Chapter 659: Suspicions (2/2)

“I’m afraid it’s not negotiable. And I know where to find it. Do you know of additional traps or dangers on the way?” Ilea asked.

“There are no such things,” Hereven said and pointed to one of the open entrances. “That which you seek, will surely lie within. I will guide you,” he said and rushed ahead, floating slightly.

“What did you learn?” Verena asked, still looking at her axes.

“A being called Audur rules this place, and it will stop creatures from leaving apparently. Hereven here at least. We are in the north, there are supposedly arcane storms and mists up on the surface,” Ilea said.

“What kind of creature is this Audur?” Pierce asked, addressing the demon.

“The winged guardian rests at the pinnacle of magic, her will alone having formed this dungeon,” it explained.

“Be more practical. Is it humanoid, two legs, two arms, armor, weapons, what kind of magic does it use?” Pierce said.

“I understand. The magics of life… and wood, I believe it is called. She is… four legged, with two wings sprouting from her back. Scales, green like leaves protect her form from all that is and will be, slitted eyes of gold see all within and out of her domain. Horns larger than yours adorn her head,” Hereven explained.

The three women remained quiet for a moment, walking silently through the corridors of overgrown Taleen ruins, every section where traps would’ve once been, were broken and destroyed.

“Seems like you might get your chance sooner than you thought,” Ilea said, winking at Pierce.

The woman gulped, a wry smile on her face as she addressed the demon. “Is Audur a dragon?”

“I do not know that word. Audur is Audur. There is none like her,” Hereven said.

“Dragon cult,” Ilea mused. “They are supposed to be vain after all.”

“Says who?” Pierce asked. “Nobody knows a damned thing about these beings.”

“I have my sources,” Ilea said with a smirk.

“I have seen… the hunters in the Great Salt, the beings that rest below the endless waves. None of them would challenge her. I am certain,” Hereven said.

Ilea wasn’t quite that sure. And even if what he said was true, she had helped kill a rather large demonic being flying above Ravenhall. Back when she had been considerably weaker. There was really nothing the present group could offer her to help her gauge the power of Audur. A part of her hoped the being would find them. Would be a shame to lose these three in the process though, Ilea thought. Guess I’ll just have to teleport them out if it gets too dangerous.

Hereven may be from the Great Salt but with his level, Ilea doubted he had seen creatures comparable to the Daughters of Sephilon, the Meadow, or the Fae. Time would tell of course, and right now they had to focus on the task at hand.

“You said she can see everything. Do you think she will come here to stop us?” Ilea asked, the group entering a decrepit Taleen hall. She glanced back behind and found that the hallway looked decidedly large, parts of it smashed because of the traps but some of the damage seemed unnecessary.

“I do not know her intentions, whims, and desires. Rarely have I seen her move from deep below, surrounded by lakes and monuments,” the demon answered.

“You’ve been down there then?” Ilea asked.

“Indeed. All those who have found their way here or were taken meet with the Guardian, or so it is said,” it said.

“Meaning you’ve talked to her? Identified her? Four mark I assume? What did she sound like? What did you gauge about her power?” Ilea said, the group following Hereven and the locator, both leading to the same direction.

“Four uncertainties. She spoke… the tongue of the Salt. The tongue of my kind. Her words seemed well chosen, the language though fluent, unpracticed. She spoke to me the way I speak to thee,” it explained. “What I felt from her…,” Hereven paused for a moment. “I felt… unworthy.”

The demon seemed almost ashamed at admitting it. “It was… overwhelming. To find this realm, to be summoned. I had many things to explore, to learn, to experience. The gift of earth, water, untainted by salt, the light of the suns, plentiful creatures to hunt and eat. How could I not be awed?”

Ilea nodded to herself. Their realm seemed like a pretty rough spot to grow up in, no matter what kind of being you are. When even the North offers so many benefits in comparison.

Pierce glanced behind herself, pausing for a few seconds before she turned again. “Was she the one to summon you?” she asked the Mind Weaver.

“No. A spirit of dark magic living in these parts sought knowledge from our realm. They were powerless against my magic. And yet I was stranded, in a place I did not know, that held so many riches,” the demon explained.

“Maybe you wouldn’t have ended up here if you hadn’t killed that spirit immediately,” Ilea said.

“Yes. Indeed. I have had time to reflect, Lilith, and I had come to the same conclusion. I regret my actions but they were reasonable at the given time. My only desire for decades upon decades had been the escape from the cursed lands of my ancestors. Freedom is what I sought, not cooperation, servitude, or imprisonment. Strife is all I knew. For the concepts taught to me by Audur, I am thankful, but she sees not her own domain as imprisonment, whereas I do.”

“A reflective demon, who would’ve thought,” Pierce said, again checking behind herself.

“You’re making me nervous, woman,” Ilea said.

They came into a large hall, tables and walls only barely recognizable in between the roots, plants, and rubble. No light reached into these sections of the dungeon, a few more hallways leading deeper into the once Taleen facility.

Ilea recognized metal pieces on the ground and in the walls, pieces from Guardians and Centurions. She paused, displacing a large chunk of Taleen out from between a few roots. “Hmm…,” she mused, looking at the piece that landed on the ground with a dull clank.

“Machines, well someone must’ve cleared them out. Audur probably,” Pierce said.

“This is part of a Praetorian,” Ilea said.

“You fought them too, did you not?” Verena asked.

She nodded slowly. “Yes. They’re level six hundred. Have you guys defeated one?”

“No,” Pierce said.

Verena shook her head.

“They detonate, much like Centurions. This part here is from a section close to their core,” she said.

“It’s entirely undamaged,” Pierce observed.

“Yep. Which means it was taken out faster than its self destruction could activate,” she said. Could I do it at this point? With my evolutions? Fully charged Archon Strike at the right time and with the right buffs. Probably.

With the state of this hall however, Ilea didn’t consider it a deliberate attempt to disable the machine. It looked more like overwhelming power.

“This way,” Hereven said, pushing them deeper into the complex.

Ilea followed.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Pierce said, her armor much lighter again as she walked close to Ilea.

“Remember when you called us pansies?” Ilea said.

Pierce remained quiet.

“Do you know about the effect on my flames?” Verena asked the demon.

“There is little you can do, in the presence of Audur. She does not condone those of death, fire, and ash,” Hereven said, looking at the Elder before it turned its head to Ilea. “I suggest we leave the way you came once you have what you desire.”

“Audur sounds more interesting by the minute,” Ilea admitted. “I might go meet her either way.”

Pierce blinked her eyes as she looked at her. She sighed and bit her lip, opening her mouth and then closing it again. “Annoying,” she whispered, flicking her own cheek before a helmet formed to cover her face.

“What is?” Ilea asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Pierce said and crossed her arms.

“I can see why you inspire bards and fighters alike,” Verena said.

Ilea grinned. “I do remember you jumping at that massive demon back in Eregar’s Haven.”

“Ah, yes,” Verena said, scratching her cheek. “No other choice at the time.”

Ilea waved her hand sideways. Not so sure about that.

“Someone had to stop it. I had the best chance of the people down there,” Verena said. “And I guess it seemed interesting to fight. Not stronger than other things I’ve tried myself against before.”

Unreasonable but not quite THAT unreasonable, is that what you’re trying to say? Kind of what I thought I was to be honest.