at the Dross City Inn. It had been several hours since he’d left to discuss things with Alphonse. Luckily, Alphonse was well aware of the fact that he wouldn’t get anything from Ezekiel without giving him something in return.

As such, Ezekiel was able to make a deal that got him what he wanted. Though he still needed to finish a mission for the Red Stone Guild. Which was on top of the Gravity Reduction enchantments that he’d be placing on at least a dozen different wagons, crates, and other means of transport and various containers. He’d only been able to finish half of said enchantments today.

“Did we really need to come all the way back to the inn?” Shine asked as Ezekiel started to drift off. “Couldn’t we have stayed in the guest house of the Red Stone Guild? The contract restricts any of their Guild members from acting against us. They also can’t outsource anyone to be antagonistic towards us.”

“It’s mostly a comfort thing. But there’s also the fact that they don’t need to hire anyone. If they wanted to, they could simply release information to a party they know is antagonistic towards us.” Ezekiel explained. “At least at the inn, we won’t be the only unaffiliated Hunters. So that means that we won’t be surrounded by a singular faction. We might be able to draw some others into the conflict and escape.”

“I guess... Should I stay up to keep watch?” Shine asked. Unlike Ezekiel, Shine was still topped up when it came to their mana. “You booked the other rooms to run away to if things went bad, right?”

“If it’s not too much trouble.” Ezekiel said. “And yes, teleport us to the other room we booked if anyone approaches.”

Shine just sent Ezekiel feelings of reassurance as he drifted off to sleep. Settling into a state of omnidirectional awareness, Shine kept their attention on their surroundings as Ezekiel lay sleeping.

It wasn’t even a couple of hours into the night when Shine sensed someone approaching. However, whoever it was, they weren’t exactly trying to hide their presence. If anything, they were making a ruckus as they got closer.

Shine paused for barely a second before Jumping to one of the other rooms that Ezekiel had booked before going to bed. He hadn’t unpacked any of his stuff, so it wasn’t hard for Shine to get them out of there. But the fact that they had to Jump in the middle of the night was frustrating. Shine almost wanted to wake Ezekiel up but figured that they would only do so if whoever was after them came back.

Waiting for several more minutes, Shine relaxed their attentiveness, though just barely, as they didn’t sense anyone approaching. Settling down for the night, Shine continued to keep watch. Doing everything they could to ensure Ezekiel got his rest.

However, there was something nagging at the back of their mind. The people that had approached before seemed to feel familiar to them. But they couldn’t place just who it was, and they weren’t willing to stick around and find out.

Meanwhile, back at the room that Ezekiel and Shine had just vacated, Fiana, George, and Marc made their way into the room while Cinder spoke to the manager who was watching them carefully. Coming to an abrupt halt as they opened the door, Fiana turned to the manager.

Her eyes were practically shooting fire as she moved towards him. Marc moved to investigate the room, while George watched Fiana.

“Where is he?” She asked with a growl in her voice. “I thought you said this was the room he booked.”

Cinder turned to look at the manager, who was starting to look a little nervous, as he was only an Apprentice level Mage. One with little to no actual combat experience at that. So, facing off against a group of Adepts, as well as his boss’ niece, meant that he was incredibly nervous.

“Here! I already showed you, but here is the signature and proof of the person you named signing into this particular room.” The manager handed over a clipboard to Cinder, who reviewed it several times before confirming that it was true.

“He’s telling the truth, Scholar Fiana. This is the room listed for one Ezekiel Luminance.” Cinder said. “I’m sorry, but either he’s not here, or he’s reserved another room under an assumed name.”

“So, we’re at another dead end.” Fiana cursed under her breath. “Ancients damn him! How are we supposed to help to keep him safe if we keep falling behind?”

The manager, who was still nervous, raised his hand to grab their attention.

“Actually, while we can’t let you go knocking on every door in the inn, I can confirm that he is here. Or at least that he checked in last night. Reserving a room for at least a week.” The manager said. “You might find him if you wait for him tomorrow. Maybe.”

A look of understanding came across Fiana’s face. She figured that Ezekiel must’ve either been aware that people might be after him, and he would have made arrangements for safer dwellings. Given the talk going around about the Cult of Light infiltrating the city, this was certainly a smart move, if annoying for them.

Staring at the manager, Fiana contemplated his words while Marc finished investigating the room. She couldn’t be certain if this was a scheme to get them to book a few rooms or not. But George had no issues jumping on board with what the manager was suggesting.

“In that case, put us down for two double rooms. One for the ladies and one for us.” George said to the manager. He handed the man a basic pouch with the necessary coins. “Make it three days each.”

“George!” Fiana exclaimed. “There’s no need for that!”

But it was too late, George had already exchanged the coins for the keys, and the manager scurried off after George signed the reservation agreement. Cinder just watched with an amused expression. She had agreed to help the three Scholars find their person of interest but hadn’t been expecting this much entertainment.

“What?” George asked. “It’s not like there’s any other good inns in the city anyways. Might as well book some rooms while we’re here. That way, we can at least ensure that we have a better chance than just rumors and hearsay. Besides, what were you thinking of doing? Going back to the Cathedral that already kicked us out when we refused to convince Ezekiel to lock himself into an unfair contract?”

Everyone there winced at the reminder of the verbal fight that had broken out when the Dross Cathedral had started bad mouthing Ezekiel. Fiana had gone off like a grenade, hitting everyone she could with insults of some sort. George and Marc had joined her when the exact details of the contract that Dross wanted Ezekiel to sign were revealed to them.

Needless to say, they weren’t welcome there anymore, even though there were quarters at all the Cathedrals, specifically for foreign Scholars to use when needed.

“Even so, you could’ve consulted us. You didn’t even ask if Miss Sunny wanted to stick around.” Fiana said. “Thank you, by the way, for helping us so far.”

“It’s nothing. To be honest, I’ve been working with the Church of Ten for a few years now. So, it’s not like I’m doing anything different at this point.” Cinder said. “For now, why don’t we get some sleep. Given how late we arrived, I’d rather stay the night here anyways. Rather than head back home, dead on my feet.”

Fiana and Marc could sense that there was another reason as to why she didn’t want to go home right now. But neither of them was willing to pry, after having gotten so much help from her already. Traveling in the small caravan from Southeast Waypoint Five was already a blessing from the Ancients. Even if the circumstances weren’t all that great.

“You see! Everything is working out. Now let’s go get some sleep. A man needs his rest and relaxation after all. Especially if we’re to find Ezekiel in the morning.” George said with forced enthusiasm. “Come on, Marc, it’s time for bed.”

Marc looked somewhat morose at the idea of having to spend a full night with George, by himself at that. But he followed along as the Adept Life Mage threw a key over his shoulder. One that Fiana caught before it could hit the ground.

“Goodnight, Scholar Fiana. Miss Sunny.” Marc said as he left.

“Goodnight Marc, and please, call me Cinder!” Cinder said as she waved them off. She took a look at the key in Fiana’s hands before walking off. “It seems that our room is this way. Shall we?”

Fiana grumbled as she followed the younger woman down the hall in the opposite direction of her fellow Scholars. She was tired of all the running around, and if it weren’t for their previous meeting with the Church, she wasn’t even sure they would know if Ezekiel was alive or not.

For the first time since she’d set out on this mission, on behalf of Scarlet and the other Grand Scholars of Sanafalls, she was starting to regret it. For now, however, she could only hope that they had better luck in the morning.

Ezekiel stood in the middle of a warehouse made and owned by the Red Stone Guild. It was the third day since their deal had been made, and Ezekiel had been doing everything he could to avoid anyone he hadn’t made a contract with.

Alphonse, as he found out, was actually a pretty decent guy. At least so long as you didn’t try to cause problems for his Guild. Including the less than legal businesses. But beyond that, he seemed to have a fairly straightforward and easy to understand code of honor.

It could be summed up as; ‘If you give me something, you’ll get something back in return. The same goes for my Guild.’ Unfortunately, since most of his Guild took things too far, or were open and blatant when it came to their less than appropriate activities, this meant that Alphonse was forced to face fines and other things more often than not.

“Okay... I think... that’s the last...one...” Ezekiel was nearly gasping for breath as he looked over the large trade wagon that he had just finished enchanting.

The first day of his work hadn’t been bad. He’d gotten to most of the smaller items fairly quickly. However, it had taken three days to finish enchanting all the large-scale equipment. In part because he didn’t have the mana to finish quickly. But also, because the runic sequences had to be etched by him, alone. If anyone else helped in the process, the ambient mana that they drew on would corrupt the enchantment. Void Magic was sensitive like that.

“Hmmm...” Alphonse looked over the enchantment. Pulling a large boulder from the ground, Alphonse dropped it on top of the activated enchantment. Instead of the loud ‘crash’ that one might expect, there was merely a dull thud, like something that weighed far less had landed instead.

“One tenth the weight, you said?” Alphonse pointlessly asked.

“For the fifth time, yes.” Ezekiel muttered in frustration. “Also, since I know you’ll ask again, these enchantments need to be recharged every now and then. Either with a Pure Mana Crystal, or two mana crystals of opposing elements. Do not use Lightning Crystals. You will destroy them if you do.”

Alphonse just chuckled as he patted Ezekiel on the back. Of course, given how tired he was, he fell to his knees in an instant.

“You did good, kid. Now I guess it’s our turn. Just remember, you need to help us with opening the path.” Alphonse said as his grin turned manic. The thoughts running through his head being anything but pleasant.

“I remember. So long as there aren’t any Legendaries, it shouldn’t be a problem” Ezekiel said. “Don’t forget, if your info is wrong, I will ditch your Guild Members to their fate. As we agreed.”

“Tch! As we agreed.” Alphonse curtly nodded his head before marching out of the warehouse. “Get out of here, kid, you set off at first light in the morning. Meet me in my office so the rest can sign their contracts.”

“I’m not a kid...” Ezekiel muttered under his breath as he marched out of the warehouse.

He hadn’t made it more than a couple of blocks away before Shine spoke up.

“I thought we were going to ask him about the group that’s been looking for us? We had to leave the inn early because of them.” Shine asked. “The rooms were fairly nice as well.”

“I don’t think that Alphonse is aware of them. You said that they were familiar, right?” Ezekiel confirmed. Shine mentally nodded their head. “Then that means they’re people we’ve met and remembered. So, it couldn’t be anyone from Tarquessa. That means that it’s probably someone from Sanafalls. Likely sent by the Grand Scholars to take us back to the Archipelago.”

“Couldn’t they be a part of the Cult?” Shine asked.

“The Cult would not be this subtle. Not for as long as this group’s been after us, at least.” Ezekiel said. “The Cultists hidden in the Red Stone Guild were proof of that.”

Left unsaid was the possibility of these people being mercenaries hired by the Cult. If that was the case, then all bets were off when it came to how professional they were. But it would also mean that the sense of familiarity wouldn’t have been there.

“For now, we might as well return to that abandoned warehouse. I’d rather get a full night’s sleep tonight. I doubt there’ll be anyone to bother us if they don’t know where we are.” Ezekiel said.

The pair then made a turn to an empty alleyway. Halfway through, Ezekiel jumped into a small alcove, where Shine immediately Jumped them several blocks away to one of their prearranged Jump points. From there, the pair went through a number of convoluted paths before coming back to the warehouse district. Heading to a hidden area in one of the abandoned buildings, Ezekiel curled himself up and went to sleep. Still spent from the day’s activities.

Gathered in front of the Red Stone Guild, packed into one of the wagons that hadn’t been enchanted, Ezekiel sat in disguise. Outside the wagon, a dozen Hunters of the Guild in question stood at attention as Alphonse addressed them. All of them had signed specific non-disclosure contracts. Each of which would only be nullified should Ezekiel die, break his contract, or be dropped off at the Fjorya.

Of course, this would only be the case so long as Ezekiel survived his mission. As contracted by Alphonse. Said mission was to infiltrate and open up the defenses of all the Cult of Light supply depots that were between them, and the Fjorya Mountains. These were key chains in the logistics of the Cult’s forces further south. From what they knew, there were at least seven that they needed to take out.

Only after he had finished this mission, would the Hunters gathered here continue to escort him north, to the Fjorya Mountains.

“Everybody knows the plan?” Alphonse asked. “Cause if any of you brats don’t, I’ll be thumping the plan into your heads with my fist. Understood?”

“Yes, Guild Leader!” The assembled Hunters all chanted in unison.

“Good. Your package is already loaded up. Head out, and I’ll hopefully see you all in a couple of months. If the kid can deliver on his end of the bargain.” Alphonse said before turning away and heading back into the Guild’s main building. “Good luck to you all.”

As the loaded in, and the wagon set off, Ezekiel couldn’t help but wonder what, exactly, was so underworldly about this mission. However, knowing that the mission was supposed to be a secret, he knew better than to talk about it before they left the city limits.

Thus, it wasn’t until that evening, when the Hunters were all set up for the night, well out and past the walls of Dross, that he finally felt that he could ask his question.

“The actual job is to capture and control. At least, according to what the Church wants.” One of the Hunters said, knowing that Ezekiel couldn’t share the details to others any more than they could. “The Guild Leader would prefer it to be search and destroy. Same with the other Underworld Leaders. No quarter is to be given to the Cultists. All of them die. No matter what.”

Ezekiel couldn’t help but swallow nervously, though his disguise made sure that those actions were more or less hidden.

“Guild Leader Alphonse must really hate the Cult. Don’t suppose there’s a reason for that?” Ezekiel asked.

The rest of the Hunters all looked around nervously. Not because they were scared, but because it was an uncomfortable topic for all of them. Seeing this, Ezekiel immediately backtracked.

“Forget I said anything.” He said, and the rest of the Hunters relaxed. But one seemed to be willing to answer the question.

“You saw the family portrait in his office, right?” The Hunter said. Dread immediately filled Ezekiel’s stomach as he made some connections.

“They didn’t...” He whispered. “I know those bastards are wretched scum, but the kid in the picture wasn’t even ten!”

“Well... apparently the Cult doesn’t really care about that. Killed both his wife and kid. In front of him.” The man told him.

Ezekiel was shocked. He knew that the Cult was merciless. Yet he was certain that they would’ve at least tried to get something from Alphonse first. But this was different. Usually, they tried to take and turn kids to their way of thinking. Something must’ve changed since the war started.

“Hey! That’s enough! We’ve got a long trip ahead of us. We don’t need to be bringing the mood down even further with old news. Alright?!” The driver called back. Not wanting his Guild Leader’s past to be brought up anymore.

Ezekiel allowed himself to fall silent. A part of his mind wandered back to when he was just a kid. How close had he and his friends been to falling prey to the Cult? How were they doing now? Was the Cult back in Harkem? Was the border conflict with the Desolate Lands worse than he thought?

These thoughts and more ran through his head.

“Hey! Don’t get lost in thought like that!” Shine exclaimed, feeling Ezekiel’s mood dropping. “We’re here to get to them, and help them out, no matter what, right?”

“That’s right. We’ll see them all soon, and hopefully, the Cult won’t be able to get in our way. After we deal with this base, of course.” Ezekiel let out a light chuckle at Shine’s words.

He wasn’t perfectly fine, but he knew he needed to focus on what was happening now. The depot was only a couple of days away. So, he needed to prepare himself. His job was the most important, after all. It wasn’t like anyone else could sneak their way past defensive formations like he could.

Looking over the sand dunes in the distance, Ezekiel couldn’t help but nervously twitch his fingers. The defenses encapsulating the supply depot were significantly stronger than they were told. There were also several more Cultists patrolling the area than expected.

Tapping a rock next to him, Ezekiel found himself sucked into the ground. Finding himself in a stone sphere beneath the sand, Ezekiel couldn’t help but grimace as he looked at the expectant faces around him. All the Hunters were gathered here, having abandoned their wagon a while back for more stealth. The six Cavern Mages that they had helped with this.

“I can do it, but we’re looking at, at least twice as many Cultists than what was expected. Luckily, there’s only half a dozen Hunters. Most of them are Apprentices as well, so we at least have a quality advantage.” Ezekiel said. “We can move tonight, so long as you all are ready to go.”

“Then we move tonight. Kill whoever you can when you’re in there. No point in losing an advantage if we can get it.” The current captain of the Red Stone Guild’s Hunters said.

Buckling down, Ezekiel allowed himself to fall into his meditation. Allowing the hours to pass him by, but not actually taking in any mana. There wouldn’t be much point in him doing such a thing. The chance of one of their enemies catching him via the flow of mana was also a non-negligible factor.

Finally, as they received notice that the sun had fully set a while ago. Silently, Ezekiel was let out from the sphere. Lightening his gravity and pulling up a Shroud, Ezekiel and Shine glided across the sand, leaving no tracks in their wake.

Reaching the very edge of the defensive formations, Shine Jumped them inside the formations. Coming up right within the walls of the base. Now inside the base, it wasn’t hard for him to see what was going on with the Cultists.

Several guard rotations were happening at once, all overlapping with each other, so Ezekiel wouldn’t be able to take any of them out without alerting the rest. As such, he headed straight into the larger building that was at the center of the base.

Inside, it was much easier to find Cultists that were separated from the others. However, he found that, much to his chagrin, there was no master control for the formations outside. Unfortunately, that meant that the formations had multiple anchor points. Most likely on the walls themselves. He’d have to deactivate each and every one of them to bring it down.

“We don’t have that much time.” Shine said in a worried voice. “We need to open the defenses now!”

Wracking his options over in his head, Ezekiel realized that he’d have to use some more of his trump cards. So, taking out several cylindrical containers from his Void Pouch, explosives that were based off of the idea of the explosive beads during his first expedition, Ezekiel made his move.

Knowing that the Tempest and Cavern Mages within the base would sense it if he simply threw or placed them on the ground. Ezekiel knew he’d have to make this as fast as he could. So, making his way to the roof of the main building, Ezekiel leapt into the air. Adjusting his gravity so he floated, still Shrouded, just beneath the top of the defensive formations.

Taking the four cylindrical artifacts and throwing them as fast as he could, not even the Tempest Mages could react in time before the artifacts made contact. The Push and Pull, along with the increased gravity ensured they moved too fast.

Four explosions rang out simultaneously as the anchor points for the formations came crumbling down. An alert rang out the moment they did, but it seemed like the Red Stone Guild was already prepared. Several spears of sand struck down the gathering Apprentices. An entanglement of roots crushed several others, and fire melted the faces of more than a few.

Ezekiel himself ended up ending the lives of several Cultists as he landed on the rooftop of the main building. The few sentries that were there had no idea what happened to them as he stabbed them all in the back. Quick, silent, and relatively painless. Much better than the rampaging Hunters below.

As he looked on at the devastation happening around him. He couldn’t help but feel regret. Both at the actions he was taking, just to see his family again, and the fact that he didn’t really feel much when he killed the Cultists that got too close to him.

“... I want to see them again...” Was the only thought running through Ezekiel’s mind.

“We will, partner. We will.” Shine said. Doing their best to encourage Ezekiel.

Unfortunately, this was war, and while it might not yet be nearly as bad as what he’d been through before, Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel that things were going to get much worse. Likely well before they reached the Fjorya. Something that Shine, unfortunately, had to agree with.

The base ended up being cleared within an hour. No one escaped. Not that the Cult of Light was usually permitted to escape. But even so, such a merciless massacre wasn’t something Ezekiel was used to. Looking around the desolate base, Ezekiel saw that the Hunters were currently looting the place for all that it was worth.

“Well, we might as well get what we can as well. No point in letting it go to waste, after all.” Ezekiel said to Shine, before he too moved to gather what he could.

Shine just stayed silent. A part of them was worried for Ezekiel, but a larger part was more worried about the cultists that they were undoubtedly going to be facing soon. Thinking about the dangers they were walking into; a story thought brought their mind to the group that was chasing after him as well.

Hopefully they won't be catching up to them anytime soon. Better yet, maybe they went home.

Back at Dross, Fiana, George, Marc, and Cinder, were all standing inside Alphonse’s office. The former group were looking at the disgruntled Guild Leader in contempt. While Alphonse was looking at the assorted Scholars and runaway heiress merchant in front of him with regret.

“I knew I shouldn’t have dealt with that stupid kid.” Alphonse muttered under his breath. Holding his face in his hands as Cinder handed him an old contract, calling in a favor that was owed to her. Behind her, George and Marc stood at attention. Not unlike a couple of bodyguards. Though George looked far too smug and prideful to be a proper stone-faced bodyguard.

To the side, Fiana crossed her arms in frustrated satisfaction. She was happy they were finally getting somewhere, but she really did hope that this would be done soon. Although, as she remembered more about their target and what he was capable of, she knew that this was going to be a long trip. She just hoped that Ezekiel wouldn’t get into too much more trouble before they reached him.