AN: Not much to say up here this time, so let's get to the chapter! Remember to review if you like it! :D
Heroes Guild
At the Heroes Guild, Rose paced anxiously as she awaited communication from Sparrow that she had successfully infiltrated Lucien's army. She had been doing so ever since she had returned to the Guild, only taking breaks to sleep. The elder sister wasn't the only one who was anxious and worried either...Hammer had left to vent some frustration, probably by training. Theresa may not have shown it, but she was worried too. The inside of the Spire...even she did not truly know what was going on in there. Thus, the fact that everyone in the group was waiting for Sparrow to contact them with the Guild Seal.
Rose finally stopped pacing, and clenched her fists tightly before sighing. Sitting down on the ancient stone beneath her, the young Hero tried to calm her mind. Worrying was doing no one any good...she needed to stay calm, so that she could help if needed. Of course, her worry came back in full force, when a frown crossed Theresa's face.
Her ancient ancestor never frowned. What seemed innocuous on anyone else, spoke volumes on the old Seer.
"What is it? Is Sparrow okay?" Rose was quickly on her feet, standing next to the old woman.
Theresa turned fully to the younger woman, "I do not know. I felt as if she was trying to contact me with the Guild Seal...but I could not hear her voice. Nor can my voice reach her."
Rose backed up slowly, "Why? What could do that?"
"I do not know. The Seal may have been taken from her. The Spire may be interfering with it. Or she may be..."
Theresa didn't need to finish her sentence. Rose knew very well what she was suggesting...and it hit her like a knife to her heart. The young woman stumbled backwards, before her legs gave out beneath her and she fell to the floor. Sitting on the floor of the Chamber of Fate, Rose held her hands to her face. Her body shook, as the thought ran through her head...had Sparrow been discovered? She had no weapons...only her Will, something that could only go so far.
Why had she let her sister go alone? If Sparrow had died...if Lucien had killed her sister...
"No...she's alive. She has to be alive!" Rose shouted, jumping back to her feet, daring Theresa to disagree with her.
The old Seer merely stared at Rose, before shaking her head slightly, "I want to believe that just as much as you do Rose. None of my visions have shown Sparrow die."
"So it's probably just the Spire?" the younger woman asked hopefully.
Theresa nodded, "That is the most likely answer. I can not know for certain however."
Rose nodded herself, before letting out a breath she had been holding in. Her hands clenched and unclenched, as the young Hero tried to control her raging emotions. Worry, anger, sadness...her emotional state was a wreck to be honest. Not that anyone could blame her, considering what she had gone through thinking her sister was dead for ten years...the idea of something happening to Sparrow...when she was somewhere where Rose could not help her...it was a miracle really that Rose wasn't worse off than she was.
Taking in a deep breath, the Hero moved to the Cullis Gate. She retrieved her weapons from the chest next to the device...her eyes lingering on Sparrow's equipment. Shaking her head sadly, Rose walked up to the Gate. Theresa had followed her, watching the elder sister as she stood on the glowing device. The Seer's face was as unreadable as ever, but it seemed she had something to say. So Rose looked right into her face, and silently gave permission.
"Where are you going?" the old woman asked.
A simple enough question...but one that Rose couldn't really answer. She wasn't sure where she was going. She just needed to get out of the Guild and do something before she went insane from worry.
"I don't know," the Hero replied, "I don't know...I just need to get out of here, so I can keep my mind occupied and not think about what could...be happ..."
Her voice cracked before she could finish. Theresa nodded, and gave what she probably thought was a comforting look. It just looked out of place on the old Seers face...though Rose appreciated the effort, lingering dislike aside.
"Very well. Perhaps you may find a quest in Oakfield?"
"Maybe...I'll be back whenever I can calm down."
With that, the blue light grew brighter, before depositing Rose atop Hero Hill. Remaining inside the Chamber of Fate, Theresa walked back to her little desk. She was not blind (well, not in the emotional sense anyway) and could tell that Rose was hiding some serious pain and worry. Even more so than she actually had shown. Then again, the same was true of the Seer herself. It was very rare for a Guild Seal to lose all communications with the Master Seal in the Guild. Almost unheard of actually, and it was something that was very worrying.
Nostro and Scythe had built the Guild with the best materials and technology, magical and mundane, that they had available. While it was true that it was ruined, that did not mean it would have an impact on communication via-the Seals. The very fact that Theresa could not hear Sparrow, or communicate with her, implied something other than a problem with the Guild.
The Spire is more powerful than I had imagined...to overwhelm the Guild in its current state...
Theresa had always known the Spire would be powerful...she knew as much ever since she first read about it in Samarkand. She had just not known exactly what that entailed. The Spire was ancient...built by an Archon. That alone put it above the majority of ruins in Albion...even above the Guild in some respects. If Lucien already had mastered the control of the Shards, it was possible he had captured Sparrow and cut off her Seal from the Guild.
It was also possible that the Spire just blocked her communication attempts on its own. There was no way to know without getting into the structure herself. And that was a risk she could not take, despite the sword sitting next to the table. Sparrow was on her own, however much it worried everyone she had left behind in Albion.
Oakfield
For her part, Rose wandered the streets of Oakfield. The peaceful village managed to sooth her nerves somewhat, as it always did. Purposely avoiding looking at the Spire in the distance, the young woman went to her home, where Petal whimpered at the door. Her little canine friend had never left the building, electing to remain where Sparrow would likely return. Always loyal...Rose loved that about her sister's companion.
Sitting down next to the dog, Rose scratched behind his ear, smiling sadly.
"I'm worried about her too boy," the young Hero said, "so worried..."
Petal licked at Rose's hand, getting a small smile out of her. Continuing to pet her sister's old companion, Rose tried to push her worries from her head. She was managing somewhat, until a monk from the Temple of Light came running up to the house. Standing up, the young woman walked down to the monk, who seemed out of breath. Letting the man recover, Rose wondered what was going on.
"We need help! The Temple of Shadows...they are trying to corrupt the Wellspring!" the man got out between pants.
Rose frowned, "Corrupt? How?"
"We don't know really...the ways of the Shadows are a mystery to us. But we can't stop them ourselves, we need help!"
Rose looked up at the Temple of Light. She had a soft-spot for the place considering it was here Hammer was from, and the Abbot was a good friend. By the same token, she had no more knowledge of the Temple of Shadows than the monk did. She knew they were, basically, the same as the Temple of Skorm from the time of the Guild...worshiping darkness and all things evil. There were suitably scary rumors, such as needing to sacrifice someone to get in...the closer the better, to the point that sacrificing your spouse was considered the ultimate evil.
Needless to say, neither of the sisters had a good opinion of the place. She just didn't know what they could really do to 'corrupt' the Wellspring. Will users were so rare, that the idea that one of them could be involved with the Shadows was hard to believe. And nothing else could really corrupt the Spring. Still, she needed something to take her mind off of the Spire, and this worked well enough.
"I'll help," the young Hero finally said.
"Thank you! You need to hurry to the cave before they can finish!"
Nodding, Rose started sprinting with Petal running alongside her.
It didn't take long to reach the Wellspring, the entrance much the same as when Sparrow had been there. Heading down the stairs, Rose entered the darkness. Torches still lit the walls, as she ran through the cave. Wisps still floated along the ceiling, though this time no Hollow Men attacked. In fact, the Hero didn't encounter anyone until she reached the first spring site.
Chanting echoed off the walls as she entered the central chamber. Dark chanting, a deep male voice speaking words that she didn't understand. Lancer came out of its sheath noiselessly as Rose crept down the wisp-lit cavern towards the first spring. The chanting grew louder the closer she got, until the young woman entered the room. Standing atop the platform where the water would fill the jug, was a man garbed in dark robes. He didn't even acknowledge the presence of the Hero, as he continued to chant.
Rose looked around the room cautiously, before firing lightning at the man...who promptly fell over, dead from a single hit.
Okay...that was too easy... she thought, as the room suddenly seemed to contract around her.
"Well, now look what you've done! There goes our bonus!" a voice echoed off the wall, as three of the Highwaymen fell to the ground around the young Hero.
Rose brought her silver blade up in a guard position, watching the men begin circling her. The one on the left leaped forward, blade coming down on the Hero's head. Lancer came up and took the blow, as Rose pushed back against the man. The bandit began to leap back, as Rose swung her blade forward at him. The tip of the silver blade cleaved through the man's eyes, sending him down to the ground, a hand on his face.
The second Highwayman cursed and ran at Rose, blade held almost like a spear. The Hero frowned, as she rolled to the side, blade flashing forward. The bandit fell to the ground with a large gash through his chest. These men were not as good as the first one...if anything, they seemed like regular Bandits, not the superman the first had been. Had she really gained that much power in the intervening time?
"Damn! They aren't paying enough for this!" the last man shouted, before leaping into the air and vanishing from sight.
Rose didn't make an effort to chase him. She brought her blade down on the blinded bandit, before leaving the spring behind.
"Why do this? Money? What good does money do when you ruin an entire town?" the Hero muttered, as she moved to the second spring site...repeating the same process as at the first.
All that remained to be done was secure the last site. However, Rose got a rude shock as she walked into that room. The largest of the spring sites, the final one had a central platform, where light would normally shine down upon the jug to allow a blessing. Instead, shadows suffused the room, as the last of the Temple of the Shadow acolytes stood on the platform. That wasn't what was shocking...not even the encroaching darkness. What was shocking, was the man himself.
Unlike the last pair, this man had blades around his head. Much like Garth or Sparrow in fact...marking this man as a Hero. A dark Hero, but one nonetheless. Rose didn't hesitate, and fired her most powerful lightning attack at the man...only to watch as the blue electricity skittered across a barrier before fading from sight. The man laughed cruelly, as he looked at the stunned Hero sister.
"You cannot hurt me, Cornelius Grim! I am the leader of the Temple of Shadows, and your pathetic powers are nothing compared to the Darkness!" the man, Grim, shouted.
Rose frowned, and started circling the platform, looking for some weakness in the man's shield. Grim watched her, a grin on his face as his white eyes followed her around. Firing spells and bullet at the man, the young Hero could only watch as every attack fizzled out against the barrier surrounding the Leader of Shadows, who seemed invulnerable to any attack she sent at him.
"I told you...it's impossible to hurt me! Now, I tire of your presence...kill her now."
Rose, who had by now returned to the platform running through the room, saw three more Highwaymen drop down from the ceiling. The men spun their katanas, looking amongst each other, to decide who would attack the Hero first. Result?
Three shots rang out, and three bandits fell to the ground with holes through their brains. Rose had still had her turret rifle drawn, and that meant fast firing. She wasn't inclined to let the men get close again, so she just shot them as soon as they had landed. Turning back to Grim, she found the man looking bored if anything. He just shrugged at the death of the Bandits, before turning to Rose.
"Those were just mortal men...bought with exorbitant amounts of gold..." the man said dismissively, "now I shall show you what the power of Shadow can do, with the Wellsprings energy feeding into me! COME!"
Wisps flew down into the room, surrounding Rose on all sides. The Hero drew Lancer, as Hollow Men sprung up from all around her. A dozen of the husks ranged through the room, blades and ancient armor scraping against dessicated flesh and crumbling bones. Rose watched for any signs of movement, before the Hollow Men charged right at her. Holding her longsword in one hand, the Hero blocked a blow from a Hollow Man, while simultaneously throwing lightning at a pair on her other side. While not as effective as on a living creature, the force behind the attack still blew apart the ancient bones.
Pushing aside the first blade, the Hero kicked the Hollow Man in the chest, the ancient ribs shattering as the body flew to the ground. Another ran forward, trying to decapitate Rose. Her shining silver blade came up and blocked the blow, before coming down, shattering the corpses skull. Another swing shattered a third Hollow Man, as Rose danced amongst the corpses. They were deceptively strong...but also slow and fragile.
Grim glared at the Hero as the last of his corpses fell, "So you defeated the Hollow Men. Now I will...AAAAHHH!"
Rose flinched back slightly, at the scream of pain from the man. The blades around his head grew brighter and brighter, as more power seemed to be drawn into the Leader of Shadow's body. The man's head fell to his chest, before coming back up...his formerly white eyes glowing brilliantly red. A feral grin spread across Grim's pained face, as the man looked down on the young woman.
"I have become Shadow...your God."
Grim's blades vanished as a plume of pure darkness enveloped his body. Coming out of the darkness, was a literal Shadow, the black creature drawing in all light, and leaving nothing but blackness behind...with the exception of the glowing red eyes. Standing tall, the Shadow bore a dark blade, that it brought around in a flourish at Rose. The Hero brought Lancer up to block the blow, surprise in her eyes as the blade caught on her own, despite seemingly being made of nothing but dark shadows.
Shadow pushed forward, knocking Rose back. Falling into the water, Rose rolled to the side as Shadow attempted to stab her while she was down. Flinging lightning at the creature, she was rewarded with a sound of pain, as the Shadow twitched from the lightning pouring through it. Rose brought Lancer down in an overhead swing...all her strength poured into the blow. The aftershocks from the lightning kept Shadow from blocking...as the silver blade cleaved it in two. A last scream of pain echoed through the Wellspring, as Rose panted.
Is this what I will have to do? Fight people so determined that they become the very thing that everyone hates?
Spire: Week One
On the Spire, Sparrow awoke with a pounding ringing through her head. Shakily getting to her feet, the young Hero felt odd, even beyond the headache. Looking down, she saw her clothing...instead of her leather armor, she now wore the bulky red-black Spire uniform. The clothing felt off...like it was constricting her, despite being so large that it seemingly barely fit. Shaking her head at the feeling, Sparrow's eyes widened, as she felt...nothing.
Reaching a hand up to her hair...she felt empty air. Her hand gripped nothing, as it came down on a bald head. The young woman's eyes narrowed.
They shaved my head?!
It was a sign of how much the headache was messing with her, that her missing hair was the first thing to gain Sparrow's ire. Quickly realizing that fact, the Hero noticed a Guard looking down on her. The man seemed impatient, as he waited for the 'new recruit' to acknowledge him. Sparrow looked at the man's face, as he glared down at her.
"Get up maggot! These here are the barracks...you'll be eating and sleeping here when you aren't on duty. Now get moving, the Commandant wants to...see you. And don't bother trying to take off the collar...bad things happen if ya do."
Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach, Sparrow moved out of the room. She felt the Guild Seal, relieved that it still seemed to be with her. Yet, she still couldn't contact Theresa. Taking her mind off that depressing knowledge, the Hero walked through a massive chamber, guards lining the walls. Directly in front of her was a massive pit, red banner emblazoned with the Spire hanging from it. The dark walls and sparse torches gave the room a distinctly evil appearance, even leaving aside the glaring guards.
Sparrow marched through the myriad of halls...not entirely sure where she was actually supposed to go. The Spire didn't have signposts...or any guards willing to tell her. So she merely walked forward, ascending large staircases and walking through dark, barely lit halls. Eventually, the young woman opened a door...and camp upon a large walkway, with the central structure of the Spire visible in the distance. She was so far away from the dock, that the ships looked like toys, as they continued to drop off more and more recruits...unknowing of what they were getting into.
As a Shard floated by and reminded the Hero of what she was fighting...she heard a voice calling her name.
"Hey, Sparrow! I see you've finally gotten up!" the man from the dock, Bob, waved at her.
"Yeah...how've you been?" the Hero asked, trying to be friendly.
"Grand! Can you believe they put me on guard duty? And on my first day too! I must have impressed someone!" Bob gushed, as the pair walked along the path.
Sparrow nodded slightly, as she looked to her sides. There was the long drop to her death if she tried to go to the left...and a row of prisoner cells along her right. Not metal, not wood...no bars. Just barriers, obviously made from blue Will energy. The Spire was already functional then...at least to some level.
"Oh if Lil could see me now…she's always loved a bloke in uniform," Bob continued, seemingly ignoring the prisoners whimpers, "Though I don't think she'd like the mask anymore than I did. They look properly intimidating, but I could hardly breathe in that thing."
Sparrow elected to just nod along, while she looked for any signs of an escape route. She was so wrapped up in that, she almost didn't notice when Bob came to a stop. Turning her head to watch the man, her eyes widened. Standing silently behind the barrier, was a familiar face. Garth...held in a standard cell instead of near Lucien. She almost couldn't believe her luck in finding him so soon!
"Watch out for this fellow...his name's Garth," Bob said, though Sparrow was no longer paying any attention to him. For she heard something only Theresa had done before.
"I don't know how you got in here, but I know what you are," Garth's smooth voice rang through her head.
The young woman's eyes widened ever so slightly at that. How was he communicating this way without a Guild Seal?
Before Sparrow could reply, Garth continued, "It doesn't matter, your power will do you no good as long as you wear that collar. Be patient."
She nodded slightly, her brown eyes staring right into Garth's blue. The Hero of Will inclined his head ever so slightly, letting her know that he acknowledged her. Turning away from Garth, the Hero saw Bob looking at her curiously. The man didn't seem to notice her mental conversation with Garth, but he did still give her a curious look.
"Although, he doesn't give me any trouble. Keeps nice and quiet don't you?" the man said, looking back at Garth with a distinctly unkind eye...before turning back to Sparrow, with his typical cheerful tone of voice, "Anyway, can't wait to write to Lil…tell her all about it. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow?"
Sparrow sighed, before nodding. The man...there was something off with Bob. One moment he's cheerful, the next he's acting like any other guard...and then cheerful again. Something was seriously odd there. Turning away from the Guard and Garth, she walked up another set of stairs, finding herself in a massive room, with an equally massive window at the end. Standing in front of the window, looking out at the central area of the Spire, was the Commandant...the man who had overpowered Garth.
As the Commandant turned around, Sparrow felt a shudder go down her spine. The man was not normal...and she could tell just from looking at him.
"I am the Commandant. You are Recruit 273. That number is not random. It was assigned to you because I have broken 272 recruits before you. You are nothing more than the next link in the chain," the man said, his voice echoing through the room.
The shudder got worse, as she nodded warily. The Commandant showed no emotion, as he looked down on the newly bald Hero.
"You have been brought here to oversee the reconstruction of the Tattered Spire, and to serve Lucien as he sees fit," the 'man' said, before pausing dramatically, "My job is to ensure the obedience of guards, like you."
Sparrow could tell he enjoyed his job. The way he talked when he mentioned his 'job'...she could hear it in his voice. The Commandant probably got a kick out of torturing the guards, considering he had 'broken' almost three hundred before she had even arrived. He would not break her though.
"You will do everything I tell you, without question. Failure to obey will activate the collar around your neck. This is not a pleasant experience. You will lose your willpower, as all your memories and experience are drained away. This will continue until you submit."
Like hell I will...the Hero thought, glaring up at the abomination of a man.
The Commandant merely chuckled at the look, quite convinced in his superiority. Even had he known she was a Hero, he probably would act the same, if the way he had treated Garth was any indication. Sparrow hated the way he was acting.
"Perhaps you believe you will resist. Some do at first…a misguided sense of personal honor. You must decide…is your honor really that important to you?"
"Yes it is!" Sparrow ground out, without realizing it.
The Commandant just looked down on her, cold eyes examining the woman before him. Before he merely stepped aside from the window, pointing next to him. The man didn't move after that, staring at the spot next to him. Sparrow continued to glare defiantly, not moving an inch from her current position. If he wanted her to come up there, she wouldn't give him the pleasure.
As she glared up at the man, Sparrow didn't feel that the collar around her neck grew warmer. At least, she didn't until a shock ran through her system...the pure pain, driving her to her knees, as a tortured scream was torn from her lips. The Commandant watched with a cruel smile on his face, as the Hero screamed in pain.
"You have no choice...OBEY!" Lucien's voice rang through her head, as the Hero tried to deal with the pain roaring through her body.
Sparrow felt her body growing weaker, as the collar tortured her. When it finally stopped, she panted, sweat running down her face as the Hero stared at the floor. Struggling to her feet, she continued to stare defiantly at the Commandant, who seemed unfazed by a glare that would send most men running away. Sparrow kept up the glare, until the collar activated once more. It was even more painful this time, as Sparrow fell to the floor, clawing at her neck in an attempt to get the collar away from her. She didn't even hear Lucien, as the pain overwhelmed her system.
When it stopped this time, she couldn't even find the strength to get back to her feet.
What...the...hell...I've never felt something so horrible!
Somehow finding the strength to get back to her feet, the young woman leaned on a nearby pillar, to recover her energy. Before she could even begin to recover, the collar set off a third time. Sparrow's tortured body gave out, as she blacked out from the overwhelming pain...
AN: And there we go.