Chapter 822 (1/2)

Randidly appeared in his Soulskill at the “center” of the explored area. A tall pearly obelisk stretched upward, and at its tip glowed a bright emerald. There were a sun and two moons in the sky, sliding across the plane of the sky, but despite that, the emerald provided enough light to see by in the dark hours. It made people feel safe and secure.

Even at night, the emerald’s green light guided people who had been exploring in the mists back to the new base of this world.

Which of course, meant the ramshackle bones of a city were springing up around the base of the obelisk. There were even some hut dwelling that leaned directly against the obelisk itself. Randidly grimaced. Not that Randidly believed it to be some sort of affront to him personally, but it showed some of the people’s desperation that they weren’t willing to venture far away from the main base.

Besides, didn’t they have enough class to not just lean right up against the obelisk…?

One of the few powers that remained to Randidly in this new area was his ability to sense the people inside of his Soulskill. A quick scan revealed that there were a little less than one hundred thousand living souls wandering around, with about double as much fauna and system spawned mobs.

Randidly pressed his mouth into a line. That was… strange. Because he would have sworn he brought almost double that here. Had so many died in the first two days within his Soulskill…? Not a good sign.

Unfortunately, Randidly had no way of locating anyone individually within his Soulskill. The strange energy density of the air kept him from being able to scan it or teleport, as he had in the prior Soulskill. So Randidly wasted almost three hours simply searching, asking for directions.

All he really wanted was someone who could give him an idea of what was going on...

Finally, he found someone with enough savvy that they informed him that Allica and Rejt were part of the Torchbearers, a group of adventurers who gathered supplies and ventured into the mist. They were, this young woman told Randidly, a group that did not fear ‘Mist-sickness’.

Tucking that disturbing term into his mental belt, Randidly made a beeline for the Torchbearer base.

It was North from the city, sitting on a low ridge that ran across one end of a valley. When Randidly approached, he was greeted surprisingly warmly, until they noticed that he didn’t light a torch as he approached. Apparently, this rather simplistic greeting was a sign of respect and community. That he failed to do so marked him as an outsider.

So quickly we fall back on ritual… Randidly thought idly.

A gruff Spriggit with an impressive beard pulled him aside as he came through the rather basic palisade. “Look, son, volunteering for the Torchbearers is very impressive, but even though it might seem like all action and adventure, there is a very rigorous testing process.”

Randidly didn’t bother to point out that the Torchbearers had been around for barely two days; how rigorous could the testing process really be?

The Spriggit introduced himself as Thom and then leaned forward with a serious expression. “In addition… have you… ahem, do you know for sure that you are immune to the Mist Sickness? That is an important requirement to enter the brotherhood of the Torchbearers. We don’t allow those who can’t pull their weight into the group.”

Randidly wanted to say yes he had tested it, but saying no would likely bring some clarity to the issue. “I’ve heard about it, but I don’t really know what the Mist Sickness is.”

Pulling out a pipe, Thom nodded sagely. Most of the other guards wandered away from the conversation, continuing to construct the palisade. “Ah, of course. Well after we arrived here, there was a slew of expansion. Exploration of the surrounding area. But when people returned to the emerald light at nightfall… about half of the population was gone. They had just vanished. We tracked them as best we could, but their tracks led deep into the mist. Too deep.”

Thom shook his head. “After a while, the mist gets… strange. You hear noises, see movements out of the corner of your eye. It’s very easy to get lost. So for a while, we thought it was just that. But there were witnesses for some of it. When they talked about how their companions went into the mist, everyone reported that the victim’s face suddenly went blank they entered into the mist, and they just kept wandering deeper. We had a few that were restrained and brought back before they could go too deep, but…”

Thom grimaced and took a long pull on his pipe. “But overnight, their bodies transformed into mist and just flowed away.”

Randidly frowned at this little man and considered that bit of information. These people were… somehow absorbed by the mist? That wasn’t a good sign. Was there a connection, or did the mist take a percentage of the population as tithe?

That certainly wouldn’t win him any popularity contests.

Honestly, the population had been rather mute considering half of the fucking people that came through were pulled away into the mists. Part of that might be shock from receiving one punch after another, but there had to be another force at play here.

“Well anyway, if you haven’t been tested…” Thom said sorrowfully. He reached up with difficult and patted Randidly’s shoulder. “I cannot let you in. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help the community in your own way-”