Chapter 250: Undead Rose (1/2)
Delivery and armor manufacturing was prepared and underway a day later, Ilea getting her first couple sets from Terok who seemed a little off that day. Maybe he’s been working too much.
“Everything alright? You’re strangely serious.” She asked, putting the four finished sets into her necklace. As much as she would carry with her on a normal day. The other five she would put into her apartment, to be switched out as soon as they were needed.
The dwarf sat down and shrugged, “Lost three people on the expedition.” He ultimately said.
“I’m sorry.” Ilea said but he waved her off.
“Keep your pity. They were young, overconfident and frankly incapable. It was only a matter of time.” He said and sighed.
Ilea didn’t reply for a moment. She had never been good with situations like that and she didn’t know the dwarf well enough to gauge what might help him. Shutting up seemed like the best bet for now. “Told them it was stupid but of course the fucking wall breaks right when we make our way through.” He didn’t elaborate any further, downing a bottle of ale before he threw the empty container to the corner of the room.
Why did you go when you thought it was stupid? Ilea didn’t ask of course. He was either blaming himself or annoyed that whatever they had tried hadn’t worked out.
“What do you do all the time anyway?” He asked suddenly, cracking open another cold one.
Ilea shrugged, “Exploring a dungeon.”
“And you just find all that armor laying around?”
She locked eyes with him and sighed, “I kill them.”
The dwarf nodded and looked at his bottle, “Need a hand with that?” He asked, not looking at her, a hand scratching his black beard.
“I’m fine. You’ve got plenty of places here to explore. Safer than what I’m doing.” She said, not seeing how it would benefit either of them.
He snorted and opened his mouth but closed it again, “I see. Well good luck then. I’ll be finished with your armors by the morrow.” The dwarf said and got up, walking out of his own home and leaving her there.
Did I say something wrong? Ilea questioned but chalked it up to his failed expedition and the losses that came with it. Sighing, she prepared to go and blinked out. She was ready again. Fully stocked and soon with five additional backup sets of armor. Making her way back, she quickly dropped through the mountain hole and entered the dungeon. There was still no sign of the elf but he would return eventually.
And I don’t have anything new for him. She still had a lot to learn about elves and their culture. A lot that might help her friends in the south have an easier time with their race. Especially Dale in Riverwatch. She didn’t expect him to be gone for long but seeing the empty chair and the abandoned cathedral made her think he might actually leave for good if she stayed empty handed. Could still tell him about Goliath… The smith was ok with it but she still didn’t feel comfortable with bringing the elf to Hallowfort. Just because he might make a mess. You’re being racist…
Still, it was worth a try to get something else first. To find out more about his nature, his people and his motivations before she brought him to the only source of new armor and enchantments she had so far in the north. Entering the dungeon, she spread her wings and hovered downwards, over the first line of buildings. Her notebook opened, she looked at the areas marked as safe. There was plenty to go before the thick black line was met where she had found the broken down wall.
The sunlight didn’t reach there, even a couple dozen meters before the wall in most places. There had been plenty of knights to fight in the areas before the darkness but she had found nothing of worth, nothing other than the palace guarded by kingsguard. Tapping on the map, she chose the safest spot to retreat from quickly and put it back into her necklace. Today she would go a little further. Her stats and the third tier of both Destruction and Ash Creation gave her a little more confidence but she couldn’t help but be a little apprehensive.
Not because she was scared of an unexplored section of dungeon or because a dangerous beast might lurk within. Simply because she had trained for so long in the city of Tremor, the wall to the dark area constantly being a line she didn’t cross. A mental barrier of sorts, reinforced by her behavior in the past months. And today she would cross it.
Reaching the wall wasn’t a problem, a big section before already cleared out of enemies and the last stretch devoid of patrols, Ilea slipping through the houses in silence. Several clumps of ash had formed around her, culminating near her back and getting more and more dense by the minute. Veil of Ash was moving around parts of her armored body, her blue eyes piercing the darkness before she vanished. Her blink bringing her beyond the wall.
Immediately she noticed the smell, the higher humidity as well as the more rotten state of all the buildings around her. A lack of any sun for hundreds of years hadn’t improved the charm of this part of the city by a long shot. If anything, this part of the dungeon actually looked the part. Dangerous, abandoned and smelling a little weird. The further she went downwards, the more houses lay collapsed. Her hopes of finding any useful information revealed themselves as mere delusions. At least it was intriguing, the thrill of a new discovery taking over as she slowly stepped through the dark, her sphere the only thing that let her see.
Pitch fucking black…, The thought was interrupted when she heard the sound of metal scraping against stone. A sound she had heard before in Tremor. Quite a while ago when she too had been close to the wall that separated what she assume to be the noble district from the rest of town. The creature appeared in her sphere a moment later, both of them walking closer towards the other. Glimpsing around the corner, she saw it.
[Undead Rose Knight – lvl ???]
Oh boy. The thought not only in regards to the three question marks but the dents and missing parts on his armor and body. A chunk of the knight’s head was missing and his left arm was completely gone. The sword, the same size as a normal knight would use was dragged behind him, the one remaining hand holding onto it in a lazy manner. She had a feeling that wouldn’t be much of an advantage in a fight. Cracking her neck and spreading more ash around herself, she stepped out from her hiding spot.
The undead looked at her immediately, tensing up and screaming with a voice that sent shivers down her spine. No paralyze effect…, The thought barely processed, the knight had jumped off and smashed his sword into the ground where Ilea had stood the blink of an eye earlier. Screaming again, it didn’t relent. She stepped backwards once more, the knight not hitting the ground this time but simply landing and following. His sword slashed sideways, Ilea dodging downwards but not quite quick enough to get away.
A blink saved her but the monster was on her again, moving with force unlike anything she had encountered in Tremor so far. When the Kingsguard had beendeliberate and deadly, the knights controlled, efficient and precise, this undead was more wild and savage. Ilea read as much in the three or four movements it had showed her already. Another strike was dodged, this time without the use of blink, the sword crashing through the wall of the house next to them.