Roaring through the battle—sounds of boulders bashing, as the rock golems clash nonstop—swords slashing wolf's flesh, the knight and paladin keeping out the legions of walking darkness. Magic of different kinds howls through the dense forest.
As the battle intensified, more and more dark creatures emerged from the shadows, replacing the slain wolves. Some walk on all fours, others on two, some are hideous, and some are human-like. For the adventurers, powerful they may be, but how long does their endurance last when the forest slowly turns into a realm of the dark planes, swallowing light?
Even Niphalan began to feel the lure of the darkness. Concentrations turn blurry, minds replaced by hate, malice—until Ulgar thrust his shield on the ground, exploding a pulsating light. The darkness that would swallow the entire forest was instead devoured by light.
The three dryads were dazed from the sudden outburst, but not fully purified. Somehow, the darkness that was pushed away revisits, trying to diminish the light coming from Ulgar's shield.
"There's no stopping these mongrels!" Irish shouts, both she and the others trying their best to protect Rein.
"There's only one way, and we need to kill—" Riza said.
"No, there's another way." Roland interrupts Riza as she completes her words.
Switching his weapons, Roland draws upon a sacred sword. Ragarish—the sword hums with the deep waters of Vashkeil; its blade is unlikely, but it reflects the shimmering waters upon given light.
Even when drawn, the sword unconfined a powerful vibration and sound, like the coming of a raging river. It is the feeling of the ocean's wrath slowly being released.
"I call upon thee, Ragarish, aid me not to kill, but to cleanse the lingering corruption." Whispers Roland.
Then it came, a flash of blue light spread without warning. Expanding— the malevolent entity was swept away, cleansing all its corruption.
Roland grunts in pain, planting Ragarish on the soil. When nailed to the earth, the sword's chaotic energy diminished, like water being sipped by the land.
"Sisters!" Niphalan looks at her sister to see her lying on the ground, not dead, only in an unconscious state.
Relieved, she shifts her worry towards Roland, who was possibly drained or overwhelmed by the sword's overwhelming energy.
"I'm fine-I'm fine." Roland blurts when he suddenly pukes blood. His skin begins to lose colour or perhaps go cold.
"Fine, my ass. You should have told me you were going to use that blade." Falnia scoff, searching for a potion that may cure his injuries.
Ulgar unveiled his paladin gift; however, his healing was slow, and it would take another two hours before Roland could gain some strength.
Without uttering a word, Niphalan came—clasping Roland's hand, the dryad then touched the soil, as if transferring the earth's life into his. A miracle: Roland's heavy breathing was diminished, and his skin returned colour. The blurry vision and deaf ears return to normal.
"It's finished, take your time, young hero." Niphalan relinquished.
Leaving Roland, Niphalan quickly attends to her sisters. Looking up, the murky atmosphere that fogs the forest gradually dissipates, letting sunlight pierce through.
"Oh, forgive us for the troubles we've caused." Said the oldest dryad, rubbing her forehead.
"Don't worry about it, the cause of troubles isn't in your hands," Ulgar replied.
"I am Kashra. These are my two sisters, Mel and Salfii. And--" Kashra smiled, knowing Niphalan already was acquainted with.
Recover, the dryads were quickly met with questions by Ulgar. Asking the cause of their enthrallment, and the whereabouts of the villagers and adventurers who went seeking out answers.
In return, the dryads, with a wave of their hands, open the now clear ponds, revealing people wrapped in white roots sucking their life force. Secondly, under the tree lie buried people; some were still alive, and others are no more than corpses and skeletons.
Collecting the dead and the adventurers' crest, Ulgar then waves his hand, and a blast of light energy erases any lingering affliction from the dead, avoiding future necrotic problems.
While Ulgar cleansed the place, Roland saw the man Anna was describing; it was the ranger. A small sight of relief, the band of heroes then turns to the dryads.
"May I ask, Sir Paladin, do my sisters have to face the consequences of their actions?" Niphalan implores.
"That won't be necessary…" Ulgar answered. "The village won't be in discord when I take my report, and do forgive me, my lady, for my haste, for I would like to know the root of all this."
"I believe the origin would point there at the ruined temple." Comes Kashra.
"A temple?"
"Yes, some adventurers were eager to set foot in the temple, proclaiming they were tasked to investigate. But it seems they are more driven by their human desire than by the safety of their life."
"Why didn't you stop them?" Riza ask.
"We did; however, they were able to best me in their illusion spell, a trap, I would say. And the last thing I remember was a wave of screams before I succumbed to a necrotic energy."
"I understand," Ulgar replies, "But it would be good if we were able to deal with it before it can recover. I know a necromancy when I see one."
"That would be good and all, but who will take care of these people?" Riza said.
"Don't worry, I've made my mark at the village, but considering the people that I must transport. In return, I can only do two teleportations, which means if we defeat that thing, we'll have to use our legs when returning." Rein spoke.
"Then we'll have to choose the walking." Roland cheerfully replied.
"Ugh, walking." Riza rolled her eyes.
Gathering the survivors, Rein, accompanied by the Irish, then teleported the people to their sanctuary. While the four wait for minutes before their two companions return, Ulgar gave another request towards the dryads.
"I regret that we cannot accept your request. Truly, we want to accompany your journey, but we are still susceptible to corruption. Even from afar, we can still feel the humming, tingling in our souls." Kashra answered.
"I understand." Ulgar sighs in disappointment.
"However—" Kashra unveils a seed. "If you're to use the power of Ragarish in a dire situation, this will greatly help you in controlling the sword." Kashra continues to detail the seed's use.
Minutes pass—
"We've returned," Irish announced.
Regrouping and equipping themselves with their weapons and items, the group prepares for battle in the belly of the beast.
Expecting a large, abandoned infrastructure, the band was met with a very long-forgotten sanctuary. There are only a few columns and walls sprouting from the ground. Judging by the landscape, it was an ancient place they'd encounter. And there, just through their left side, was the entrance leading, and welcoming them to do one final fight.
Without faltering, the party marched inside, and in their encounter was a horde of undead and summoned creatures. In response, the paladin and knight of Adra easily purged the undead, and for the winged creatures, it didn't take long for Roland and his party to hack, slash, and use magic to dispatch the remaining enemy.
As they head deeper into the temple, they come across a dead end…
"Okay… let me handle this." Riza confidently said.
Within minutes of finding and detecting traps or hidden passages, Riza soon gave up.
"Allow me then," Rein said, casting her divination magic all around the area. As a result, they caught a glimpse of a wall glowing purple.
Using brute force, Irish and Ulgar manage to break through the wall, but they find only an eroded path. Uncontented if it were an illusion, Ulgar tries to dig through the soil. No matter how much he tries to remove the soil, the path doesn't change.
"That seems to be an Illusion," Rein said.
"I so too, but it's a very powerful one," Falnia replies.
"My teacher once taught us about these types of magic and if we are fortunate--" She replies, putting a scroll from the wall. "Please be an old spell, please be an old spell." She mutters, repeating the same phrase until…
The scroll, pasted to the soil, faded into embers, and once it dissolved, the soil would quickly fall away, revealing a cavern. And at the centre of the cave, which appears to be the seed of the problem. An undead creature, a combined lich and swirling mass of black clouds, unveils from their sight. Furthermore, there was a mass of faces, souls that are trapped in one creature.
"A legion!" Ulgar blurted, quickly casting a negative plane protection on himself and his companions.
Irish follows a priest spell, giving their weapons a blessing bane to the undead. Their swords gleaming in white— arrow heads are injected with holy power, and the most prominent was the sacred sword, slowly heating the atmosphere.
Charging through the enemy, the undead sends a wave of his hand, sending a tide of smoking black death. All living things that the necrotic wave passes through quickly rot. However, as it clashes with Ulgar's protection barrier, it quickly dissolves. Stepping back to cast a spell, three powerful arrows came flying, and in return, the legion conjures a missile deflection spell, sending back Falnia 's attack.
Falnia, who didn't anticipate the legion counterattack, knows that her fired arrows won't stop until they plunge their tip towards the target. Fortunately, Rein was quick to react, casting a wave of fire that enveloped the arrows into charcoal.
Following that near-disaster outcome, the legion creates dozens of icicles hard as metal and sharp as an eleven-sword. At the right time, just as the icicles hail through their front, Ulgar bashes his shield, creating a bulwark of defence, blasting the icicle away for Roland, who charges behind the paladin. His sword slowly begins to boil the room, weakening the undead.
Casting for a teleportation spell, the legion was interrupted when Riza came with a backstab. Releasing a gaseous acid, the heroes who inhale the toxic slowly lose their vision.
The one who managed to detoxify such a hazard was Falnia; besides, when the legion saw the elf trying to cure her companions. It quickly sends a black spear, hoping to disrupt the high elf.
Open to all attacks, the Irish quickly stood and dashed out before the necrotic spear killed her companions. She dives, picking up Ulgar's shield, saving Falnia from death. Reposting the legion's attack on Falnia with a clap of her palm, pressing, the smoking blue ball washes away the toxic mist. The gaseous smoke was erased in seconds, and all of the legion's protection spells were dispelled.
"Hah, serves you right." The elf smiles.
Roland, who was the first to recover quickly, dashes to deliver a decisive blow to their enemy, and Ragarish slowly emits a gleaming blue light. To prevent the sword from eating his life, the seed that was gifted by the dryad cracks open.
Growing exponentially, the seed covers all of Roland's arms and shoulders into a bark-like armour. Roland felt it; he no longer had to worry about the double-edged outcome when using Ragarish.
Just as he was about to end the undead, it suddenly cast a powerful spell.
"It's a time divergence!" Shouts Rain.
Race against time, but once Ragarish finishes its intensity, Roland hurls Ragarish like a spear; its attack breaks away the legion's magical defences. The throw was powerful enough to nail the entity on the wall. Now, like a poison but in reverse, the holy blade devours the entity until it screams in an unearthly voice, shaking the places before it bursts like a popped balloon.
After the fight was over, Riza rested and noticed that the walls were covered in paintings. Paintings of the old history of Vashkeil. The bickering of the gods in the first age, the Erodul in flesh, fragmented into many. At the centre of the painting depicting war and conflict was an older man, whom they called Balance.
Uninterested in learning or investigating, Riza turns around to facilitate her companions. As they return with the help of the dryads, they would reach the village in mere five hours of travel. Upon receiving their report, the village held a banquet for their saviour, boosting the band of heroes' reputation.
When morning arrived, the adventurers would soon return to their roads. Guided by Mabtik himself, but when they saw him fully dressed like a traveller.
"You dress differently today, are you going somewhere?" Roland implores.
"I think Vashkeil has a lot to offer me. My legs are still good for running dangers. And I thank that dryad for giving me this protection stone… w-what's her name again?"
"Niphalan," Falnia answered.
"Yes, Niphalan, I'll remember her."
Falnia looked at the amulet and saw a piece of Niphalan herself. Being an elf, she recognised the stone amulet's true use. Falnia touched the trees, and there she saw Niphalan's past. All the time, Niphalan was averted by the dark forces because of her constantly watching Mabtik as he went back and forth across the footpath. Perhaps she was rather more drawn to him, his kindness, his attitude towards nature.
"You don't need to," Falnia replied. "I advised you not to linger with any woman, or that stone will give you a lightning bolt. And best to keep it right besides when you are in bed." Falnia smile.
"I-I don't understand," Mabtik said.
"Just do as she says, and if you ever need some work, here take this," Ulgar suggested giving Mabtik a letter. "Give this to any guild; they may help you find your gifts."
"I will, and I thank you all." Mabtik bows before they go their separate ways.
"So, where shall we be heading next, Sir Roland?" Riza implores Roland and seethes her female companions.
Creating a light strike from the group, Roland ignores their bickering and looks in the direction of where the sun would rise.
"We're going to Keshoval. I like to visit some places there."
"Did you miss your ancestors?" Falnia gave a smug smile.
"Might be." Roland nods.
They all smile and follow Roland.