Tale of Eldramir

It had been just over a week since Ezekiel and his escort had destroyed their first base. They had since hit another one, and according to their current leader there was just one more within their current vicinity that they needed to hit before retreating north. It was the hope of the Hunters that they would be able to take some refuge in one of the smaller villages nearby.

Unfortunately, it seemed like that wasn’t an option. The town itself was easy enough to get to, but it seemed like they were too late to save it from the Cult’s retaliation. Little remained beyond a dusty ruin, not unlike the ones in the Desolate Lands. However, the fact that dried and decimated bodies still remained did make for a much more tragic scene.

“By the Ancients... “One of the Hunters, a low-Step Adept, briefly muttered before leaning to the side and heaving. The man didn’t lose his lunch, but it was a close thing.

“Straighten up, newbie! We don’t know if there’s still hostiles in the area.” The captain called out. “Stella! Can you go scout out the town? Discreetly.”

One of the Hunters, a Tempest Mage, nodded her head. Her Spirit, a small gray cat with light gray swirls on its fur, dashed off her shoulder, shrinking to the size of a mouse, and entered into the town. A few minutes later, it returned. Stella looked to the Captain and shook her head. There was nothing they could find. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything there.

Bending toward the ground, the captain placed his hands in the sand. His own Spirit sat on his shoulders; a brown snake with diamond patterned black scales. The sand around them briefly seemed to shake before he pulled back.

“It’s clear. Find a building that’s mostly intact. We’ll set up camp for the day. Try to get some rest and be prepared for a faster pace once the sun sets. We won’t be able to resupply, so it’s better to get the current target over with.” The captain said. “Then we can go to one of the larger towns within one of the Church of Ten’s towns.”

A series of ayes and other confirmations rang out as everyone set off in small groups to find shelter. Ezekiel, being the weakest of the group, was stuck with the captain and one of the other Hunters.

As they walked through the ruined village, Ezekiel couldn’t help but grimace as he saw some of the still remaining bodies. A part of him wanted to suggest they do something for them, but he knew that they couldn’t. It would take too long to set them all to rest. They could use their mana to make things go faster, but that would mean leaving themselves open to ambush.

He still couldn’t help but freeze when he saw the body of a parent and their children huddled in a corner. The area around them was utterly scorched and their skeletal remains were all that he saw.

“Monsters... Only monsters could’ve done this.” Shine said tearfully inside Ezekiel’s head. “We can’t let them get away with this!”

“We won’t. We’re currently hurting them and their supplies already, are we not.” Ezekiel replied as he glared at what had been done to the bodies. “At least I don’t need to feel as guilty anymore.”

“Hey! Keep up! We’re almost at the oasis.” The captain called out to Ezekiel.

Snapping out of his determined glare, Ezekiel dashed to the captain, following him and the other Hunter to the small oasis that this village was centered around. Water was the only resource that they could get in this village, so it was best that they resupply before now, before they needed to head out later. Unfortunately, it seemed like the Cult was more vindictive than they realized.

Coming up to a large stone wall, the captain leapt over the ten-foot-tall structure that protected the oasis from the wind and sand. But his sudden cursing caught both Ezekiel and the other Hunter off guard. They both leapt to stand on the walls alongside the captain.

Looking into the large area that was supposed to be a protected oasis, Ezekiel’s eyes widened as he saw nothing but stone and sand. A large crater had formed and was slowly being filled from where several cracks in the wall had been made.

“Those bastards!” The captain nearly screamed. “They destroyed the oasis! I can’t even sense a pathway for the underground spring to rise up from!”

The captain was pissed. Even the other Hunter was upset, though she looked like she wanted to cry instead. Ezekiel could understand their reactions well. An oasis was the lifeblood of every aspect of civilization in the desert. It took even a Legendary Hunter several weeks, if not months, to dig deep and far enough to find an underground spring or stream that they could draw from.

Then, an even longer time was spent setting up the infrastructure to create and maintain a village. The large oases couldn’t even be made by Legendaries, as the sheer area they covered would take years to create. The fact that the Cult was willing to utterly destroy an oasis that was at the border between the Cult’s territory and the Church’s meant that they weren’t willing to lose this war. Not without making the Church regret it with everything that they had.

“Let’s head back. By the time we get to the village’s center, some shelter will likely have been found. There’s no point standing around here.” The captain seemed like he was barely restraining his anger, even as the other Hunter wiped the tears away. She couldn’t afford to waste the water.

The trio headed back to wear the rest of the Hunters were directing their wagon. A relatively intact building had been found. There was no roof, but it still had three walls, and after moving some debris out of the way, a temporary wall was set up to enclose the shelter for the day. A tarp was set and pinned to give then some shade.

The reprieve from the sun didn’t lift anyone’s spirits, however, as the news of what had happened to the oasis hit everyone quite hard. Not a single person was unaware of what it meant. The village itself was gone for good. Even after the war ended, for either side, there would be no recovering, or resettling.

The village was as dead as its occupants. Left to be devoured by the sands that surrounded it.

The rest of the day had been spent in silence, with most of the party, including Ezekiel, getting as much rest as they could. Though the destruction of literally a source of life in Tarquessa was enough to prevent some of them from sleeping. They instead slept on the wagon when night hit. Luckily, it seemed like forces that destroyed the village had long cleared out, so nothing happened as they traveled.

Making their way to an outcropping several kilometers from where they knew the outpost was, they quickly decided not to employ the tactics they had at the previous bases. For one, because the landscape was far more rocky, and therefore difficult to travel under. For another, it was likely that word had managed to spread regarding their efforts.

Thus, it was with the two Tempest Hunters that the party split up. One group on each of the Mage’s Spirits. Ezekiel was left on the ground. He would infiltrate as he had done before. Once the explosives were set, the Hunters would dive down and attack from above.

However, as Ezekiel set out for the base, fully Shrouded by Shine, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread as they got closer. He couldn’t sense the presence of a Legendary. Their scouting and information hadn’t implied there would be one either, but the sense of dread continued to persist.

“I think we’re going to regret this mission. Even more so than the others.” Ezekiel said to shine. “Get ready. There’s something that we’re missing here. Something that I don’t feel good about.”

“I’ll keep an extra wide eye out. We’ll be okay. We got this.” Shine said in an attempt to keep Ezekiel focused.

“Even you can’t see through the solid rock we’ll be surrounded by. But thank you for the encouragement.” Ezekiel said. “Get ready to Jump.”

Ezekiel and Shine tensed up momentarily as they teleported to the inside of the defensive formations. Ezekiel immediately reduced their gravity to not be sensed by Cavern Mages. Shine operated their Push and Pull to get them around.

To both of their surprise, there was nothing in particular that was out of the ordinary. It was a base just like any other, but luckily for them, this one actually had a control center for the formations. It seemed like there was a small artificial oasis beneath the base. Allowing this one to act as both a waypoint and resupply for the Cult’s forces.

Ezekiel quickly took down the formation, causing it to explode by altering the runic scripts that were powering it. The resulting shockwave collapsed some of the building, but Ezekiel was fine, and the sounds of battle quickly filled the area.

“It’s almost disturbing how good we’re getting at this.” Ezekiel couldn’t help but think as he began making his way through the Apprentices that were inside the building. Most of the Adepts had gone to deal with the Red Stone Guild Members, so he had free range of the inside.

“Well, that’s what happens when no one knows how to go against what you’re doing. Our magic is new, so they have no means to defend against it.” Shine said, though their tone was less than enthusiastic. “Besides, it’s not like they don’t deserve this.”

Both of their thoughts flashed back to the village they had vacated just a day ago. The memories of the bodies of the people, entire families, that were burned, shredded, impaled, and generally just destroyed were enough for them to harden their hearts. This was war, and they couldn’t afford to be merciful. Their enemies certainly wouldn't be.

It wasn’t long before the base was emptied. The Hunters made quick work of the base’s defenders. Afterwards, as Ezekiel and a couple of others were resting and recovering, one of the Hunters who had gone to look for supplies inside what remained of the building had returned. He went to the Captain, whispering something in his ear. The captain couldn’t help but frown at what he was told.

At this time, Ezekiel had yet to drop his guard. He still felt like something was off, but he couldn’t place a finger on what it was. So, he was doing his best to be prepared for whatever was about to hit them.

“Ezekiel!” The captain yelled. “Get over here.”

Several of the Hunters looked over in surprise. Confused as to what was going on, but not willing to make a fuss about it, Ezekiel headed over.

“What do you think is going on?” Shine asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think it has to do with that bad feeling we had from before. It’s still not gone, after all.” Ezekiel said.

“Did you do any scouting when you got in here?” The captain asked.

Ezekiel was surprised by this line of inquiry, but readily answered all the same.

“No. I didn’t have the time to. The more solid ground means that I had to expend more mana to ensure that I wasn’t detected by a Cavern Mage sensing for footsteps.” Ezekiel explained. “My own senses allowed me to make out some of the base’s structure, as well as get a feeling for the oasis below, but given my time restraints, I could only get a sense of the primary building. When I found the control sensor, I didn’t bother looking at the subsidiary ones.”

The captain appeared to be looking at Ezekiel with suspicion, but he couldn’t be certain. Though he was a little upset. He hadn’t done anything wrong, as far as he was aware.

“Was there something I should’ve been looking out for? I can try to be more careful and look for more at the later bases.” Ezekiel said. “It’ll be difficult, but I should be able to make do. Barring any unforeseen circumstances.”

The captain seemed to come to a decision before speaking. But he had begun to relax a bit as Ezekiel continued to talk.

“Why are you so tense?” The captain asked. “Are you expecting something to happen?”

“... Somewhat. It’s one of my Void senses. I get... bad feelings when something is about to happen to me, usually in my immediate future. It didn’t happen when we got to the village, as there was no intention to go there until well after the events had already occurred.” Ezekiel explained. “But when we were doing our initial scouting on the outcropping, I had a bad feeling in my gut. Like there was something here that I wasn’t aware of. Something that was utterly... wrong. But I didn’t find anything, yet the feeling is still there.”

The captain was staring intensely at Ezekiel. To the point where he was able to tell that the captain was using his tremor sensing to tell if he was lying.

“So, you weren’t aware of the hostages that were connected to kill switches in the storehouse's basement?” The captain said in a questioning tone.

The other Hunters looked shocked as they heard this. They turned to the Hunter that had apparently brought this news. He merely nodded his head in confirmation. They then all turned to Ezekiel.

“Apparently, they were expecting something like this, so explosive artifacts were connected to the room, which was tied to the defensive formation.” The captain continued. “It’s likely that they intended to use the hostages to either negotiate, or to buy time for themselves. But since we were so quick with our attack, they couldn’t do anything before we wiped them out. The fact that none of us bothered to listen to their pleas as we fought is also a factor.”

The captain pinched his nose in frustration. He looked like this was just an inconvenience, but inside he was raging with a fury that could crack a mountain in half.

However, Ezekiel wasn’t listening anymore. He had seemed to enter a state of fogginess as his mind failed to process what was happening. He knew that, if the captain was talking about them in the past tense, that they were all dead.

In the back of his head, Ezekiel could faintly hear Shine screaming at him to snap out of it. That it wasn’t his fault, and that there was no way he could’ve known about it.

“Ezekiel, I need to know if-” The captain cut himself off as he quickly stepped backwards, barely avoiding the vomit from Ezekiel as he fell to his knees and began puking.

While he had killed people before, they had always been enemies. Criminals that would have certainly killed him if he hadn’t fought back. As such, there was little guilt inside him, as he was simply defending himself, and trying to survive.

Even the attacks against the Cult’s bases were justifiable in his eyes, as the Cult of Light was a force that was willing to brainwash and kill anyone who acted against them. Ezekiel, in particular, was an actual target of the Cult’s ire. So, as long as the Cult existed, he would not be safe. As such, taking steps to eliminate an organization that wanted him dead was fine. Especially since there were others that were on his side.

But Ezekiel knew that this wasn’t like that at all. This was the death of a number of innocents. People that had nothing to do with his fight. Nothing to do with his conflict, or likely even knew how to fight. They were dead now, thanks to his actions. No matter what anyone else said. They were dead because he destroyed the defensive formations.

“H-how many...? W-were there any kids?” Ezekiel desperately asked, barely able to focus on his words. “I-I swear, I didn’t know! I swear!”

The captain’s face turned from cautious and questioning, to pitying and apologetic. He could tell from genuine terror, sorrow, and confusion in Ezekiel’s voice that he wasn’t lying. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any good news to give him.

“We can’t count the bodies due to the force of the explosives. And... I’m sorry, but yes, there were.” The captain said. He slowly approached, placing a comforting hand on Ezekiel’s shoulder.

He and the Red Stone Guild may have been members of Tarquessa’s Underworld, but that didn’t necessarily make them monsters. The Cult and their Cultists were one thing, but civilians were an entirely different thing all together. Especially ones that the Cult had taken hostage.

Little was said, however, as there was nothing to be done. Ezekiel found himself climbing into the wagon and curling up in a corner. He couldn’t bring himself to go and take a look at what had happened. Instead, he just talked with Shine, allowing his Spirit’s comforting presence to wash over him.

It took the Hunters a couple of hours, but they managed to strip the base of everything it had. None of them were willing to berate Ezekiel for not helping. They knew he was experienced, but they didn’t think that any of them would’ve reacted any better, and they were even more experienced in these kinds of situations than he was.

But they did do one thing. While they couldn’t identify all the bodies, they could take the time to have a small funeral for what remained. This base was far enough out that it would take at least a day for reinforcements to arrive. Unlike the previous ones, each of which were close enough to villages and towns, that were still active to be a concern.

A large bonfire was lit up, and Ezekiel looked outside the wagon. As he stared at the fire that was sending off the citizens that the Cult had taken from their homes, Ezekiel made a promise.”

Shine.” Ezekiel said aloud. “I’m going to hurt them. I’m going to make them pay for this. For what they’ve done, and are doing, to Tarquessa.”

“Good. You’ll let me help you, right?” Shine asked.

“Yeah. You can help. But for now, I need you to focus on something else right now.” Ezekiel said. “I need you to break through to the next Step as soon as possible and keep on going even further. We need to reach Tier three as soon as possible. We can’t take out the Cult if we remain as weak as we are, and I can’t meditate at a constant rate like you can.”

“You can count on me. I’ll get myself to Step eight by the end of the month.” Shine declared. Though Ezekiel could feel a hint of concern inside the Void Spirit.

Ezekiel didn’t reply. Instead, he sent his Spirit a feeling of approval and gratitude. Continuing to stare at the bonfire, he allowed his emotions to burn away alongside the flames. He knew he wasn’t acting in a healthy way, but he couldn’t deal with it any differently right now. He still needed to get to the Empire, but it seemed like that was going to take longer than he expected.

He needed to make sure to at least bloody the Cult’s nose before leaving Tarquessa after all.

It was a week of travel through the desert before the Red Stones and Ezekiel made it to their destination. They had moved in such a way as to avoid any possible encounters with the Cult. Something that wasn’t too hard to do when you didn’t take any of the established trade routes.

From a distance, Ezekiel could see a somewhat short wall surrounding the town. It was a basic stone wall, and had little to no formations on it that could be seen. A part of him wondered if this was all the town had for defense, but as they got closer, Ezekiel could make out a much larger wall further in.

Approaching the town, Ezekiel made out a much larger garrison that seemed to be composed of three large towers at different areas of the city. The walls as well were much taller and seemed to divide the town into an out and an inner portion. This one was quite large, actually, and seemed to be both a defensive tower as well as score point to the defensive formations around the town.

Looking at the height and shape, Ezekiel felt something was a bit familiar regarding the formation itself. Especially when he realized that the central portions of the town were arrayed as a triangle.

“It looks like a weaker and smaller version of the Spiral Path Formation. But there’s no way that could be the case, right?” Shine asked, as they took a break from their meditation.

It had been a week since the two of them had spoken. With Shine basically using as much of their energy to meditate, and then taking time to rest before meditating again. Ezekiel had actually had to gently nudge Shine’s soul, just enough to get them to stop as they arrived at the town.

“It’s likely a recreation made by the Church from historical records. I don’t think this formation uses three different elements. They just aren’t abundant enough to keep it up if it did.” Ezekiel said as they passed through the gates. “It’s likely meant to imitate the shape of the Spiral Path Formation, but only utilizes the Cavern Element. Perhaps the Tempest as well, though I doubt it.”

Ezekiel pondered this briefly and became uncomfortably aware of the fact that the formation only protected a quarter of the town. But as the group made their way further in, he realized that things did not look to be going well for this place.

Several buildings were boarded up, and the majority of the people he saw were children and the elderly. A number of women and men were still there, but most seemed to be injured in some way or another. There was also a startling lack of any Spirits. Usually, given the number of people that they had passed, there would be at least one or two Spirits, bonded to one of the citizens, but there were none.

Suddenly, as they approached what Ezekiel assumed was an inn, he saw several Adepts Hunters, members of the town’s garrison, standing guard. One of them approached the captain.

“Are you Hunters?” The guard asked. “If so, the gathering point for the Guild Military is at the center of the town. Please head there soon, else you be brought in for questioning as to where your loyalties align.”

For a moment, Ezekiel bristled, as he assumed that this guard intended to throw him and the rest of the Red Stones into a cell. Something that Ezekiel didn’t want to have happen, if he could help it.

“We actually have different orders, from the Church of Ten itself.” The captain held up a somewhat guardian badge. One that Ezekiel recognized as basically a temporary mark of authority to act on behalf of the Church.

“I cannot tell you what our mission is, but if you feel the need to have an official come and check this badge for authenticity, myself and my Guild, as well as our ward, will be here for at least a couple of days.” The captain explained as he put the badge away. The guard was much less tense after seeing the badge. “We’ll actually be heading to the Temple tomorrow. But given we’ve been in the desert for a week, I wanted my Hunters to have a chance to sleep in some proper beds.”

“Understandable. To be honest, since those badges need to be attuned to each user, I want to believe you. However, I will be reporting to my superiors, and they will likely send an official to at least check it out before the day’s end.” The guard said. “For now, feel free to take a rest inside. I’m sorry, but with the current state of things, we can’t give you any discounts. Even the Scholars and Hunters that are stationed here are paying out of pocket for services they’d usually get a discount on.”

“Understandable, given the proximity to one of the frontlines.” The captain waved the Hunters inside with Ezekiel following along. “If you don’t mind me asking, how is the state of the battlefield? I don’t need specifics. I know you’ll want us checked first. Just some general news would be appreciated.”

Ezekiel didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as the doors to the building were closed. He and the rest felt some immediate relief, as it seemed that this particular inn had some fairly good cooling enchantments. Not enough to make it cold, but enough to feel a difference.

Ezekiel was quick to pay for a room. After which, he and Shine moved to get some rest. It wasn’t even an hour later that they woke to their door being knocked on. Waking up and opening the door, he headed downstairs alongside the Hunter that had been sent to call him down. Waiting near the entrance was a well-dressed Scholar.

Reaching the lobby once again, he quickly passed over his documents confirming his identity as a Hunter hired by the Red Stone Guild. The contract was also shown, but only detailed his destination after the mission was finished. Nothing illegal or otherwise secretive was mentioned, so it seemed fine.

The Scholar passed the documents back, and everyone’s identity was quickly confirmed. But even as the Scholar was leaving, it seemed that something had happened, as the captain had a worried and contemplative look on his face.

“Captain! Is something the matter?” Ezekiel couldn’t help but ask.

The captain looked up. For a moment, it seemed like he was going to wave Ezekiel off. But he seemed to think differently after a moment.

“We’ll be leaving at sundown tomorrow. Everybody get some rest and be sure to resupply for at least a two-week journey. More if you can.” The captain said to the group. “It seems like things on the frontlines aren’t going well. The Cult’s been pushing into our territory, and a couple of towns have been lost. We won’t be able to stop as often moving forward.”

The previously relaxed mood dissipated as everyone understood what the captain was implying. It seemed that the Church of Ten’s forces were being pushed back. Ezekiel couldn’t help but wonder how much longer they could hold out. As well as if he’d be able to get out of Tarquessa before it became too late.

Silently, Shine fell into a meditative trance once again. Slowly, but surely, climbing towards the next Step of their Tier. Ezekiel passed along a feeling of approval and gratitude, before heading to their room and also entering meditation. They were both going to need it, as they were now in a time crunch.