Late again!? Sorry bout that!
Nothing really stopped me from posting it Saturday except my own fatigue from the last crazy 3 weeks and desire to do a lot of other things
But here it is! Finally arrived in the Negative Wastes!
Chapter Twenty Seven
The Negative Wastes
Early the next day found the troop with Pyrnaz to their backs and the snow covered fields of Regalshin before them.
Following Rhogam and Tyazaer once again with Fistivus and Lune in back, the troop headed towards the Negative Wastes.
Soren was still thinking a lot about what he and Mia spoke to Joltam about, but after that Soren recalled that he needed a blood sample from a Tellian. He strongly considered going to see Shinon and return to Mia quickly but it was inconvenient at the time and while he and Shinon weren't bitter anymore, well, as bitter, he didn't think asking Shinon of all the Greil Mercenaries would be a good idea. If the run-ins with Shinon, Uhnie and Leah meant anything, they'd eventually run into someone else and Soren was hoping for that.
To'Eltz sat on one of the merchant carts focusing extremely hard on the surrounding area. The Altar made their debut show back on the Hijtam Front and while Ejim'Wot is dead his superior Quo'Eltis is still around and no doubt looking to capture or kill To'Eltz.
Elsewhere, the remaining Dune Guard were hard at work under the watchful eye of Meloi, his escape from the Earth Road and remaining in the shadows was more of a Murawk thing, but he has stumbled across something greater and the only thing he was worried about was The Midnight.
"Meloi, sir…this tunnel-"
The Earth Archsage stood, his soldier falling silent quickly, reaching into his robe he pulled out the very item he took from To'Eltz and Jyim'Son.
Holding it, he closed his eyes.
"This will solidify my place at the head of this government…we will not be stopped after this…" Meloi bowed to the person before him, together the pair orchestrated the break away and formation of the Dune Guard in order to unite the people behind the Sarharan King and Queen.
"Once they see you know best how to deal with kinds of situations, we'll maintain our hold over all of Sarhara will be unbreakable…"
In the shadows the other nodded "When the plan comes together at midnight…this nation will no longer be a factor in the grand scheme of things…I must apologize that you are being placed in a very bad situation and can't guarantee you're survival…"
Meloi shook his head "I'll survive, I know when and where the royal forces will be coming for us, we'll put up one hell of a fight but I'll slip away and let my men die, you're leadership will seem absolute and flawless and we'll have our victory."
The person in the shadows revealed an item to Meloi; he smiled as it was hidden by the darkness again.
"I trust you'll play your role…"
Meloi walked towards the tunnel with his soldier behind him and began barking out orders, clutching the item in his grip and continuing to remember the face of the person who damned him, the person who caused his original and untimely death.
The group came to what looked like a giant mountain of snow, thanks to Rhogam's explanation, they learned that the Negative Wastes is made mostly of giant snowed in caverns, chilly and treacherous, climbing the steep snow covered cliffs is far too tiring and there are many depthless ice pools around like the ones of the Ymtar Snowfield. Neither route was easy but Rhogam and Tyazaer were determined to guide the troop to the Umbarra Mountain Trail, the only path that goes into the Umbarra Heights that does not require excessive scaling and climbing.
Before entering the icy cavern before them they took a quick look at the unbelievably high mountain peaks that lie ahead.
As they marched through the icy corridor, Rhogam spoke more of his and Tyazaer's last trip into the Negative Wastes. At the time the two accomplished quite a few impressive feats and thought going through the Negative Wastes would be as easy, while they made good headway, they nearly depleted their supplies before even reaching the base of Umbarra Heights.
"To this day I don't know why I listened to Rhogam, but we pushed through to the mountains and had no supplies left, while our survival skills as Questers allowed us to live off what little we could find in this frost, it was the most miserable I ever was."
Rhogam shrugged at Tyazaer "Maybe it wasn't the right call…but at least we know the full way to the mountain trail, right?"
At that moment, Orgoth cut in "I've read that the ice pools of the Negative Wastes are almost entirely buried by snow and the size, shape and perimeter of the snow mounds change over time. The path may not be as exact as back then…"
Mikel scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously "Not much of an assertion that we'll be alright…"
Rhogam held his hands up "I know that, right Tyazaer, tell them I know that!"
"I've told him that countless times, he never listened to me. But you are right sir knight; we'll have to tread carefully after emerging from this corridor."
Soren looked at the frosted walls on each side "How did these form? Were they dug through by earlier explorers?"
Tyazaer turned to face him "Most of these were made by Burrow Arkans, creatures that are remarkable diggers and live in the deepest and coldest crevasses of this country…others were dug by explorers, though most of those groups died here."
As she turned back her horse and Rhogam came to a sudden stop, the Reaver noticing another corridor branching off in another direction.
"That wasn't here last time…"
"What were we just talking about, Rhogam…Arkans."
As the group continued, Rhogam stood still looking down the corridor and shrugged before following.
Wayu looked up at the ceiling and saw another hole going further up and probably through the top of the snow mound. "Did those Burrow Arkans do that?"
Tyazaer looked over "They can scale cliffs with their digging claws but I'm not entirely sure about this…could be a different species or relative like the Herions and Goreions."
Eventually, the group walked out into the massive snowfield, powerful winds were blowing, chilling the group to the bone, constant snow drifts made visibility less than desirable.
"I'm guessing moving around during a blizzard is a bad idea…" Wyre asked to which Rhogam laughed "One of the worst things to do here in the Negative Wastes, you can't see anything around you and next thing you know, you fall into an ice pool, game over."
As the group continued moving across the frozen field, Lyle turned slightly; he noticed To'Eltz did the same as well.
"Anything?" The swordmaster asked, to which To'Eltz slowly shook his head before closing his eyes and steeling his focus.
Lyle kept his eyes facing to the right as the group began turning, Tyazaer's horse feeling the edge of an ice pool.
Kay'Shera followed above the group, hovering low aboard Michalis who, even with the additional gear to keep warmer, did not enjoy the Negative Wastes one bit.
"Don't worry Michalis; you'll never have to do this again after we're done here…just hang on for me." Kay'Shera spoke softly to her mount that looked about the snow before making a few low noises as if to say 'alright, alright'.
Soren kept all his senses to the highest possible even with the biting cold and breezes, the group was silent as they followed Rhogam and Tyazaer around another ice pool. The sage turned upon feeling a sudden change in the wind, Lyle followed suit looking off to the right again, this time, To'Eltz didn't move but his face twitched.
The wind began to come fiercer followed by more intense snowfall, Tyazaer called down Kay'Shera as Rhogam looked around for a place to stop and wait out the storm "They don't usually come around in the first half of the day, blizzards are much more frequent at night…just our luck I suppose."
Lyle shook his head and grabbed the hilt of his blade "No…" A man attacked the green haired swordmaster from the left, knocking him to the ground. To'Eltz shot off the caravan and engaged the man as the blizzard began to grow worse.
Soren and Mia responded quickly, the first using his winds to clear as much of the visibility reducing snow away while Mia swung her blade around, encased in purple flames.
"Everyone! Form up! We're under attack!"
As the group armed themselves more swift enemies leapt in from the cold and engaged them.
Mia noticed as she clashed with one that he was an assassin "It's the Altar!"
Wyre began dashing around as others fought to knock the assassins away, each time he came across a stalemate he shot his electric magic into the assassin's back, causing them to break away and escape.
Orgoth, Mikel and Leena joined Kay'Shera as she landed near the merchant carts and began fending off the approaching assassins.
Soren himself looked around as best he could, even with most of the snow brushed aside, it filled back in quickly, while his eyes could still see, everyone else was in a bad position and the last thing he wanted was to be treating knife wounds to the back.
As Rhogam leapt away from an assassin, Tyazaer rode by and slashed the man across the back allowing the Reaver to charge back in and finish him. Hurling the body off his axe and into the blizzard, he noticed something moving.
"There are more enemies in the distance I think…but they aren't joining the fray!"
As Lyle came to a stop near Wyre and To'Eltz he called back "Why?"
Soren focused as far as he could and pulled out his blade "We'll see!" He turned and nodded at Mia as she leapt away from another assassin, both blades flaring up they sent waves of fire into the distance, Soren charged in quickly and noticed several figures dive away.
Skidding to a halt he saw that they were Water Sages, no doubt the ones that conjured this blizzard to allow the assassins to drop in.
"We've got water sages! I'll clear them out!" Soren called as he leapt towards one that attempted to escape only to take a sword to the back of the neck.
Inside the swirling madness of snow and ice Leena and Kay'Shera fought off attackers from behind the merchant carts while Orgoth and Mikel remained in front.
"How many are there? I can't tell!" The mercenary yelled, extremely pissed off as she continued finding swords and evading arrows.
Wayu turned, seeing several land on the merchant carts "Above Fistivus and Lune!"
The pair was struck by lightning from Wyre, one blocking the attack only to be cut down by Lyle who just as quickly vanished to continue fighting elsewhere.
As the group began turning the tables, the blizzard also started to die down due to Soren killing the Water Sages, a figure in the distance grinned and brandished his blade.
Striking the last water sage, Soren knelt next to the fallen man as he clutched a bloody wound around his stomach "How did the Altar gain help from royal Water Sages!?" An arrow found the sages head, whether or not he was going to speak was decided for him and Soren shot up and turned in the direction of the arrow as the snow died down.
"Soren!" Tyazaer screamed, the sage turned as one last man shot towards him, dodging to the best of his ability, the twisted blade still cut through his side.
To'Eltz emerged and began exchanging blows with the man as Wyre headed over to heal Soren. "Quo'Eltis! First you send someone else to do your work and now you use such underhanded tactics…you always were the most pathetic of us!"
The assassin held his blade with his sleeveless arm while using his free hand to point at To'Eltz "No…I never left the Altar, that not only makes you the most pathetic, but the absolute worst and bottom of all of us…how could you betray the Altar?"
Mia, Lyle and Mikel crashed into the snow as To'Eltz broke away, Quo'Eltis just as quickly dodged their attacks and back flipped away.
"I am impressed by the help you found To'Eltz…but they're not involved, we'll keep coming after them, and Peltzm'Jakq is not at all forgiving. Would you truly damn these fools just to keep the whereabouts of the item a secret? With your friend and connections dead, what good will it do you?"
The troop stood close behind To'Eltz as he took a step towards Quo'Eltis "I have no reason to explain anything to you…even if it's just me, I'll succeed in this mission, and I don't care if I die in the process!"
The Altar Assassin shook his head and jumped out of sight, calling out "Very well! Have it your way!"
With the assassins forced away, Rhogam and Tyazaer took a few minutes to get familiar with where they were, searching for edges of ice pools and looking to the Umbarra Heights. The Reaver occasionally muttered that they had no idea where they were while Tyazaer hit him and ordered him to shut up.
The rest of the group stood aside, the Questers had their system and they needed to let them work it out. Hopefully they could figure out exactly what they had to do.
To'Eltz took this time to walk over to Soren and take an aside with him. The tactician was a little worried considering To'Eltz still harbored many secrets and whenever he spoke it wasn't about good news.
"Soren…I realize you are content with this group…but there is something I should've told you a long time ago…"
Soren raised his eyebrows and glanced around to everyone, he caught Mia's eyes and just nodded, the trueblade returning the gesture.
"Lyle went off to speak with someone back in Yinshire…I couldn't tell what the person in the shadows was on about…but I know Lyle was talking to him about our quest."
"Lip reader?" To'Eltz nodded to that as Soren quickly found Lyle standing near Fistivus, Wyre, Kay'Shera and Leena, all of them were just talking like any normal day.
"Orgoth went along with Lyle long ago and stated that he saw him speak to someone as well…but that was back in Anondye…could it be the same person?"
To'Eltz shrugged "I'd have to speak with Orgoth to know if he saw any distinguishing features but I could barely make anything out myself…"
Soren then found Orgoth speaking with Wayu, Mia, Mikel and Lune
"Orgoth also spoke of this with Lyle who told him that during his travels he made friends with several people in different cities, they've kept in touch so during some of our breaks he goes to meet them. Lyle took Orgoth to meet with two of his old friends Pesh and Versha in Anondye…nothing there stood out of the ordinary, if anything we might be reading too much into this…"
To'Eltz sighed "Soren, I never imagine you'd just brush this off."
Soren shook his head "I'm not…I'd like to, Lyle's earned my trust in all our fights, he's efficient…this doubt could affect any number of things…despite it all, thank you for bringing this to me To'Eltz."
As the two broke apart, Rhogam and Tyazaer called the group over and they proceeded once again, though the pair refused to comment on if they were absolutely certain it was the right way.
Elsewhere, a person crossed their arms as Quo'Eltis appeared beside them.
"You are doing a stunning job…"
"I apologize mistress…believe me when I say The Altar won't fail you, I'll make sure of it…"
The woman turned to him "How goes the other mission? Did Peltzm'Jakq assign his best tracker like you said he would?"
Quo'Eltis stood "Of course…with any luck she'll find our other target first so all I can focus on is killing To'Eltz."
Entering another frost tunnel the group passed by a branching tunnel in the making. A large Burrow Arkan stood clawing at the ice wall completely oblivious to the travelers passing by, or maybe the creature just didn't care.
"Are you sure it wasn't important? To'Eltz doesn't just…" Soren glanced over to Mia, he didn't want to tell her because she was very good friends with Lyle, but he also wanted to tell her because he didn't want to keep secrets from her.
"I'm sorry Soren; this isn't easy, is it?"
The sage scratched his head and sighed "No…I'll…I'll tell you in a bit, there are a few other things I have to check up on."
As Orgoth walked near Rhogam and Tyazaer, he kept his eyes on everything. Ever the vigilant guard he didn't want anything to slip by, noticing Soren heading his way he slowed his pace and leaned in as Soren whispered to him.
Orgoth spoke quietly back before returning to his duties as Soren walked away. The knight turned just enough to see Lyle in his peripheral vision chatting with Leena and Mikel.
As he turned back he came to a stop "Hold on a second…what is this?"
Rhogam and Tyazaer stopped and turned to see a smaller tunnel branching off and deeper into the icy cave. "Must be a smaller Arkan…" Rhogam commented, not believing himself as he walked over.
"The chiseling of the walls does not look like the Arkan cuts on the larger tunnels we've been passing through."
Wyre raised an eyebrow "Didn't people mine here in the past…in some extent?"
Tyazaer nodded slowly "It's been a really long time since traveling into the Negative Wastes was a desirable thing…most materials were used for weapons and armor…in addition to the growing harshness of the area, there is very little reason for people to come here aside for the adrenaline rush of adventure."
Rhogam peered inside before walking in, the tunnel was definitely sized for humans, and after a few steps he gasped "It becomes a staircase!"
Soren turned "Lyle, Kay'Shera, Mikel, Leena, hang back with Fistivus and Lune, Orgoth keep a look ahead and To'Eltz, to the rear. Wyre and Wayu, come with us."
As the group formed up, Tyazaer dismounted and joined Soren, Mia, Rhogam, Wyre and Wayu walked down the icy steps, the staircase went far down into the cold before opening up into a cavern with a home built in the center.
The six all glanced at each other before walking up to the door, Soren closed his eyes before shaking his head "There is no one here…"
Rhogam opened the door and glanced around inside as Tyazaer smacked him in the back "Seriously?"
"What's wrong with taking a little look, I won't break anything!"
As Rhogam and Tyazaer walked inside, Soren and Mia circled the home looking around while Wyre and Wayu looked around the small cave "What kind of person would build a home here?" Wayu asked as she rested her hand along the icy walls.
Wyre looked around as well and shrugged "I wish I knew…the Questers live mostly removed from the city, spending much of their time in the snowfields but whoever lives here…"
Wayu came to a stop, noticing a rock that seemed like it was torn out of its placement and repositioned later.
Inside, Rhogam noticed it was a very simple home, food, a place to eat, places to sit and relax, a bed to sleep in and what looks like a map of the Negative Wastes with countless routes scrawled onto it.
Tyazaer looked on the floor and saw older maps with some routes crossed out, the map on display was up to date, whoever lives or lived here has been here for so long, they've figured out the Negative Wastes.
Outside, Mia turned as the Questers approached her, Tyazaer handed her the latest map "Whoever is or was here, has multiple routes to the same location in the Umbarra Heights, this mountain to the east of the highest Umbra Peak."
Mia turned as Soren rounded the house "I think we've found the person we're looking for."
Wayu and Wyre stood aside as the rest of the group came and spoke to them about heading to the Umbarra Heights. Wayu showed them a particular rock that Wyre pushed aside revealing another tunnel heading up and out.
Tyazaer whistled, impressed she spoke "The person who lives here must have dug his own tunnel from which he can emerge much closer to the Umbarra Heights, more specifically the Mountain Trail. We've got our destination, let's go!"
Returning to the group, they continued at a quicker pace as Tyazaer and Rhogam explained their findings. Though they are unable to use the tunnel due to the incapability of horse, roc and merchants being able to follow them, the map they now had made it much easier to get back on track.
Soren moved over to Lyle, the swordmaster caught Soren's eyes and recognized the look. "I thought-"
"It's not like that…this has nothing to do with me trusting you or not as a comrade…but…I have to ask you about something important…"
Lyle nodded as Soren began "Back at Grove Rest…Orgoth followed you…"
Lyle blinked, glancing over to the knight quickly, he and Orgoth have long since buried the hatchet but he was slightly surprised the man from Euto never told him this.
"He said you met with someone…however, after you took him to see your friends Pesh and Versha he began to believe that what he saw at the Grove Rest was just an old friend and that he was mistaken about you…"
Lyle sighed "I don't try to make it look suspicious, everyone split up so I did as well…honestly…besides, Orgoth, To'Eltz and Tyazaer just didn't like me upon introduction. I don't take it personally, my confidence isn't that low but…well it just becomes an inconvenient hassle to have to win over allies."
Soren nodded "Recently, To'Eltz spotted you in Yinshire with someone else who you spoke to about our quest…was that also an old friend?"
Lyle glanced aside and noticed Mia was looking over there, she had an expression that told Lyle she didn't know what the two were talking about, but she was still worried.
Lyle moved his eyes back to Soren as the group exited the tunnel and walked back into the billowing snow and frosty gusts, the sun went down while they were in there and the temperature was dropping quickly.
"I realize in hindsight, telling anyone, no matter how well I know them, about what we're doing is a bad idea...but what happened in Yinshire was a very personal matter…I wish I could say more but…I'm sorry…"
The pair stopped along with the rest of the group, Rhogam and Tyazaer got everyone's attention and began talking about something, loudly over the gusts as Soren and Lyle kept their eyes on each other.
"That doesn't completely answer my question…I'd like to know who these people are, was this person the same one from Grove Rest? If so, why is he or she following us?"
Lyle looked away and closed his eyes; he let out a heavy sigh as the troop began moving again.
"No it wasn't the same person…the man I spoke to in Yinshire, his name is Ushnae, like Pesh and Versha he was an old friend…back at Grove Rest was an old man, friend of my father's."
Soren kept looking at Lyle, there was nothing to disprove the answers and he knows Orgoth didn't trust Lyle back in the day and To'Eltz isn't exactly entirely trusting with the whole group or them with him. Maybe their statements are pushing Soren more because he knows of Lyle's feelings towards…
Soren sighed "There are a lot of reasons I felt the need to speak to you about this, not just because of Orgoth and To'Eltz but for more personal reasons…I don't hold you in any disdain Lyle. I trust you…understand?"
The swordmaster nodded, after a short while, Soren walked away, towards Mia as Lyle glanced over to Orgoth and To'Eltz.
In a dark room, Kanahana stood, watching a massive tube in front of him, filled with glowing energy as destroyed weapons began to merge to a corpse.
He turned upon Dalton and Asai's entrance and laughed "What makes you think this one is yours?"
Dalton came to a stop, followed by Asai and a Midnight; the archduke shook his head "I haven't had a chance to see the process."
Kanahana turned and smiled "Ah…well, is everything in order over there?"
Asai smiled "You mean in Pozem? Yes…we're all set, how about you and Numengate?
Kanahana shrugged "You two control Pozem, Jyuugo controls Regalshin and the big guy controls Numengate…I just supervise."
Dalton rolled his eyes before the body began twitching and the man screaming, Dalton's eyes then moved to several other tubes covered in blood and human innards "I see the success rate isn't too good."
Kanahana looked back at the screaming man "You should see when they explode…it is…magnificent…"
With the moon high in the sky and the temperature continuing to drop, the troop stopped and entered a cave system where they set up camp. According to the Questers the Mountain Trail was close and by noon tomorrow they'd be working their way through the Umbarra Heights and towards the mountain in question on the map they found.
As the group, exhausted from the trek and the freezing cold, began to lie down and sleep, Lyle took first watch.
He turned as Mia approached him, as she sat down near him he sighed "Are you-"
"I know it was a personal discussion between you and Soren but…I can't help it if my hearing picks some of it up."
Lyle turned away and remained silent as Mia scratched the back of her head "Whatever it is all about, you have my complete trust Lyle. No matter what happens or what anyone says, I know you won't betray us."
The swordmaster turned so he could see Mia out of the corner of his eye "That means a lot…thank you, Mia."
As she left, several thoughts went through Lyle's head before he let out a long sigh.
After a short pause he stood up and stretched before reaching into his jacket and taking out a photo which had two men on it. The first was a Froghul, the man Lyle ran into in Yinshire, Ushnae. The other man was holding a gift given to him by Lyle's father.
Keeping his eyes on this older man Lyle whispered "Ulmeihn…"
He then looked over to the campsite where everyone was asleep, turning back to the photo of Ushnae and Ulmeihn it was easy to tell that they stood in old Malsean before the Clock Tower was ever built. In the would-be Clock Keeper's hand, the gift, a golden watch.
Let me be perfectly honest with you all.
Shit is gonna get crazy.
Next chapters introduce multiple parralel storylines, a lot of POV switching, just be ready for that.
In the mean time, I've actually never drawn a Burrow Arkan, but I'm going to and add it to the Polar Herion / Umbarran Goreion image on deviantart.
Until next time which will hopefully be on time!