Tales of Xalthia
Chapter 13: Cavern Wellspring
Tsuki and his group, led by Frey, made their way from Saiyaka to the city limits where they would be driven to the Cavern of Solace by carriage thanks to Lucas. Before they did that though, they hit the Buisness District one last time to stock up on items such as Gels and other medicinal things that they were running low on. Lynette also took the chance to change out of the clothes that she had been wearing since leaving Crescentia into the new set of healer attire that Bryce made for her. Once they had gotten everything they need, they continued to make their way to where the carriages leave out from.
After about an hour since leaving Saiyaka, they arrived at the carriage depot. Upon arrival, a man approached them and saluted to Frey. "Ah, we were told to expect you. As I understand it, our destination is the Cavern of Solace, correct?" the man asked.
Frey nodded at him. "That is correct. Is everything ready to go?" he asked.
The man turned and looked towards the carriage, holding his arm out. "Yes sir! We are ready to depart as soon as you're ready" he said.
Frey looked over at Tsuki once they were told that their departure was set to go. "You heard the man. I assume you've all settled whatever matters you need settled here?" he asked.
Tsuki nodded at him. "Yep. We're ready to-" he said.
Just then, a familiar girls' voice shouted out from behind them. "Wait a minute! Hold that carriage!" the voice shouted out.
They looked back and saw Rhym run up to them with Amir following closely behind her. She ran up to them and took a minute to catch her breath as she looked like she was in full sprint the entire way over from her place.
Lynette didn't expect Rhym to show up, let alone come at them in full sprint. "Rhym? What are you doing here?" she asked.
Rhym had to take a minute to catch her breath. She soon pointed her finger up at Lynette. "Why...why do you think...I'm here? To see you off!" she said.
Amir took out a small towel and handed her it. Despite having chased after her, he seemed to still be in pretty good shape. "I'm sorry. She wanted a chance to say goodbye" he said.
Lynette knelt down to her and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Is that so?" she asked.
Rhym looked at her and nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to thank you guys again too. It was for a short time but it was fun hanging out with you guys and I wanted to send you off with my best wishes" she said.
Tsuki scratched the back of his head a bit. "You didn't have to do that but we appreciate it" he said.
Lynette patted the sides of her arms. "You've got potential. If you continue your studies, you'll be able to cast Magical Artes with ease" she said. She could see the bright future for Rhym. She was dedicated to her studies and is highly motivated.
Rhym nodded at her, pumping her fists and bringing them close to her. "I will. By the next time you guys come back, I'll be at the top of my classes. Just you wait" she said.
Lynette gave her a soft smile and stood up, patting her on the head. "Just remember to take things one at a time and I know you will succeed" she said.
Tsuki looked over at Amir. "Tell Rose that we appreciate everything that she did for us while we've been here" he said.
Amir held his hand up to his heart and gave him a slight bow. "I'm sure she will be delighted to hear that. Don't you worry, I'll be sure to pass on what you said. I wish you guys the best of luck on your travels" he said.
Ramza, who had gone ahead of the group when Rhym and Amir showed up, was standing next to the carriage as he waved his hand, calling out to them. "Hey, we're not getting any younger! Tha carriage ride awaits!" he said.
Tsuki looked back at Ramza and gave him a nod before looking back towards Rhym and Amir. "Well, we better get going. Once things have settled down a bit, I'm sure we'll be back to pay you all a visit" he said.
Rhym looked up at Tsuki and pointed at him. "That's a promise, you know! You bet I'll be holding you both to it!" she said.
Lynette nodded at her. "Of course it is. We'll definitely be back. There's more to Briswater I haven't seen yet" she said. She then turned around and walked over to the carriage where Ramza soon entered.
Tsuki bowed to them one last time and followed Lynette over to the carriage. Before stepping into the carriage, they looked back at Rhym and Amir and waved at them before walking inside, shutting the door behind them. Frey made his way to the front of the carriage, climbed up and sat down next to the soldier in charge of driving it. The carriage wasn't hauled by normal horses. In fact, they were hauled by a tamed Rhybgaro. Once everyone was sat down and ready, the driver took the reins and snapped it, indicating for the Rhybgaro to start moving. The carriage soon left through the city gates and down through a forest trail. Rhym and Amir stood back, waving at them as they pulled out through the gates.
The forest path they rode on was relatively straightforward with few turns. The speeds they were going at was fairly high. They were traveling at speeds that normal horses can't reach. Before they knew it, they were out of the forest in a matter of 20 minutes. Once they were clear of the forest, the speed they were traveling at only increased further. It was hard to say just how fast they were going and since they were now in a wide open area of the plains, they didn't need to worry about travel speeds very much.
As they traveled, Tsuki, Lynette and Ramza didn't have much else to do except relax and enjoy the ride. Tsuki and Ramza were sitting on the side of the carriage where the driver and Frey sat on the other side of him while Lynette sat across from him, looking out the window and feeling the wind blow through her hair.
Tsuki sat back against the carriage walls, looking back at the Rhybgaro that was hauling them at high speeds. "I'm still surprised you guys use Rhybgaro to haul carriages. What happened to normal horses?" he asked.
Frey looked back at Tsuki. "It's not often we use Rhybgaro, actually. This is the first time we've used him in a while" he said.
Tsuki tilted his head. "Why's that? At these speeds, deliveries and other things would be much quicker and efficient" he asked.
The driver kept his gaze forward as he controlled the Rhybgaro with the reins. "We only have three Rhybgaro that are tamed. As such, if there's something that needs urgent business and attention that requires travel, we employ the Rhybgaro. All other things are relied upon by our horses" he said.
Frey leaned forward and patted the Rhybgaro on its back gently. "With this guy, we'll have you at the Cavern of Solace in a few hours where by walking would take you half a week. Pretty impressive, isn't it?" he asked.
Ramza scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, I'm surprised about how much of a countryside Cayhill is. Where I'm from, transportation via carriage is pretty common. You really only see adventurers traveling the roads by foot" he said.
Lynette was looking out the window when Ramza implied that he wasn't from Cayhill. "Where are you from?" she asked.
Ramza leaned back agains the carriage wall. "I was born in Esseand. It's a much different area than anything I've seen here on Cayhill so far" he said.
Tsuki looked at Ramza. "Esseand...isn't the terrain there a bit on the rough side?" he asked.
Ramza nodded. "Eh, it's not too bad. Because we share a continent with the region of Nargelond, we have our fair share of mountain ranges. We don't have many big, empty grass plains like this but we do have a small desert and even a snow region to the north" he said.
Ersheath as a whole has experienced some drastic changes in the terrain. He remembers that the desert he mentioned used to be much larger. There was a legend that the terrain and enviornment started to change because of the Great Spirit Gnome. Gnome controls Earth-based Artes so any significant change to an areas' geography is typically believed to be the doing of Gnome though no one can prove that as the Four Great Spirits haven't revealed themselves to mankind in centuries.
Lynette soon pulled her gaze from the window and directed it at Ramza. "How long have you been here in Cayhill?" she asked.
Ramza shrugged his shoulders and folded his arms in front of him. "A little over a month. I've offering up my services in Briswater mainly but I branch out to a few smaller settlements here and there from time to time" he said. He then looked out the window off to his right. "Mercenary work takes you all over. We take on various tasks and then move on to wherever the wind takes us next" he said.
Tsuki tilted his head a bit. Mercenaries were similar to adventurers but there was a big difference. "You must be part of the Mercenary Guild then" he said.
The Mercenary Guild is exactly what it sounded like. It was a guild filled with people who offer their services in exchange for money or of anyhing in similar value. Their main headquarters were located on the island of Seford, just off the east coast of Ersheath and each kingdom had their own independent guild branch. The guild is packed with people from every kingdom. Mercenaries are free to offer their services to just about anyone as it was up to their own discretion but there was one rule that Mercenaries are not allowed to break. That rule was to not get involved with the royals of each kingdom. The Mercenary Guild runs independently and receives no aid from any kingdom. The Mercenary Guild as a whole has a rough estimate of about 300,000 mercenaries at their disposal and that number continues to grow as the days go by.
Ramza was silent for a moment as he tried to figure out how to answer that. "I'm what you might call...an independent mercenary. Me and the Guild don't exactly get along because of our different views" he said
Lynette felt as if there was something else to the story that he wasn't adding. "Doesn't the Mercenary Guild have a pretty tight leash on the mercenaries they employ?" she asked.
Ramza scratched the back of his head with a heavy sigh. "That they do. It can be pretty restricting at times. As for me, our relationship is...complicated" he said.
Tsuki grew more interested in his story the more he told it. He hasn't had many interactions with mercenaries himself, much less so with foreign mercenaries. "Complicated relationship? How so?" he asked.
Ramza didn't answer his question and remained silent. By the look on his face and his body movements, he could tell that whatever these complications were seemed to be, indeed, very complicated. He soon came to the conclusion that he didn't want to talk about it so he decided to drop the subject. Whatever the complications were, they were not his business to meddle in, especially since anything related to the Mercenary Guild is considered third party. Much like how the Mercenary Guild has its own rules to not get involved in royal affairs, the kingdoms have a similar rule. They can help each other out at their own discretion but typically keep to themselves.
As they traveled across the Great Plains, they avoided topics relating to stuff like the royals and Mercenary Guild and talked about who they were and things like that. They would be working together for a while so It would be to everyones' benefit if they all knew a bit about each other. The hours seemed to pass by as they talked about various topics. It was a rather peaceful trip without any kind of encounter mainly because of the Rhybgaro. Despite being a rather docile race unless threatened, average monsters tend to avoid them. The rest of their trip would have most likely kept this pace. However, the carriage was approaching something that caused it to slow down to a complete stop.
The driver pulled back on the reins. "Whoa heal, boy" he said. By pulling back on the reins, that signaled the Rhybgaro to slow down ant stop. Once the carriage came to a full stop and scratched his head as he looked at the sight in front of him. "Well, this is a problem" he said.
Frey stood up from his seat. "I'll say. We won't be getting the carriage across this" he said. He then jumped off the carriage and walked ahead of it.
Tsuki, Lynette and Ramza exited the carriage and walked to the front of it over towards Frey. They were stopped in front of a river with a broken bridge. The river had a strong current to it so there was no way to cross it safely. The broken part of the bridge wasn't that big of a gap so all it would take was a running start with a good jump to get to the other side. The river stretched far in both directions with seemingly no end in sight.
Tsuki scratched his head. "Well, so much for our nice, relaxing trip" he said. It would have been too good to be true if it took them all the way to the Cavern of Solace without issue.
Lynette walked up to the bridge and examined it. The bridge was made of stone and brick and appeared to be in relatively good shape so there was no reasonable explanation for the bridge to suddenly collapse. "What do you think happened?" she asked.
Ramza looked at the broken bridge and held his hand up to his chin. "It's most likely an attempt made by Caius to slow us down. If the things happening in Basilwell are connected, he has most likely picked up on this. I can definitely say that this bridge wasn't like this the other day because I had to cross it" he said. He sighed heavily as he looked around the area, particularly with the river. "It looks like Undine is working against us too because the current was also not this strong" he said.
Frey turned to look at them. "There are other ways to cross the river but they will take us on a bit of a detour. What do you want to do?" he asked.
Tsuki shook his head and walked towards the bridge. "No. Time is against us as it is. We need to cross it and move on" he said.
Lynette could see the gears turning in his head as she already knew what he was about to do. "Um...Tsuki? You're not doing what I think you're going to do, right?" she asked nervously.
Tsukis' next action would serve as confirmation to her. He took a deep breath and then after a few moments, he took off running onto the broken bridge and jumped across the broken gap. By pushing himself of the edge of the gap he was able to reach the other side. He brushed himself off and turned to face the others. "We'll continue by foot. The Cavern isn't that far from here" he said.
Ramza was a little speechless of Tsukis' actions. With a slight nervous sweat, he looked over at Lynette. "Is...he always this reckless?" he asked.
Lynette dropped her shoulders with her head hanging low accompanied by a heavy sigh. By this point, there isn't much of anything he could do that would surprise her. "Unfortunately..." she said.
Frey scratched his cheek with a nervous laugh. "W-well, that's one way to get across, I suppose. Not one way I would recommend though..." he said.
Ramza sighed and walked towards the bridge. "Well, if this is how we're going to cross, so be it" he said. His walk soon turned into a full sprint as he also jumped across the gap.
Lynette walked up to the edge of the broken bridge and gauged the gap which made her nervous. She wasn't like Tsuki or Ramza. She didn't have their physical abilities and strength. "And you expect me to jump over this...?" she asked nervously. She looked down at the raging river under her through the broken gap.
Tsuki stood by just in case something went wrong as he motioned her to come over. "Just get a running start and jump. You can do it" he said.
Lynette looked up at Tsuki and back down at the broken gap. "O-okay..." she said.
Lynette walked back a bit before turning to face the bridge once more. She took several deep breaths to calm herself before taking off in full sprint. She ran up to the broken gap and jumped over the gap. Once she made he across, she looked back at the gap she just jumped over.
Lynette wiped her the back of her hand across her forehead. "Whew, that wasn't too ba-" she said.
Suddenly, the part of the bridge under her feet broke apart. Luckily, she was quick enough to grab onto the edge of the bridge so she was able to save herself from falling into the rushing river below her. Unfortunately, she could hear the cracks in the stone as the bridge was on the verge of breaking apart even more.
Tsuki quickly rushed over towards the edge and grabbed onto her. "Hang on! I'll pull you up!" he said. He felt a rush of adrenaline as he quickly pulled her up back onto the bridge. Once she was back and on her feet, he gently pushed her towards solid ground. "Go! Get off the bridge!" he shouted.
Tsuki and Lynette ran over towards Ramza who was standing on solid ground as he watched. Due to the instability of the bridge, it wouldn't have been wise for Ramza to come over to help. Just as they got off the bridge, the remaining parts broke apart and crashed down into the river below.
Seeing Lynette almost fall into the river and then the bridge breaking apart even more made him mildly freak out as he approached his side of what remains of the bridge. "Are you guys okay!?" he asked, shouting across the raging river.
Lynette was slightly out of breath from the ordeal and had to take a minute to settle down. "Y-yeah...I'll be fine" she said.
Ramza sighed, scratching the back of his head as he looked at the remains of the bridge. "When three fully grown adults jump across an already unstable, ruined bridge, you're just asking for trouble" he said.
Lynette took a couple deep breaths before standing up straight and pointing to Tsuki. "You...are far too reckless, you know that?" she said.
Tsuki gave off a nervous laugh as he couldn't help but look away a bit. "Hey, we got across, didn't we? Now, we don't have to worry about looking for an alternate path" he said.
Ramza sighed heavily, placing his hand on his forehead. "I can't help but worry about our futures with you leading us" he said.
Tsuki looked over at Ramza and tapped his own chest, giving him a reassuring grin. "We made it this. We'll be fine" he said. He then looked over towards Frey on the other side of the river, waving at him. "We'll hoof it from here! Give Lucas our regards when you return!" he shouted.
Frey nodded at him. "You three be careful over there. I don't need to be the one to tell you that there's most likely dangers ahead" he said.
They all waved at Frey one more time before he climbed back onto the carriage. The driver cracked the reins and the Rhybgaro turned to face the direction they came from. Moments later, the sound of the reins cracking could be heard when the carriage started to drive off back in the direction of Briswater.
Tsuki watched the carriage move off into the distance for a bit before looking at Lynette and Ramza, giving them a nod. "Alright, let's get going. From here, it's only about an hours' walk. All we have to do is follow the road and we'll get there in no time" he said.
They nodded to each other and started heading down the road that led them slightly southwest. Along the way, they encountered the native monsters to the Great Plains and not much else. The walk to the Cavern of Solace was a relatively peaceful one compared to what they've been going through lately. After a little over an hour, they arrived at a set of mountains.
Basilwell was located in a rather isolated area compared to every other area in Cayhill. It's completely blocked off by mountains and the only passages people can take whether it's to reach Basilwell or leave, they either had to go through the Cavern of Solace or through the civilian checkpoints. In most cases, people opt to go through the civilian checkpoints for obvious reasons. The only people that choose to go through the Cavern of Solace were primarily adventurers. The time to reach Basilwell is shorter through the Cavern but it's much more dangerous due to the unregulated passageways. There was also another danger to the Caverns.
Within the central chamber, there was a Wellspring. It was one of the more smaller Wellsprings that have appeared but it was still dangerous to get close to it without proper protection. Word has it that researchers from Basilwell have set up a compound within the Cavern in an effort to study the Wellspring and to learn the nature of it, what causes them to appear and what potential actions people can take to prevent them. Because of its presence, it has a tendency to attract monsters to it who are unaffected by the Wellsprings' effects.
An opening into the mountains can be seen not too far from them which would take them into the Cavern of Solace. However, there seemed to be something wrong.
Tsuki looked towards the entrance to the caves and placed his has up to his chin. "Wait a minute. Didn't Lucas say that he had people stationed here?" he asked. He looked around and didn't see anyone.
Ramza folded his arms and fell into thought. "If I remember correctly, they haven't been able to establish contact for some time. This must be why" he said.
Suddenly, the Caliburns' sheath started to glow and pulsate. Moments later, Allies' voice could be heard speaking in their heads. "Be careful, Master. I'm picking up abnormal energy nearby. It feels evil" she said.
Tsuki tilted his head a bit. "An abnormal energy?" he asked.
Suddenly, Lynette pointed towarsd the cave entrance. "Tsuki, look!" she shouted.
Tsuki looked at the cave entrance when a cloaked figure stumbled out into the sunlight. Its movements were awkward and unnatural as it slowly approached them. Despite its movements, it appeared to be a person.
Lynette took a few steps towards the slowly approaching figure. The figure they were seeing could be injured so she wanted to be prepared to use her healing. "Umm...are you okay? Do you need help?" she asked.
Ramza held his hand out towards her. "Lyn, stop. Something about them isn't right" he said.
Suddenly, the cloaked figure let out a screech that was beyond the capabilities of human vocal tones. They soon drew a shortsword out from underneath the cloak and charged at Lynette. Tsuki quickly drew his sword and put himself in front of Lynette to block their attack.
Tsuki felt the force of their attack as a slight shockwave shot out when their blades clashed. Because of the cloak, it was hard to get a good look at him. Whoever they were, they were physically strong. "What's the meaning of this!? Who are you!?" he demanded.
The cloaked figure offered no answer in return as he remained completely silent aside from the groans he was letting out. Tsuki soon broke the clash by swinging his sword in a right diagonal motion and knocking them back, breaking their guard. He then quickly spun around and slashed the figure across their chest vertically. The figure simply stumbled back, groaning as if it were in mild pain but remained standing. Tsuki was shocked to see that the figure was still standing. The injury he had inflicted on them should have been fatal but it was like it only hurt him. Not only that, but there was no blood that came out of them.
Ramza had drawn his greatsword and was in a defensive stance as he watched their clash. He couldn't believe that the figure was still standing after an attack like that. "What the hell? It looks like that attack didn't even faze him much" he said.
Tsuki had a feeling this was going to be the case. The strength it displayed from the clash was all that he needed to know. "Not another one of these things..." he said.
Ramza looked over at Tsuki, tilting his head. "You've seen this before?" he asked.
Lynette nodded as she stepped back from Tsuki, taking the staff off her back. "It was back in the mines. Before we got to the crystal chamber where Caius was holding the miners, we encountered some sort of entity. It resembled a miner and had undead characteristics. We're not sure what it is" she said. Then, an incantation circle appeared behind her back as her eyes started to glow. "Blade Trinity!" she shouted. Three swords of light soon shot out from the incantation circle and aimed towards the figure where all three pierced through its body.
Ramza watched as the blades of light pierced the figures' body. It let out a loud, painful groan as it stumbled back. "That's no undead. I've seen my fair share of them but nothing I've encountered comes close to resembling whatever who or what that is but I can definitely see some similar traits such as body resilience and refusing to die when logic should dictate otherwise" he said.
The Caliburn started to pulsate and glow in Tsukis' hands as the voice of Allie could be heard. "You would be correct. What you're seeing is an unnatural manifestation of something evil. It seems familiar but I can't remember. My time within Caliburn has had an effect on my memory" she said.
The creature regained its balance and let out a loud howl and ran towards them, holding its shortsword up in the air.
Ramza ran forward, swinging the sword in a left diagonal motion across their chest with power and force, sending the cloaked figure slightly up into the air and falling down onto their back. A crystal-like shard could be seen launching out due to his attack and fell to the ground not to far from the figure.
Lynette was caught off-guard by the sudden attack but their encounter ended just as fast as it came. She noticed the crystal-like shard on the ground near the figure and walked towards it. She examined it and discovered that it had the same dark, evil power inside of it albeit much weaker given due to the fact that he was a shard rather than a full crystal. She then looked over at the figure on the ground who remained lifeless. The crystal shard could be seen getting dimmer until it cracked and shattered to dust. Once the crystal was gone, the body of the entity that Ramza struck down disappeared.
Tsuki walked over to Lynette and stood beside her. "So, whatever this thing was, it's tied to the crystals as well. There's a good chance that there will be more of them within the caves so let's proceed carefully" he said.
Ramza nodded, attaching his greatsword to his back and patted his chest. "Lead us on. I'll cover the rear" he said.
Tsuki and Lynette sheathed their weapons and all three of them headed into the Cavern of Solace. Inside of the caves resembled a subterranean world. There were multiple pathways that crossed over and under each other. The entire cave was illuminated by a gentle blue and green light with various types of flora growing. The caves were mostly submerged so that only added to the caves' ambience. With a new area to explore and new treasures to find hidden in the cave, there was also a different batch of local monsters. The monster types ranged from bats and giant mice to aquatic creatures suck as fish and crabs. Fighting the monsters were a little bit trickier due to the narrow space they had but they adapted as they pressed on into the caves.
After about forty minutes of walking through the caves and along the pathways, they entered into a large, open chamber where they could see just about everything. They could see different pathways branching off into various directions, the monsters roaming around freely and even some potential treasure spots. There was one thing that they could see that was very different, however. Where they entered the chamber from, they were on the highest level. There were two levels below them to the chamber before you could get to where a giant, glowing crystal could be seen sticking out from the ground. Surrounding the crystal was dense, visible Aer. Even though they were a ways away from the crystal still, they could feel the drastic shift. The air became much heavier and made them slightly nauseous. They were now in the vicinity of a Wellspring.
Lynette suddenly felt a bit sick the moment they entered the chamber and a bit dizzy as well. "Ugh...I don't feel so good now..." she said.
Tsuki had to brace himself against the rock wall by putting his hand up against it to keep him from falling over himself. "Man, I heard about the effects that Wellsprings can have on humans who get near one unprotected. It's like running into a wall..." he said.
Ramza, being a mercenary, has been to a number of places throughout his years. As such, he's been in close proximity to Wellsprings in the past. Despite that though, there's no getting used to the sudden impact their effects have on him. "Just imagine what it's like to get closer to one. If you think it's bad now, just you wait" he said.
Lynette took a few deep breaths, holding her hand up to her chest before she could feel herself calm down. "I heard stories from Reia. Exposure to it can lead to a persons' Mana being corrupted and a slow, painful death. Overexposure can lead to them becoming a walking bomb" she said.
The Caliburn and its sheath on Tsukis' waist started to glow and pulsate which indicated Allie chiming in on the conversation. "Being comprised of pure, uncondensed Aer, Wellsprings are both a beautiful sight to look at and deadly to humans alike. The price to pay in order to gaze upon natures' beauty" Allie said telepathically.
Ramza walked over to the edge of the pathway they were on and looked down towards the crystal. He could see a lot of monsters congregating around the crystal itself. As he stared at the crystal, he got hit with a slight dizzy spell that made him stumble back a bit. He put his hand up to his forehead and shook his head before turning back around to face Tsuki and Lynette. "Lingering here is dangerous without the proper protections. Let's hurry onward and get as far away from here as possible" he said. He then pointed towards a tunnel on the other side of the chamber, on the same level as they were on. "That should take us towards the exit" he said.
They continued through the upper levels of the central chamber as they tried to work their way around to the other side. They eventually came up to a bridge that connected to the other side of the chamber. To their misfortune, the bridge was destroyed so they were forced to find another way around. Their trek through the various passageways lead them to dead ends and to the lower levels of the central chamber. They dared not risk going to the lower levels without the proper protections.
After vemturing through the maze-like passageways, they eventually found themselves on the other side of the broken bridge after about 15 minutes. They headed straight toward the tunnel that Ramza had pointed out and attempted to get as far away from the central chamber as possible. The further they got away from it, the more they all collectively started to feel better. The heaviness in the air started to disappear and it felt like they could finally breathe normally. Eventually, they reached a small chamber with a tree in the center, surrounded by water.
Tsuki approached the tree and placed his hand against the trunk, leaning forward against it, feeling out of breath. "Let's...take five...I feel...so drained..." he said.
Lynette took a few steps forward towards the water and collapsed down to her knees. "It's like...all of our energy...got sucked out of us..." she said. She leaned down, scooping up some water in her shaky hands and splashed her face.
Ramza was the least affected out of the three of them but still felt tired. "That's the effects of being near a Wellspring unprotected. This was only a very light exposure to it; think about what it must be like if there's a heavy dose of it" he said.
Lynette shook her head, taking deep breaths to help calm herself down and recollect herself. "I don't even want to think about it..." she said.
Tsuki turned around, putting his back against the trunk of the tree, looking up at the ceiling. "I can't help but think about the victims from Nula. It must have been quite a painful death" he said.
The Caliburn started to pulsate and glow once more as Allie chimed in telepathically. "There was slight fluctuations in all of your Mana but not enough to cause alarm. However, I suggest taking it easy for a bit before continuing on" she said.
Ramza nodded and walked over to the tree and sat down under it. "I agree with that suggestion. This isn't my first time but for you two, it is. Best not to rush things" he said.
Tsuki slid down the side of the tree trunk, sitting down up against the tree. "Now, I see why even some hardened adventurers tend to go through the checkpoints" he said.
The Caliburn started to glow as light came out from the blade. Moments later, Allie manifested in front of Tsuki with her face just inches away from his. "Are you okay, Master?" she asked, maintaining her usual emotionless expression on her face.
Tsuki didn't have much energy to react to her manifesting right in front of him so all he could do was put his hand on top of her head. "I'll be fine. Just need to catch my breath" he said.
Allie nodded, stepped back from Tsuki and walked over to Lynette and leaned down next to her. "What about you?" she asked.
Lynette splashed a bit more water on her face before she looked up at Allie with water dripping down her face. He gave her a soft smile. "Getting better. Thanks for asking, though" she said.
Ramza watched the three of them as he couldn't stop staring at Allie. "It's almost crazy to think she has similar qualities and traits as one of the Great Spirits and yet looks so human. You wouldn't think it otherwise" he said.
Tsuki looked over towards Allie and Lynette. "The Great Spirits...Undine, Sylph, Efreet, Gnome...they haven't appeared to anyone in centuries and have fallen into the realm of myth and legend. Many believe they never existed in the first place. It makes you wonder if they really did or not" he said.
Ramza folded his arms and leaned his head back. "It's one of the hot topics in the magical field of study and a topic many advent researchers try to prove. Being a spirit herself, maybe Allie knows something" he said.
Tsuki held his hand up to his chin in thought. "Hmm...maybe I should try and ask. We really don't know anything about Allie..." he said. He then held his arm up to get Allies' attention. "Hey Allie, I've been meaning to ask. Do you mind telling us about yourself?" he asked.
Allie looked over towards Tsuki, standing up straight and tilting her head. "If it's Master asking, I wouldn't mind. However, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to tell you much" she said.
Lynette took out a towel from her bag and dried her face off before putting it back in her bag and standing up. "Why do you say that?" she asked.
Allie held her hands up to her head, putting a finger on each side of her forehead and appeared to be lost in thought for a few moments. "As I mentioned earlier, my memories are fuzzy. I'm not even sure how long I was asleep until Master awakened me. All I know is that it was a very long time" she said.
Lynette tilted her head a bit as she looked at Aliie. "Do you remember anything at all? About who you are or your past?" she asked.
Allie lowered her arms and looked up at Lynette, shaking her head. "Nothing significant, I'm afraid. I'm sorry, Master" she said. She then turned to face Tsuki and bowed at him.
Tsuki shook his head at her. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure your memories will come back in time" he said.
Ramza scratched the back of his head. "I figured it wouldn't be that easy. Worth a try, though" he said.
They decided to rest up for a few more mintues before moving on. Once everyone felt like they had their energy back up to full strength, they decided that it was time to continue on throuigh the caves.
Tsuki stood up and brushed himself off before stretching. "Well, I think we've rested up long enough. Shall we get going?" he asked.
They all gathered their things together as Allie retreated back intto Caliburn and continued on through the tunnels. By this point, they had been in the Cavern of Solace for little over an hour. They didn't have much further to go so they didn't want to waste anymore time. Their trek through the caves continued as they got back to fighting the variety of monsters within the caves. The rest of the way was pretty straightforward with no detours or side tunnels to traverse through.
After about another 20 minutes, they reached another large, open chamber. The chamber had three tunnels connected to it; the one they had been traveling through, the one leading towards the exit and another tunnel leading downwards into the caves where that giant crystal was. There was also a building strutcure off on the left side of the chamber. It wasn't a big building since it was constructed inside a cave and had two guards standing by the front entrance to it. There was a third person who was wearing a hazmat-type suit, talking to the guards
They entered the chamber and walked towards the tunnel leading to the exit. They tried not to pay too much attention to the structure or the people standing near the entrance to it but their presence caught their eyes and suspicion.
One of the guards looked over to Tsukis' group as they tried to walk past them. "You three, halt!" he said, tapping the bottom of his spear on the ground.
Not wanting to give them any reason to be suspicious of them, they stopped and looked over towards the two guards and the person wearing the hazmat suit. All three of them approached them with the two guards being on edge.
The other guard was wary of them. It wasn't often that they see ordinary people coming through the other side of the caves. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't affect the guards much but given the recent events and murders, things were different. "Don't see too many adventurers coming through the caves. May I ask the purpose of your travels?" he asked.
Tsuki turned and faced the three people so that they could see crest and insignia of Eresseas on his chestplate. "My name is Tsuki Himura, one of the Royal Eight. These are my companions. We're on our way to Basilwell at the request of Commander Alba" he said.
The person wearing the hazmat-like suit recognized the crest and insignia on Tsukis' chestplate before he could finish his introductions. The person took the hazmat respirator and revealed a wonab uunderneath the mask. "One of the Royal Eight, huh? Quite the dangerous route to take but I admire your sense of adventure" she said. She then held her hand out to him. "I'm Vanessa Alinac, chief researcher of the Ionia Research Center. It's a pleasure to meet you" she said.
Tsuki extended his hand out to her to grasp her hand and shake it. He couldn't help but tilt his head afterwards though on the second part of her self-introduction. "Ionia Research Center?" he asked.
Vanessa nodded and held her arm out towards the structure behind them. "Yep, this lovely little building here. Our goal is to research the nature of Wellsprings and discover ways to anticipate and possibly prevent them" she said.
Tsuki looked up towards the structure behind them. He couldn't see much because of the steel walls that extended the length of the chamber but he could see the tip of what seemed to be the main building on the other side of the wall. "I had heard that there was a facility near Basilwell that studies Wellsprings but I didn't expect it to be something like this. Judging by the thick, steel walls, one would think this was a fortress of some kind" he said.
Vanessa chuckled a bit at his response. "We get that from adventurers a lot. Because of the nature of Wellsprings, monsters tend to gather around quite a bit. Sometimes, those monsters become frenzied from abosrbing too much Aer and go on a rampage. As such, proper protections must be put in order" she said. She then tapped on the steel wall with her finger as the sound echoed throughout the chamber.
Ramza nodded to himself. "Makes sense. If you're going to research the nature of Wellsprings, ideally, you want to be as close to your research subject as possible. In doing so, you also put yourself at risk because you're in monster territory" he said, rubbing his chin.
Vanessa gave him a thumbs up, nodding. "Exactly. We all know the risks but we are researchers who want to discover the secrets of the world" she said.
Lynette scratched her cheek with a slight nervous sweat. "Well, I guess it would be more efficient to do it that way when you think about it and I suppose this is one of the smaller Wellsprings so the dangers wouldn't be all that high. At least, compared to someplace like Nula" she said.
Vanessa scratched the back of her head as she fell into a bit of silence at the mention of Nula. "Nula is a whole different set of circumstances with its own precautions. In severely affected areas like that, it takes a more specialized approach. Conditions here aren't nearly as significant so it's much easier for us to do our research" she said.
Tsuki had been holding his hand up to his chin and nodding as they talked. The topic of Wellsprings has always fascinated him. He wasn't magically inclined like Lynette or Reia were but ever since he heard about the fall of Nula back in knight training, he has wanted to try and learn more about them in a general sense. "Have you guys learned anything?" he asked.
Vanessa sighed heavily, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. "Unfortunately, no. Even though this one is relatively small, our suits can only absorb so much uncondensed Aer before it becomes unsafe. Not only that, but one of the our lead researchers who was leading the project was killed in the recent strings of murder so that really set us back" she said.
Tsuki sighed, dropping ihs head. Once again, the murders caused by Caius rear their ugly head. "I see..." he said.
Ramza placed his right hand on top of his head. "The string of murders are definitely concerning. Hopefully, whoever is behind it all gets caught soon so people can breathe easily again" he said. If word got out that the person behind the murders was the king of another kingdom, it would cause a massive uproar. It was best to play ignorant to prevent that from happening.
Vanessa looked over at Ramza and nodded. "Yeah. It's been real tense around here lately. People are afraid to walk around by themselves on fear of them being potential next victims. We've even had to beef up our security here" she said.
One of the guards tapped the bottom of his spear on the ground. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but the research team is waiting for your report, Chief" he said.
Vanessa sighed a bit. "I suppose I shouldn't keep everyone waiting, huh?" she said. She then looked towards Tsuki. "I would give you the grand tour of the place but unfortunately, I would need permission from the Commander first. After all, some of the stuff we do is pretty sensitive" she said.
Tsuki shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We have no business with Ionia anyway. Maybe next time though" he said.
Vanessa gave him a smile and started to make her way back towards the entrance to the facility as the other guard opened the doors. "It was nice meeting you all!" she said.
She gave them a wave goodbye and then entered through the doors. Once she was through, the same guard shut the doors behind her as they both resumed their guard duty by standing on each side of it.
After a bit of silence, Tsuki scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. "Well...shall we go? The exit shouldn't be much further from here" he said.
They continued onwards down the tunnel leading towards the exit. After about another 10 minutes of walking, they finally breached back out into daylight and open skies. They could feel the wind blow across their faces as they took in the fresh air. They were only in the the caves for almost two hours. Upon exiting the caves, they found themselves in a small, open area. There were a few trees and flowers strewn around the area accompanied by a guards' outpost.
From where they were at, they were practically on the outskirts of Basilwell. All that stood between them and Basilwell was a small wilderness area. The path they would have to take would eventually connect to the main road which would lead to either Basilwell or to the checkpoints to the east. Since they were still off the beaten path, the roads they still had to travel were less maintained by patrols. Meaning, they were still in for some fighting with the local monster variety.
As they walked out from the cave entrance and approached the guards' outpost, naturally, they were stopped by two guards not too far past the barricades. One guard stood in front of them while the other was behind. They were more on edge than the guards from Ionia, weapons drawn and held at the ready.
The guard standing in front of them held his spear close to him. "Stay where you are. Don't move" he said.
They all came to a stop as Tsuki was confused. "What's the meaning of this?" he asked.
The guard behind them also kept up his guard as he examined their group. "Not many people come out through teh caves that aren't researchers. What business do you have here?" he asked.
Tsuki could sense the hostility in the air. He needed to diffuse the situation before it got worse. "My name is Tsuki Himura, one of the Royal Eight. We're here at the request of Commander Alba" he said.
The guard behind them simply shook his head. "A representative of the Royal Eight? Do you think we're stupid? We're not about to fall for that again!" he said, holding his spear out towards them.
Tsuki tilted his head at them. "Again? What are you talking about?" he asked.
The guard in front of them held his spear out as well. "Don't play dumb with us. You appear to be more intelligent than the one we apprehended but you're not fooling us this time!" he shouted.
Ramza held his arms out as he was noticing the situation getting worse. "Alright, let's all calm down here. Getting ourselves worked up here isn't going to solve anything" he said.
The guard behind them slowly started to approach them. "Silence! You three will be coming with us. Put your weapons down on the ground" he said.
Lynette didn't know what was going on as she was looking back and forth from the two guards as they both started to approach them. "W-what do we do!?" she asked.
As the two guards approached them, a loud males' voice came shouting out from further up the road. "That's enough! Stand down, all of you!" the voice shouted.
The two guards stopped in place and looked in the direction where the voice came from. A man with metal plating along his feet and steel gauntlets came walking down the road and approached them. He appeared to be slightly older than Tsuki, had spikey dark blue hair with grey eyes. As he approached the group, the two guards stood at attention with their spears, holding their spears next to them.
Once he was within appropriate distance, he looked over at the two guards. "I could hear everything from a mile away. I step away for a few minutes and you guys stir up trouble with the passing locals. You are guards of Basilwell, act like it!" he said in a slightly loud and commanding voice.
The two guards bowed to the man as the one standing in front of the group spoke. "But sir! They're trying to fool us again!" he said.
The man looked towards the guard. "I'll be the judge of that" he said. He then looked over to Tsuki, examining him, Lynette and Ramza. "If you really are who you say you are, then you must have received some sort of proof or identification from Briswater" he said.
Tsuki remembered that Lucas had given him a silver-plated seal to use to get past areas Briswater authorities have occupied. He reached into his bag and pulled it out to show the man. "Will this be enough?" he asked.
The man examined the silver-plated seal carefully. After a few moments, he nodded and looked towards the guards. "Return to your posts. They are who they say they are. I have confirmed the authenticity of Lucas Maxwells' seal" he said.
The guards were hesitant at first but eventually saluted the man. "Yes sir!" they both said.
The two guards lowered their weapons and headed back towards the guards' outpost. The man watched them walk back and sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I apologize for the rude welcome. Everyone has been on edge around here lately" he said.
Tsuki felt a sense of relief wash over them as the situation was diffused. "Thank you for your help. Let's try this again, shall we? I''m Tsuki Himura, one of the Royal Eight. These are my companions, Lynette Suzaki and Ramza Tokatsu. We're here at Commander Albas' request" he said.
The man nodded. "So I've heard. The name's Ruko Amado. I serve Commander Alba as his lieutenant. We received word a little while ago from General Maxwell that you were on your way here. I was just coming meet you. Hopefully, your trek through the caves wasn't too bad" he said.
Tsuki looked back at the cave entrance for a moment before returning his attention to Ruko. "Aside the fact that we all felt slight effects from that big crystal in the central chamber, nothing too crazy happened" he said.
Ruko looked at the three of them and nodded again. "Yeah. It's a rough experience for first-timers to be exposed to a Wellspring. Thankfully, it seems you all made it through just fine, though" he said.
Lyenette couldn't get her mind off what the guards were saying before. "What did those guards mean? That they weren't going to be fooled again by one of the Royal Eight?" she asked.
Ruko fell silent for a moment. He had the look on his face as if he wasn't sure what to say. "It's complicated. Best not to talk about that here" he said. He then turned around and looked back at them. "Follow me. I'll take you straight to the Commander. There, you will have your answers" he said.
Ruko started to walk down the road where he came from with Tsuki, Lynette and Ramza following him. They walked through a small forest area and, with the help of Ruko, had no problems fighting off the local monsters. Their walk along the forest path only lasted about 20 minutes until they found themselves on the main road that went off in two directions. They headed down the road, heading further south. They could see Basilwell off in the distance and the vast, open sea extending off into the horizon. The rest of the trek to Basilwell was pretty much smooth sailing since the main roads were well maintained by patrols. The closer they got to Basilwell, the more they could start to smell the salt in the air from the ocean with the sound of crashing waves becoming louder. Now that they're soon to finally arrive in Basilwell, they could get some answers to their long-standing questions.
To be continued...