Chapter 182: A Masked History (1/2)

Prepared for diving into the silver's territory, I stepped toward the door of our room. As I did, a light voice chimed in from behind me,

”Hey, where are you going?”

Althea rubbed her eyes, sitting up from her bed. I raised a hand and whispered, ”I'm going to find the Skyburner base. Go ahead and get some sleep.”

She yawned while stretching her arms. Her figure showed in all its glory. As I admired her, she murmured, ”Come on. You won't even know I'm there.”

Before I could reply, she dematerialized. A second later, she bled back into reality beside me. She grinned,

”The Skyburner's won't find me either.”

”That's the thing. I might end up hurting you.”

She shrugged, ”I'm not some damsel that needs saving.” Althea frowned, ”Besides, I've been missing you a lot lately. We can spend some time together this way.”

I scratched the back of my head, ”Hmm...Alright. Get ready and let's go.”

Five minutes later, Althea finished getting ready by pulling her cannon out from under our bed. She aimed down the iron sights,

”Ready to go, captain.”

I leaned closer to the cannon, ”Damn...I need to make you another one of these soon. It looks so rough.”

She raised it up, hugging the weapon, ”What? This here is what I call old Betsy. There's nothing wrong with her.”

I rolled my eyes, ”Uh, yeah right. That weapon looks like I used my bare hands to make it. Why? Because I did.”

Althea kissed the rifle then looked up at me, ”That's what makes it special.”

I scoffed, ”If you say so. I'm still making you a new one when we get back.”

We walked out of our room. Torix already converted the hallway into a base, charts and graphs on every surface. He installed a holographic projector besides the fire as well. Working with a graphic image of Giess, he consulted his status for info.

He added markings, drawing out routes and circling issues. I walked up,

”Looks like you've made this place your new evil lair.”

He nodded, ”Ah yes, as I always do. It suits me after all.”

He pointed at three large circles near and on an enormous mountain,

”These are the three areas where we'll find the Skyburner's bases. When will you be able to discover their locations? Excuse my rush, but it's difficult to create a plan of action without the necessary details.”

I shrugged, ”Today probably. My next slot in the tournament is in two weeks. That means I can go ahead and iron this shit out.”

Torix clapped his hands,

”Excellent. As you go and inspect our surroundings, do note any nearby anomalies. We may discover a few useful gems of information to act on.”

Torix waved his hand at the 3-d map, ”Though this chart is detailed regarding geography, it doesn't note any high-level dungeons or that sort of thing. We could use any advantage we can get, both politically or in combat.”

I gave him a thumbs up, ”Sounds good. We'll go ahead then.”

Althea walked up and hugged Torix. She smiled at him, ”See you later.”

If Torix could, he'd have blushed. He laid a hand on her shoulder, ”Likewise. Be safe, both of you.”

We paced out of Torix's newfangled base, finding Malakai standing guard beside our room. With a torch casting his smooth skin with an orange sheen, he glanced down at me. He gave me a bow,

”Good to see you, warrior. I pray you've been resting well?”

I shrugged, ”I don't need to get shuteye. No rest for the wicked and all that. In fact, I'm more curious about why you're standing guard.”

Malakai chuckled,

”Hah, you're quite relaxed, aren't you? As you may have already gathered, many worship Lehesion here. Quite a few of them despise you for your fight with Delilath. I'm here to prevent any foul play or assassination attempts while you and your comrades rest.”

I tapped the side of my helmet, ”Good thing I never sleep.”

Malakai nodded, ”Indeed it is. You've already made more than a few ripples around here as it is.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”What kind of ripples?”

Malakai glanced at the Lehesion statue off in the distance,

”To understand your impact, give me the chance to explain the situation.”

His tail whipped behind him,

”Rivaria serves as a capital for the gialgathen race. We lack a formal government or the like, but we do serve a higher code of ethics. Rivaria decides what those ethics are, and these unspoken rules affect all other gialgathens.”

Malakai glanced down at us, ”So your utter dominance over Borom changed how gialgathens view your kind. To those that follow Emagrotha, they view it with admiration.”

Althea crossed her arms, ”I thought she was the leader that was trying to keep the espens enslaved?”

Malakai scoffed, ”What? That's nonsense. Emagrotha believed that espens should earn their freedom rather than be granted it. She believed in the potential of your race. Obviously, she was correct in that regard.”

I cupped my chin, ”Why should espens have to earn their freedom?”

Malakai looked back to the Lehesion statue,

”It's a piece of forgotten history that the espens neglect to mention. We uplifted their race, bringing them from the oceans and giving them knowledge of fire and magic. We offered our protection from the elements, and they handled menial work for us.”

Althea tilted her head, the sheen on her facemask shifting,

”Wait, what does uplift mean though? From what I heard, you guys put the espens into slavery using your brute strength.”

Malakai rolled his eyes, ”We enslaved no one. The espens followed us onto land willingly.”

My eyes widened, ”Wait a minute, onto land?”

Malakai gasped, ”They've told you all nothing but lies, haven't they? The espens were a symbiotic race of marine origin. They served the leviathans that swim under the water. We waged war so that the espens could have the choice to come to the surface.”

The old beast sighed, ”In the end, we were victorious. The espens took no time to hesitate and followed us. We gave them the foundation to form their own society.”

I tapped my chin, ”Then you guys enslaved them.”

Malakai shook his head, ”They offered it to us. I will not deny that our dependence on the espens grew over time. We asked for more labor, and they conceded. It became twisted over time. The relationship began as mutual trust, however.”

Malakai pointed his tail at the Lehesion statue, ”He is the one that looked down on the espen race. Emagrotha is the one that saw the espens have the ability to rise above their humble beginnings. We fought another war over this.”

Malakai grimaced, his massive head covering in wrinkles,

”Emagrotha would've had our kind ween our dependence from the espens over time. At the same time, the espens would've gained confidence as a race. Instead, we waged yet another war for your race.”

I shrugged, ”It's not my fault man. Find someone else to blame.”

Malakai took a deep breath. He bit his tongue, ”No...no it's not. Excuse my indiscretion warrior. I find I'm far more set in my ways since I've aged. I'm less bitter now at least, but it does leak out from time to time.”

I pat his shoulder, ”Don't worry. It was interesting to hear.”

He laughed a bit, ”Well at least you found entertainment in my accusation. Don't let this old beast drag you into further conversation. At this rate, you'll both be old by the time you leave!”

Althea walked up to him, giving him a bow,

”Thanks for the wisdom. We'll use it.”

Malakai gave her a bow, ”And thank you for your respect. I will return it in kind. Farewell.”

With the history lesson over, we walked out of the hallway of heroes. Once outside, I flew us my way out towards a vast ocean. It was on the other side of Rivaria's mountainside. In a few minutes of flying, it popped up in our view in the distance.

Althea murmured, ”It's beautiful.”

After reaching the ocean, I took us to Draygalga's first hint - a camp near the River of Tears. It turns out that it was an actual river, named for the many bodies dumped here during an epidemic. To my surprise, it took a couple minutes to reach the mouth of the river from the mountaintop.

The gialgathens used it as a freshwater source, so it had to be nearby. Rivaria wouldn't function otherwise. That same river flowed into the blue-green ocean. As we neared it, details cropped up in my view.

The shallow waters carried pits of algae on its surface. The green algae bled into the water, spreading the color outwards in massive blooms of color. Fish nibbled at the center of these pits, growing fat off the abundant greenery.

Along the outskirts of the emerald colored blooms, leviathans Malakai mentioned swam. Just under the surface, their black, blurry silhouettes roamed around the pits. They opened massive mouths like anacondas unhinging their jaws. The beats devouring enormous amounts of fish in single gulps using this technique.

This wildlife waned towards the river, the water's coloration turning clear. As I neared the water, I realized why. The stream was damn near sterile. This explained why Kessiah thought the water tasted funny. Something upstream was killing all of the wildlife in the water.

With curiosity guiding me, I hovered us both just above the river's surface. We peered at the crystal clear water, spotting our blurry reflections. I passed miles of the vast waterway, finding next to no life.

After many miles, I uncovered why the water was clear and sterile. At the border between silvers and Giess, there was a yellow damn blocking the river. Eldritch walked in and out of a dungeon along the edge of the damn. These eldritch took the form of spiky, blue crabs except for their faces and backs.

Many tiny arms surrounded their gaping mouths. From the opening, a thin, filmy net expanded out. An electrical charge fired off around this next, killing anything in the water. The electricity was so dense, lightning shot up and out of the water every few seconds.

Any of the creatures that weren't filter feeding maintained the yellow, crusty dam. They spit onto it, their saliva hardening and expanding outwards. With their many arm mandibles, they sculpted the smooth wall of the yellow structure.

These blue crabs took turns at a pipeline at the dam's center. They feasted on the fish and water swept through it. They swelled up, pumping water into tubes behind them. These tubes ran out towards a giant embryo lying beneath the pool.

A colossal creature squirmed within it, feasting on the crab's excess food. The swollen, bulbous egg sack shivered, ready to burst at any moment.

Before I ran in, I analyzed the crab things.

Shagura Larva(lvl 1,104) - These crustaceans create massive blockages in waterways. While initially helpful to primitive and local populace due to treating the water, they harbor dark intentions. By funneling the resources of a river, they create a Shagura Queen.

Even though these monsters are created solely for their queen, they're more than able to defend themselves. They absorb the hardest minerals they find to build their shells. This in conjunction with their incredibly durable glue makes them very sturdy.

Their claws can snap through steel even, killing someone in power armor instantly. They charge the waters with high volumes of voltage as well. Shagura warriors can also use this charged lightning to attack at a distance.

For you, the colony should prove a simple task to dispatch.

I analyzed the queen next.

Shagura Queen(lvl 4,892) - Though this creature is young, it proves an exponential threat in the future. Shagura colonies can lay claim to entire oceans, converting all waterways into sterile pits. This destroys the life on a planet, and if evolved enough, Shagura Queens can launch their larva into space.

This makes them a current priority on Fringe Worlds since they spread so quickly. Immediate and thorough elimination of this dungeon is highly recommended. It is also recommended that you inform a guild to regularly clear this area out before it spirals out of control again. Schema will provide compensation for the work.

For you, this is a small concern, but handling it will help many in the future if you choose to do so.

It was an easy dungeon clear, so I pressed my chest pad. My gray armor peeled off as Althea whispered,

”They aren't too strong. You can just set me down on that tree over there and do your thing.”