1
"Those the ruins Dwibb?" asked Arrik pointing down from the barely noticeable trail atop the side of the mountain. He wiped some sweat from his head and shook a little, relieved they had arrived. He was too used to the Shiverpeaks and this was his first journey from the mountains.
The small decrepit remains Arrik pointed at were nestled in jungle debris and at the bottom of the mountain range. The mountain range formed a type of geological, misshapen cone forming a type of pit at the base where the ruins were built. With how small the ancient building was and the amount of overgrown jungle life that spread over it, the ruins were barely noticeable if not for the parts of gray stones standing out from the variety of greens; even from the sky would this place look like nothing but a cavity in a mountain.
"Better be them, I can't stand this Maguuma heat," Rylon added now standing a few feet in front of Arrik. Rylon started to bunch up his every day robes ever so lightly to let air flow to places the robes composition would usually disallow. He thought light robes would be appropriate for the Tarnished Coast, but his skin riddled with sweat showed otherwise.
"It might be! I remember these trees. Let me see!" said Dwibb excitedly climbing up Rylon to see Arrik's inquiry despite Rylon's firm protest against the Asura on his nice robes. "Ah! It is indeed! Well done Norn! Good eyes," Dwibb made a cheerful gesture with his body, "See. This is why I brought you Norn, for your young reflexes and strapping stature. You're still young, right?"
"I am, just passed my trials a few weeks ago. This mission I will add to my legacy," Arrik said yanking a branch down and out of their way.
Dwibb was thrilled to see the ruins again. He wiggled in happiness atop Rylon and leapt down to the ground in all his Asura glory. His leather attire did not faze him as it should in the hot jungle. This was due to the contraption affixed to the wardrobe, built to inject a non-toxic cooling agent into his body upon a button press. His engineering background both served and prepared him well for the jungle.
"Please don't do that again!" Rylon firmly shouted in utter disgust and complete concern for his attire. He was peeved, angered, and heavily disturbed in the fact the Asura climbed up him. Not because it hurt a little or it was unprecedented, but the fact he dirtied up the robes slightly. Rylon was thankful Dwibb had leather on and the fact he was able to wipe the dirt off easily, else he may have lost it.
"Good. Let's get down there," commented Arrik heaving his maul over his left shoulder and pressing forward past the two ready for whatever may be ahead. Nothing could stop him from wanting to get this mission over with. Arrik's will was so determined to return home and tell his companions about his first journey that he could almost hear his ancestors calling from the Shiverpeaks for him to return home to Hoelbrak.
"Agreed. It shall be quick and fairly easy for us to finish the quest." Dwibb leapt over a log in the way and walked happily down the Arrik-trodden brush. "I just need to re-examine it."
"I hope this will be easy," Rylon said while carefully calculating where to step and how to not rip his robes. So far, Rylon's robe was just as pristine as when he set out to find the ruins, even through Dwibb's climb, just now tainted with sweat.
"Oh, it will be easy human. I just need to take another gander at the tablet I left there. I misinterpreted it I believe or didn't read it quite right. I've been conducting my experiments wrong and looking in the wrong locations for the last tree. I knew I should have just taken it with me back then."
"And this isn't something you can find in a library?" Arrik asked snapping the larger branches and bunched up twigs that would stop them, pulling vines down out of their path, and stamping down anything in front of him, making sure no obstacles would be in the other two's way.
"No you dim Bookah! This is old knowledge! Something no one has seen or knows, well," he looked down slightly realizing what he said was untrue, "I lie. Most have seen it once," Dwibb commented with a head tilt in thought of his words.
"We have?" Rylon asked while carefully bending down while in mid walk to avoid the gentle twigs and shrubs in his way, as if they could rip even a thread of his robe.
"Yes. The Grove. The Sylvari." Dwibb said calmly and dull, yet his tone with much passion on the subject. He was a botanist after all, though his Asura background titled it a 'Bioengineer' instead of a 'Botanist' most would deem the title.
Arrik stopped and turned to the side to Dwibb, not even finishing breaking the branch in his grasp. "Sylvarri? You said something about a tree… So you mean the Pale Tree they come from?" Arrik put together. His mind began to wonder just what Dwibb's intentions were for the mission.
"Yes. That tree is my desire," Dwibb emoted sternly, standing his full three feet eight inches tall. His arms folded, brown-gold pupils staring at Arrik, wondering why the Norn stopped to ask him a question, "Now keep moving Soulclaw, time is precious."
"It is precious, but wait," Arrik fully turned to the Asura with a contemplative look. He may be young, but he was with it, "it sounds to me we're getting in a bigger mess than I signed up for little one," Arrik said realizing this Asura was hiding something. "If you want the Pale Tree, we're somewhat close by. We're near The Grove, let's just go visit and be done with it."
"Little one?" Dwibb asked Arrik with a peeved tone, ignoring Arrik's suggestion of visitation. Dwibb's ears straightened downward in slight anger. "I am Bioengineer Dwibb, son of Grindii and Farna, brother to Master Engineer Vablu and Geomancer Grebb. I am no 'little-one', big-one."
Arrik smiled at the 'little one', the supposed titles and prestige from the Asura meaning little to Arrik. "Sorry to offend you Bio-screw," Arrik grinned on the inside seeing Dwibb's eyes light up in rage form the comment before continuing, "but I am not going to die over some plant that we have no business in. My legacy will live on longer than this," Arrik leapt a few feet to get down further down the mountainside after the remark.
"Tree bookah, not plant," Dwibb corrected before jumping himself.
"I also have to interject here. You mean the very same thing the Sylvari come from?" Rylon waved his hand and summoned a couple lowly bone minions, coming out of the mountain's side where he stood as he beckoned.
"Seed. The very -seed- it comes from. And yes I do Rylon, why?" Dwibb asked avoiding eye contact with Arrik, unable to endure anymore verbal torture Arrik might spew. He watched Rylon use his minions as stepping stones to avoid jumping and avoid any way possible something may soil his robes.
"Well, wait a moment. Are you looking for a seed or a tablet?" Rylon asked now on the ground. He snapped his fingers and the minions he enthralled now fell to the ground lacking any life.
"Both." Dwibb stated shaking his head at the necromancer. Dwibb started to become finicky. He just wanted to keep going.
"Both? I'm confused here," Rylon said standing close to the Asura having gotten away from the majority of the natural hindrances.
"I bet the tablet tells of a seed or shows its location. Right Dwibb?" Arrik looked all too done with the Asura who merely nodded at Arrik's statement.
"If you say there's another seed and it's planted correctly, we'll have even more lettuce-heads out there. Why do you want that?" Rylon asked with a hint of the typical human racism.
"Because Rylon, I will have created these new Sylvari… and…" Dwibb turned with his upper body and head with eyes closed, preparing himself for his ultimate, profound words that will only exacerbate his ego and head appropriately, "They will be different Sylvari. At least that's what the tablet entailed."
"Different? How? Like made from spinach instead?" Rylon tried with humor, but now looked confused.
Arrik hefted his maul back onto his shoulder in wait for the Asura to answer Rylon. He was not moving forward until the Asura gave good reason.
"The tablet I am searching for in the ruins tells not only of the Great Pale Tree and its seed, but other trees as well. Other seeds to be exact. There were many seeds, all of unknown origin, even to the tablet inscribers. Ventarri knew of the many seeds, as did Ronan, the original soldier that found the 'seed' in the cave. There were many, about four to five from my understanding, though I could be wrong. There could be more. I've been around the world searching for said seeds, but fail to find anything other than an already growing tree or more Sylvari."
"There's more Sylvari out there?!" Rylon shout-asked Dwibb in disbelief.
"Yes. There are. It's funny as all of them have subtle differences, but they are differences nonetheless. Even the most recent encounter with another Sylvari from another tree proved this, and it wasn't even my observation."
"Wait, others have run into these new Sylvari?" Arrik asked now confirming he was in fact getting into something more than he should be.
"Yes bookah. The Sylvari you know of from the Pale Tree recently ran into another by the name of Malyck, who was from a Great Tree to the west."
Arrik looked surprised as Rylon stood shaking his head while picking at nothing on his robes, mere molecules of dirt if anything.
"But I have seen many new Sylvari, it's nothing new pink skins. You think with so many seeds that only The Grove and its Sylvari we know of are the only plant people occupying the planet? Highly unlikely," Dwibb said huffing with pity and his head slightly tilted upward, "The location of the last seed was false. I went to Elona, as the tablet mapped it out to be there, yet I did not manage to find this Dark Seed it told of. Instead I found nothing but wandering centaur, sand folk, and odd creatures."
"Dark Seed? Why does that sound bad?" Rylon asked aloud while averting his gaze to Arrik for proper equivalent response.
"Because it probably is bad," Arrik paralleled with Rylon in both gawk and worry. "So, you have us out looking for a Dark Seed? Maybe even some Dark Tree with Dark Sylvari? Sounds dangerous and like a gold increase is in order."
"No Soulclaw. There is no danger here. I came here alone the last time and had no troubles, just managed to look over the ancient biology of the seeds. They didn't have the technology we have now nor the brilliant Asura minds," Dwibb bloated with emphasis, "but they showed enough for me to make out the general idea of the seeds and their locations. I've been trying to locate this last seed but with no findings. I cannot find it at all and I am unsure why. I just need another look at the tablet because I believe now it was a wild chase the tablet sent me on and the seed is in the ruins itself," Dwibb said tapping his foot, anxious to get a move on.
"Then why hire us if there is no danger? Why do you even want the seed if it will produce another race? You sound like your trying to be one of the human gods," Arrik mentioned with a brow raised.
"I want the seed because it is a Bioengineers dream! I can create life, watch it grow, but that's essentially all I can do. Never before could one create life, watch it grow -and- prosper without help. Prosper and be in sound mind with emotions, thoughts… Ah, oh my would it be marvelous!" Dwibb smiled in the thought gleefully and then looked back to the Norn with the same anger from before. "I brought you along because these are different times, I-" Dwibb started but as his eyes widened, he continued, "Because of those!" Dwibb shouted pointing at giant spiders descending the tree behind Arrik.
Arrik whipped around with maul readied and saw the typical Maguuma spiders draping down their silken strands of web to the ground upside down. The spiders tilted to land accordingly with the ground before skittering at the three humanoids.
Arrik shouted at first to the spiders as a blue aura began to surround his form violently, to perhaps scare them off. The bright blue aura outlined itself in the form of a bear and extended about three feet from his body in all directions, taking the full shape of the animal and appropriately asserting Arrik's surname of Soulclaw. The eyes of both the spirit bear and Arrik glowed much more intensely in the same hue. A second after, a maul began to form at Arrik's side with the same color and lucidity of the aura and after yet another second, the maul looked whole yet transparent, but either way it was ready for battle. The maul hovered as if held by an invisible warrior or itself sentient. The action as a whole didn't slow the spiders one bit, but Arrik was more than ready now.
"Bookah! Stop playing around and kill them! I'll not be alive to see my discovery if I'm injected with venom!" Dwibb shouted before coming to a realization. "Wait! Try and not smash their fang or their guts too much Norn, I want them for poisons and study."
Arrik shook his head before plummeting his maul down at the first spider. The maul hit the spider directly, but connected with the ground beneath the spider. A splat and cracking sound trembled through their ears. Arrik smiled and heaved up his maul for the next two.
"Ach! My robes! Rylon said in horror glaring at the fragments of internals from the squished spider randomly adorning his once unspoiled robes. He had been preparing a spell to attack the spiders before the splat interrupted his mindset.
Dwibb wiped some away from his face before speaking, "Soulclaw, I must remember to teach you elegance in fighting."
"Elegance?" Arrik asked before missing with a swing to the spider. It went to attack Arrik, but the conjured maul hit the spider before even coming close to Arrik, sending it into the tree with a new dent in the abdomen of it. "There is no elegance in fighting, it's merely a surviving technique. If you want to prance around and kill things, I'd suggest you take up dancing little one… Ha!" Arrik said chuckling to himself while bum-rushing the last spider off its feet from a near perfect swing.
Dwibb slung the gunk off his face in an annoyed manor hearing Arrik's words. He looked up to retort to the Norn but as he did, he saw a grin on Arrik's façade as he brought his maul down on the squabbling spider. Another wave of spider innards spewed his way, again coating not only his face, but now in his hair and some of his leather armor. Arrik's actions real intent fulfilled with a grin and light chuckling.
"Bookah Norn!" Dwibb shouted at the top of his lungs.
Arrik laughed quite hard at the sight, Rylon's new predicament of a newly colored robe due to spider insides not helping Arrik rest from laughing in the least.
"Elegance is for certain arts and techniques," Arrik spoke while catching his breath, "however there is skill and proper technique in fighting. Aim is good too," Arrik said again laughing at the two.
The two smelling of spider guts managed to get most of it off before they decided to continue. Rylon and Dwibb shared a new hatred for their Norn companion, who only happily made the way to the ruins.
' ` '
The two rows of pillars coated in vines and leaves almost welcomed the three to the ruins. The sunken in, uneven road ridden with fractures, missing chunks, and broken columns across it was paved not in stone, but healthy green plants, fungus, and an immense amount of weeds that had long since made a home between the cracks. The mountain upward in all directions almost made it appear the group was trapped. A pool of stagnant water was off to the deeper part of the pit-like area of the ruins.
"Yes. This is the place, but I don't remember it being so overrun with all this," Dwibb said looking over the green covered ruins. The miscellaneous trees and nature surrounding the actual ruins almost formed a pattern as even two enlarged leaves covered the entrance of the ruins almost purposely acting as doors over the already worn and wooden doors.
"Well, this can be fixed… unlike my robes," Rylon said disgusted the spider innards tarnished his robes ever so cruelly. He just wanted to get home to put on a new wardrobe, caring little for the mission at hand.
"It can be fixed…" Arrik said twitching a little bit. He held his hand out as a blue flame began to emerge from his hand. "I can engulf the area in holy flame."
"No!" Dwibb said getting in front of Arrik, as if his small stature would be a suitable prevention between the Norn and the plants. "Let me deal with them. I don't want you ruining any chance at us finding the seed. Besides, I don't want you harming these old plants."
"And yet you're fine with the trees and brush I cut and mauled through before?" Arrik wondered of the Bioengineer's new appreciation of the plants.
"Yes. Those are your everyday plants that you mangled. These… they appear to be protecting the ruins, or perhaps the seed within. These I must have and study. They could be conscious plants with purpose…" Dwibb said pulling out an elongated gun.
"Like the Sylvari?" Rylon added looking over the gun.
The gun resembled a rifle with only a single barrel. Bottles of some kind lined each side of the back of the gun as tubes ran from the trigger area to the barrel.
"I guess. The Sylvari all appear to have a purpose, at least to themselves." Dwibb pushed buttons and tweaked parts of the gun, readying it.
"What is that thing?" Rylon asked wondering just where he pulled the big gun from. It looked to be just as tall as the Asura holding it if it were to be stood up from the handles to barrel end.
"This is my Seed-enizer. It's a nice gun," Dwibb said admiring his work, "that fires a compound me and my Krewe came up with."
"And what does the compound do?" Arrik asked concerned. He was always protective and liked to know everything he could about his surroundings, making sure those among him were safe, despite his feelings for them.
"It makes seeds of course," Dwibb said firing at the entrance of the ruins.
The gun shot out a projectile that broke upon pillar in which Dwibb shot it. The pillar toppled over from the shot, but the amount of vines around it caught it and prevented it from falling further. A light green and yellow gas erupted from the shot canister and spread out, dispersing among the front ruins and then some. It looked to have no effect other than color the air for minutes until fully dispersed.
"Those are quite some seeds," Arrik commented sarcastically seeing the lack of results.
"So impatient bookah Norn," Dwibb lowered his gun and smiled.
"I thought time was precious?" Arrik asked grinning, watching Dwibb's smile turn more serious and peeved. Dwibb was going to comment, but his smile returned seeing the leaves, vines and trees around the ruins shrink.
"See," Dwibb commented resting the gun on his shoulder.
The plant life appeared to be receding into themselves, collecting at their roots. After some time, the ruins were cleared and small flickers of light resembling lightning bugs could be seen shining from the ground randomly in a bright yellow. Some of the lights shown through the topsoil.
"What are those little lights?" Rylon asked looking at the assortment of them. He saw one only a few feet in front of him and went to pick it up.
"Don't! Those are the seeds of these plants. The compound I created causes them to glow when they are in their seedling form," Dwibb said running over to Rylon picking up the seed and placing it in a small sack.
"Well short stuff, you got the job done," Arrick complimented amazed at the product of the Asura mind.
The plants now gone revealed the ruins as a whole. Smaller columns, only a few inches taller than Arrik lead to the main entrance to the ruins and around the ancient stone commode. The main chamber of the ruins looked in pretty good shape on the outside, to Arrik anyways. He went to take a better look.
"These ruins… they look Orrian," Rylon noticed seeing little designs and carvings that reminded him of Orr.
"Orr? That's not impossible I suppose, it isn't all that far away, though it might have been quite the trek," Dwibb commented still picking up the little yellow lights.
"And look over there," Arrik said pointing with a small half grin.
A cave still partially covered by vines stood out about seven yards from the ruins to the right that the brush had covered before Dwibb's gun.
"By the mysteries of alchemy… I did not notice that before! Good eyes again Soulclaw!" Dwibb shouted running over to it. Rylon subtly made his way to a small glowing yellow seed nearby and picked one up out of spite towards the little Asura. He looked it over quick before placing it in his tailored sack at his side without the Norn or Asura noticing.
Arrik didn't move. Arrik was too busy overlooking the ruins, making sure no ancient traps or dangers may be hidden from the outside. He walked around slightly to look over the entirety while Rylon joined Dwibb at the cave.
"By death, Grenth! Those are Sylvari remains!" Rylon shouted bending over at the three withered bodies before the cave mouth.
Dwibb ran out from the small cave, disappointed no seeds were inside, but happy to hear someone shout something interesting. "Human… you're right. They are Sylvari," Dwibb said bending over with Rylon, "though even by their withered state they appear to be different if only slightly." Dwibb said noticing differences in their anatomy.
"I can use these…" Rylon said grinning. He wriggled his fingers as an unholy green impression formed in and around his palms.
"No!" Dwibb shouted as Rylon stopped.
"What now…" Rylon asked irked. He hadn't yet noticed his robe was snagged on a branch too far away to be converted to a seed.
"Let me just," Dwibb started without finishing while taking some of the Sylvari remains. He ripped off parts of their arms and abdomen, "Ok, you can have them."
"Alright." Rylon again casted his spell and within seconds, the remains began to move about. The three Sylvari bodies began to illuminate in the same unholy radiance while squirming and contorting about, once again appearing alive. They managed to stand to their feet and looked ready for commands.
"They feel off. I wonder how old these remains are," Rylon noted with a hand at his three new cohorts.
"I'd say they can't be too old, as Sylvari remains usually return to the earth within weeks of their demise, but these do appear different. Their withering cycle is complete, but they are not completely withered away. This is fascinating."
Dwibb looked them over more acutely now that they stood sluggish and full of unlife thanks to Rylon's necromancy.
"Hey," shouted Arrik from the ruin walls, "These ruins aren't too big, only about the size of a room. A small room at best. How is this important?"
Dwibb looked over to Arrik. "Yes, I know. The tablet is in there on a pedestal and it's extremely important Soulclaw."
"Orrian's and their elaborate ways would only make a single room for this?" Arrik asked the Asura from the ruins. "That don't make sense." He murmured under his breath while looking over the same spots he's been gazing at in wonder.
"Come on Rylon, bring your new bio-contraptions."
Dwibb and Rylon made their way to the ruin doors where Arrik stood at a loss.
"Ok Arrik, open the doors," Dwibb ordered while approaching him.
"To be honest, the doors look as if they were just placed here. They are off the hinges." Arrik walked up to the door in his curiosity and pushed it a little. The door swayed, but did not fully fall. It just proved his point that they were not on the hinges. "See."
"Well, I don't care what way the door is you dim bookah! Push them over, pull them down, whatever you want!" Dwibb was impatient and it showed, "Just get them out of my way!"
Arrik smiled and took hold of the door by its ends. It took most of his arms length to take hold and yanked up, heaving it in the air over his head. Parts of the stone around where the door was crumbled to the ground. Arrik threw the door aside and peered in. "Uh, you don't need both doors off, do you?" he asked Dwibb.
"No. We can go in," Dwibb nodded with a happy face, "Come on pink skins, lets go."
The three walked in, Rylon with his three risen.
Inside resembled a small church of sorts, only without the pews. The floor littered with old stones and collapsed roofing with green weeds and colorful flowers that the rain and sunshine managed to hit from the holes in the roof. Elaborate gold and rare stone lined the walls in designs and miscellaneous treasures. There were no windows, but old candlesticks stood at the four corners and on each side of the altar. Their wax since melted to the ground beneath the long four feet candle sticks. The altar in the middle of the room held the tablet Dwibb spoke of.
"Ah ha! There it is! At last!" Dwibb said running to the tablet.
"Must have been in a hurry to write the tablet…" Arrik mentioned seeing the tool and stone used to carve the tablet right next to it.
"Well, at least the mission pays off," Rylon said with an evil grin and half opened eyes while glaring eagerly at the gold treasures.
"Stop Rylon," Arrik shouted, "They are more than likely trapped."
"Trapped? They look free to take to me…" Rylon added knowing exactly what Arrik meant, despite his asinine comment.
"Rylon. I don't want you to doom us all by your selfish indulgences. They are probably rigged to set off something," Arrik said with dim glare to the human.
"I don't believe they are Arrik. There are no bodies of thieves trying to steal the treasures or even any signs of traps." Rylon wanted to yank up at least the gold statue of a tree, but felt he had to hesitate for Arrik's sake.
"Trust me. Even the Orrian's prepared their belongings from thieves. I highly doubt these useless items aren't trapped Rylon. Just leave them be. Please, by the Bear herself, just please."
"Useless? They are precious!" Rylon said ignoring Arrik's plea, "I can sell these for some gold," Rylon then looked over and saw a set of gold statues lined and trimmed with silver of the six gods many humans worshipped. Each statue had a single gem at the base of each statue resembling the god appropriately with color and shape. "And those! I can even get platinum for those!" Rylon said walking over to the small statues. The one of Grenth caused his inner kleptomaniac to go wild. All he wanted was to snatch it up and place it on his mantle in his home.
"Money is worthless, especially from ruins," Arrik tried knowing full well items of old are in fact valuable, "Sure it buys goods and necessities, but in the long run, that's not what it's all about." Arrik looked up noticing loose stones overhead now knowing he was right all along. "Surviving and carrying on your legacy for generations is what you should be concerned of. Or even doing something to benefit all of Tyria." Arrik pointed up at the stones with a haughty look, but Rylon wasn't paying attention.
"You Norn always looking to the past," Rylon said smugly with disgust. His values and sights aligned differently. "Besides, I need gold for a new robe thanks to -you-," Rylon implemented to Arrik while waving his hand. A green glow encompassed his hand as one of his new servants slumped over to the Grenth statue. Rylon commanded his minion to pick it up, in case it was trapped. Once it was picked up, a clicking sound was heard, which turned into a snap.
"Fool!" Arrik shouted swinging his maul upward, ready for what trap may be set off. A stone, about the size of the Norn's torso, had been dropped at the snap. It fell atop the risen minion and flattened him out; the Grenth statue falling to the ground, yet oddly landing the right way up, as if weighted. After the immense stone crushed the undead servant, it rolled around slightly.
"I-I'm sorry," Rylon started while hunkering over, peering up for more.
"Next time listen to my instincts instead of your foolish greed human," Arrik said with a maddened face. He looked up seeing many stones being held up, each held in place by an old apparatus. Arrik shook his head and relaxed a little before hearing Dwibb.
"Bookah's! Quiet down and stop making a ruckus! I'm trying to decipher this tablet!" Dwibb screamed to the two frustrated the tablet didn't give anything new for him to draw from.
After the scream they began to hear a crackling and little pebbles falling from the roof. Arrik wondered how the roof was even still together hearing the sounds.
"Dwibb! Move away from the stones!" Arrik shouted. Dwibb looked up and aligned himself where no stones were. Arrik jerked Rylon to him and stood still, standing over the small human, bracing for a possible impact. Rylon twitched at the action, causing his minions to sprawl to the corners of the room.
A few seconds passed as the crackling and creaking stopped.
"Hmm. That proved-" Dwibb started before all the stones fell from the ceiling. Each boulder hit the ground with a boom and cracked the ground beneath it, rolling around after the fall. During the falling chaos, parts of the roof too collapsed, plunging towards the three. From an outside view, it looked as if the mission was over.
"Everyone alright?" Arrik shouted trying to look past the dust after everything settled. He hefted pieces away with ease, glad the roof was made lightly.
"I'm fine big one," Dwibb grunted, exasperated his work was hindered while squirming through some rubble.
"Hey, what was that noise?" Rylon asked shaking his head. He was thankful the Norn was two times his size to cover him from the collapsing roof.
"What noise?" Dwibb asked disgruntled by the events that had taken place.
"That breaking noise before the roof fell in on us. I heard something like glass or-" Rylon started before Dwibb interrupted.
"It might be that…" Dwibb added now looking past the tablet.
A large puncture in the ground now showed a whole new layer to the ruins. One of the giant rocks had fallen through a secret set of doors build onto the ground behind the altar. Right from the hole was stairs, leading to something, but what was unknown with the darkness beneath.
"Rylon… I have never been happier that someone nearly ended my life with their idiocy," Dwibb said with a joyous, dusty face. He leapt down from atop the alter by the tablet he was ready to reexamine; now ready to examine the new find.
"Thanks, I suppose…" Rylon said making his way over the fallen roofing to the new hole in the ruined floor. His two remaining servants followed.
"You two should wait, I'm betting there are more traps," Arrik said with haste, quickly making his way to the hole.
The three stood over the hole staring into the abyss of black beyond the stairs. Arrik noticed something swaying above the part of the stairs by the edge of where his vision stopped.
"The rock that smashed through actually might have gotten rid of our troubles," Arrik said unknowing that his words was the approval for the eager two to begin descending. "Hey, wait! Be careful, at least-"
"Hush bookah. Just come along and protect us," Dwibb commented bringing out a small glyphic torch. The insides of the torch almost appeared fake, or at least the fire fragmented or 'engineered'.
As soon as the light flowed throughout the new area, it showed the stairs went down pretty far down. Farther than the light could shine.
"This might be a while, huh?" Rylon asked seeing this.
The five made their way down the steps at a fairly decent pace, save the two undead. Despite their legs being tired from the journey prior getting to the ruins, the adventurous three strode down the steps eager to see what the darkness had in store for them at the end of the staircase. After much silence, finally the Asura spoke seeing a floor.
"Ah, I thought it'd never end." Dwibb leapt down the last couple steps and peered as best he could around the room. It was no bigger than the staircase, but went on longer.
"More walking… wonderful," Rylon said sighing, magically tugging his minions closer to him.
"Yes, but let me lead this impulse adventure," Arrik said making his way to the front, "Rylon, stay at our rear with your new friends."
"I'm already here," Rylon said confused knowing Arrik knew this.
"Good. An overachiever." Arrik held his maul out and up slightly, as if he too held a torch. After a few seconds, the maul lit a majority of the ancient corridor as the maul head itself became engulfed in holy blue flame.
"Hey, my torch could have sufficed…" Dwibb commented being offended of Arrik's action.
"Could have, but doesn't. Now put it away and arm yourselves." Arrik knew there was no way of turning back now, this especially since Dwibb's sought after seed might be within this new cellar. Arrik sighed and could hear the Great Spirit whispering his name and marched onward.
"Arm ourselves? For what?" Dwibb asked withdrawing two daggers. They were like short swords to the Asura.
"Incase we run into trouble of course. Now who's this 'dim booka' you speak about a lot," Arrik responded.
"It's -bookah-, thank you, and we need not arm ourselves for darkness. There is nothing here that can harm us Soulclaw."
"And you know this how?" argued Arrik wondering how the Asura could be so smart, yet so ill prepared for real world scenarios.
"I just do. My seed is somewhere in here and that is all."
"Well Dwibb, you might be right on that," Arrik said now walking over grass, weeds and miscellaneous flora from the stone they walked.
"This is most interesting," Dwibb said looking down, "How does this grow without sunlight?"
"Might it be because they are darker colored?" Rylon added noticing the nature growing was not the usual green, or even close for that matter.
"You know, you might be right human…" Dwibb added caressing a dark pedaled flower. Even the middle a dark amber from the yellow it should be.
"The grass and stuff are black too. That's weird." Arrik did not know his plant life, but at least knew if it grew from the ground, most of it should be green. Not this black color everything was.
"I must have this flower," Dwibb said taking out a small vial. He dripped a little on the flower, in which began to recede in on itself into a seed. Dwibb collected it and smiled. "Onward Soulclaw!"
Arrik huffed and kept going. This only lasted several feet before the walls began to go outward into a bigger chamber.
"Now we're talking!" Dwibb mumbled seeing a bigger room.
The room they were now in was filled with paralleled pillars everywhere. Every couple of feet a pillar from the floor extended to the top of the ceiling. Each pillar had a torch to the side.
"Now we can see!" Dwibb said sheathing his daggers and taking back out the torch. He approached the one and extended as high as his arm could with his mechanical flame only to realize he couldn't reach the torches on the pillar in which he stood.
"Soulclaw. Light these," he said embarrassed at his tallness.
"Of course…" Arrik said with a grin. He whirled his maul around slightly as the blue flame it put off followed. Arrik held out his other hand with another blue flame now extending from the palm. He mumbled something to himself and after a few more seconds a blue flame immolated his body and armor and spread outward in a seven foot blast radius. As the flame spread, it lit each torch that it hit.
"Bookah!" Dwibb shouted putting out the fire atop his head.
'Hey, you said to light them," Arrik responded with a chuckle.
"What is that?" Rylon asked looking out where the new torches shown. He was hitting his minions he had used as shields from the fire and was trying to put out the flames on the two undead while trying to figure out what he was looking at.
The other two looked to see a large type of globular peapod on the ground. It was a black color with dark greens, yellows, and red. A stem attached from it extended to an unusual spiked oval-like ball from atop the stone table it rested.
"No!" shouted Dwibb running up to the pod. "The seed has sprouted… but it looks to have tried to flower, but is cracked or broken." Dwibb overlooked the seed and plant that came from it. He caressed it looking at each detail.
"All for nothing I guess. Hmph. Figures," Arrik said heaving his maul atop his shoulder.
"No Soulclaw. This pod has something in it. I must see what is in it." Dwibb pulled out both daggers, ready to cut into the peapod.
"Shouldn't we not do that?" Rylon offered, "What if a Sylvari is inside?"
Dwibb froze in place and merely looked over to the human as if he was offering sound advice in a dire situation. "Rylon, you might be right. If these are of the same seeds, there might just be a Sylvari or some kind of new life form like it inside. This might not be the tree forming." Dwibb looked the pod over in a new light. It was about the size and looked as if it could house a normal humanoid.
"Well, cut the thing open, let's see." Arrik said, just wanting to get back to the Shiverpeaks.
"I will Norn, calm it! I must be exact and careful," Dwibb said wielding both his daggers.
Dwibb looked around in need of a stool of sorts, to make up for his lacking height. He saw nothing and became frustrated.
"Soulclaw!" Dwibb shouted as if the Norn wasn't right near him, "Go find me a stone slab or block somewhere. I need it to stand on if I am to do this carefully."
"Uh, alright," Arrik said with no arguments. He wanted away from the weird pod. Arrik knew something was inside, but even newly created saplings from the Grove aren't dangerous. He as perfectly fine with wandering off in search a large stone. Arrik latched his maul to his back as the head stayed lit up. Though the flame fiercely flickered and scorched from the maul so close to his head, he walked off unfazed. The holy flame would not burn its creator.
"Good. The tall bookah is gone. Put to good use." Dwibb looked over the pod and figured out where he should start.
"Hey, speaking of put to good use. Let me," Rylon said waving his hand to Dwibb. The two minions went to Dwibb. Dwibb looked nervous, unsure if Rylon had good intentions or not, but thankful he had two daggers wielded. After they reached Dwibb, the first laid on the ground as the other laid across the other right next to the pod, creating a type of step for the Asura.
"Would you look at that!" Dwibb shouted with glee. He hopped up the undead steps and smiled wide. "Thanks Rylon. I might just give you extra once we return. You've been quite helpful unlike that dumb Norn."
"Oh, thank you Dwibb. I'd like that."
"No problem human," Dwibb started as he placed a dagger at the edge of where he wanted to cut, "I'll even let you take that Grenth statue. I saw how you looked at it. I was looking at the gear cog in gold myself." He began cutting, the pod wall slicing away like butter upon a heated blade.
"I say let's take what we want!" Rylon exclaimed eagerly, "That dumb Norn doesn't know that Tyria runs on gold! If you don't have gold, you can't have what you want in this world."
"I agree human. We should just make him carry it all too," Dwibb said.
The two shared a laugh. After Dwibb continued cutting the pod. After some minutes passed, the pod began to break away by itself, as if Dwibb had been cutting along a dotted line. The front of it opened to reveal a body within.
"By the Infinite Alchemy…" Dwibb said backing away as much as standing on two corpses would allow.
The body within a fully grown female Sylvari, however its make up different. The leaves, skin, and even the hair ebon in hue. Everything about the Sylvari black. Nothing about it any other color at all. The skin of it looked more humanoid and not near as leaf-like, though leaves were attached to it randomly like a Sylvari. The breasts, of which Rylon starred at, were a perfect bosom, only pitch black. The most disturbing thing about it was there was no face to the Sylvari. The face was nothing but a chaotic, swirling crater of darkness and shadows. No eyes. No mouth. No nose. Nothing but the void of clashing shadows.
"What is it?" Rylon asked trying desperately to look away from the private parts of the being before him.
"I do not know. It is a new creation!" Dwibb bellowed with thrill. He looked over every detail and wondered what he should call the dark Sylvari.
"Rylon, what would you name such a magnificent piece?" Dwibb asked elegantly with a half grin.
"Name? I have no clue. I'll leave that to you." Again Rylon found himself looking over the inappropriate areas of the creature. He himself was just a creature of habit and could not help himself.
"Ew. Human," Dwibb said noticing Rylon's gaze, "I'll admit she's quite well endowed, but no human. No."
The rest of the time Dwibb studied and finished his examination was silent, as Rylon was embarrassed and Dwibb disgusted slightly. After a few minutes, Dwibb stood up fully.
"My word! I can save the seed!" Dwibb smiled in glee.
"How?" Rylon asked looking over the pod.
"I can cut the pod free of the seed and use my formula to cause it to go back into the seed. It's a win-win for me!" Dwibb danced about atop the two undead Sylvari.
"Alright then," Rylon added chuckling at the dancing Asura.
"Ok. I will need your help though human. Take the daggers and cut the stem of the pod when I tell you to. I'll apply the formula right after."
"Ok."
Rylon got the daggers from Dwibb and approached the stem. He placed a dagger where he wanted to cut and realized he had two. Rylon shrugged his shoulders and placed the other dagger right next to it, ready to make a scissor-like cut when Dwibb said to.
"Ok. Good. That looks good Rylon," Dwibb said making sure Rylon was positioned correctly. He leapt from the pod to the stone slab where the seed was, making sure to be careful. "I'll apply the formula right here at the base, so when you cut, it will withdraw into itself before it can tell it was cut."
"Ok, well I'm ready here," Rylon commented holding the daggers.
Dwibb smiled. "Now!"
Rylon cut, separating the pod from the seed. Right as Rylon cut, Dwibb dripped the formula onto the stalk. The remaining part of the stem returned into itself as the pod laid dormant. Glowing brightly, Dwibb felt his heart skip a beat at the perfection that just occurred.
"Yes!" Dwibb shouted, but as soon as he howled in happy vigor, the Sylvari within screamed in agony, causing Dwibb to fall from the two undead. The top risen Sylvari fell onto Dwibb in the action as Rylon just backed up scared of the scream.
The black Sylvari sat up from her pod with all kinds of blackened tendrils still clutching to her. She moved about chaotically in pain and crawled out of the pod, severing the roots still into her.
"Whoa, whoa. Calm down lady!" Rylon said, unsure what to do or say.
The black Sylvari whipped its faceless head around to the human and stood up, still wobbly. "Sha-Tha-Lia" she emoted to them.
"What?" He retorted while raising his arms in the air shrugging. The action showed the daggers in his hands. "That your name?"
The female plant being sprung up seeing the daggers and extended a hand to Rylon. Blackness erupted from her hand and enveloped the ground around Rylon. The dark strands twisted and coursed in circles around Rylon's shadow on the ground from the torches. With each second that passed, Rylon's body became thinner and looked more and more dire. Rylon's body finally fell to the ground entirely emaciated beneath the once pristine robes. His skin now was completely black with dark and dusty smoke flowing from his eye sockets. The two undead Sylvari he had summoned fell dormant and back into the death slumber.
"Rylon! No!" Dwibb shouted while starring at the new Sylvari.
"Sha-Tha-Lia," the Sylvari spoke again in the unknown tongue as it's face and features finally became evident, as if it sucked essence from Rylon's shadow and channeled it into herself to make these new features.
"I, uh, don't know what you mean Shalia" Dwibb tried, not knowing exactly what she said. He tried to get up while still pinned under the corpse.
Shathalia, newly deemed, leapt up to where Rylon's body was and grabbed the daggers. She then cleaved right through Dwibb's neck and leapt back to where she was originally. She stretched some and stopped suddenly. Shathalia looked to Dwibb's body and toyed with her fingers. After a couple seconds, Dwibb's headless body began to rise and take form, using Rylon's necromancy to raise his colleague.
"No!" Arrik said hurling the boulder he had found from it's initial fall into the dark chamber at the new dark Sylvari.
Shathalia dodged it easily and went to strike, but before she could, the light emanating from Arrik shown all too bright for her black eyes. She screamed in terror, causing Arrik to hold his head away with his other hand readied with the maul. The scream itself caused all the lights to go out save the bright fiery light from Arrik.