Chapter 24 – Beyond the dying Light

The first beer of the evening always tasted best. Frank lifted his seventh bottle off the bar and let the cold lager run down his throat. It still tasted good. Especially in a room warmed by people dancing and enjoying themselves. Fog machines ran on full throttle and lasers painted shapes and pictures onto the moving vapor.

The scented smoke covered up the smell of food and spilt drinks. A girl approached from the parting fog. Frank raised an eyebrow when Anna stopped next to him. Though she fidgeted, he didn’t turn toward the girl. He had nothing to say to her. Yet her behavior seemed odd, it irritated him. She scratched her arm, opened her mouth and closed it again.

“What is it?” Frank sighed.

Anna swallowed. She tried to speak, but the music drowned out her voice. Instead, the girl in a pretty blue dress pointed at the door and gave him a pleading look.

Seconds passed where Frank observed her with doubt in his eyes.

It’s a trap! The large fish head from his favorite classic movie screamed in his mind. Wouldn’t that be too obvious though? Her peculiar behavior threw him off and almost convinced him of her sincerity. Almost.

His curiosity got the better of him, but he remained alert when he followed her outside. The cold air assaulted him and he put on the jacket he carried under his arm.

“So, what is it?” Frank’s words held as much warmth as the snow that fell around them. A thin white blanket covered the ground and their steps left tracks in the untouched surface.

Despite her red face, Anna shivered. For a moment he wanted to give her the jacket, but hesitated. Damn manners.

Instead, he clenched his fist, sighed and led her towards one of the decorative torches placed outside.

“Thank you.” Her faint voice barely reached him. Standing behind the flames she seemed different. Smaller, less proud, almost vulnerable. A snowflake about to descend into a fire. Beautiful, but lonely. Frank shook his head to get rid of the image.

“I repeat, what is it?” He asked, still wary of their surroundings. The girl breathed in deeply.

“I… I’m sorry.” She looked at the ground while her face reddened further. Frank raised an eyebrow and stared at her, gaping.

“Come again?” He must have misunderstood. There was just no way. I didn’t drink that much, did I?

He waited for her to continue.

“I mean… you know, for what happened…” Her attempts to apologize ended in a mess. Frank, baffled by her behavior, let her mumble on. “It’s just…they wanted to and I simply—.”

She swallowed hard and clenched her trembling fists. Raising her head, she looked straight into his eyes. “I’m so sorry for what we—for what I—did to you.” After she overcame herself, the words poured out of her. “I just went along with it. I mean, I knew it was wrong, which makes it even worse. I was just so scared. We never talked much before, and you have no reason to trust me. But I’m really sorry.” Her mind seemed to catch up with her words as her eyes widened and she lowered her head.

Frank remained silent. His cold gaze lingered on her. Seconds passed as Anna stared into the fire that emerged from the cast iron torch before her. Yet no answer put her at ease. With a painful expression she turned around and slowly walked towards a car not too far away.

Damn, damn, damn. I’m such a wimp. Frank ruffled his hair and grit his teeth.

“Prove it!” The girl turned her head and threw him a questioning look. “Prove you’re sorry,” Frank explained himself. “We both know, there’s a war coming. You’ll have your chance. Show me you’re sorry. Show me you can be better.”

A smile lit up her face. “I will.” She nodded and hurried to her waiting car. An older man in a dark suit greeted her and opened the door of the black limousine.

Frank only sighed as he watched the expensive car drive into the night.

Well, that was weird.

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When he finally walked home, Frank decided against logging into Novus Vita and chose to catch up on some sleep. The next day his classes passed by uneventful. Most students suffered from a hangover or just skipped the lectures altogether. Tom and Levi were among the latter.

It took a long shower and a hearty meal to get his head straight again. It wasn’t the drinking that proved to be a problem; the early morning messed him up.

The clock struck noon when his headache finally disappeared and soon after, he walked home. A faint smile appeared on his face as he enjoyed the cold air and the bright day. The blanket of snow that covered the town reflected the sun and many people spent their time just strolling through the streets. The numerous holiday decorations looked lovely when covered in white. Kids and their parents’ alike savored hot drinks that tasted better in the cold of winter. The atmosphere was certainly festive. Frank sighed and shook his head, his smile slowly dying. The scenes of happy children and families warmed his heart, but at the same time they made it heavy.

So he hurried home, lay down into the silver capsule and logged into Novus Vita.

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Almost three ingame days passed since he had left, but the damp basement hadn’t changed.

Hall greeted his companions, opened the front of the grandfather clock and stepped into the dark.

Hall didn’t know what to expect, but the long corridor before him appeared remarkably plain. A tunnel that led into the unknown.

“You should get the map,” Moira advised him. “I’m fairly certain I’ve been in this maze before.”

“Fairly certain?” He raised an eyebrow and stepped forward carefully. The darkness around them wasn’t absolute, so he waited until his eyes adjusted to their dim surroundings.

“Yes.” The grimoire admitted with a small voice. “It has been centuries and yet… I remember being here, but I can’t recall the way. Be careful, it’s only a testament to the danger you may face down here.”

Hall nodded and grabbed the map from his inventory. “Use map.” After he spoke, the paper in his hands emitted bright light and disappeared within seconds. A bell rang and a message window appeared before him.

You can now display the map of Roselake’s Underground Labyrinth

When he called for it, a small map appeared in the top left corner of his field of view. His own position was marked in the middle with a red dot. In an unknown location, darkness would surround him. But thanks to the map he received, countless paths, crossings and stairways were displayed.

Hall scratched his head, a confused expression on his face. The number of possible ways was too much. Even though Roselake was the capital and thus a huge town, the labyrinth beneath surpassed it—by far. And only when he zoomed out and took a look at the entire map, he understood the whole picture.

Thousands and thousands of crossings, tunnels and paths. Different levels, connected through stairs or holes in the ground. Even large rooms were carved into the stone. Centuries of digging turned the ground beneath Roselake into a nightmare for every city planner.

How in the world…?

Moira interpreted his confused silence correctly. “Don’t worry, with this information and the knowledge I have of the surface I should be able to navigate through this place.”

“Should, huh?” Hall sighed. “Well, lead the way then. Show me where to learn about soul weaving.”

Of course she couldn’t really lead him, but guiding him was the next best thing.

While the two discussed their path, Lily concentrated on their surroundings. “Do you hear that?” She asked, a strained expression on her face as she listened intently.

“Hear what?” He turned towards Lily and threw her a curious glance.

“Shush.” His floating familiar motioned him to hush. Shrugging, he followed her example and focused on the sounds around them. They passed a few junctions already and the silence around them disappeared a while ago. He expected the labyrinth to be quiet as a grave.

Instead, a variety of noises surrounded them. Dripping water, scurrying rodents, even the sounds of the city reached their ears. They formed a white noise, not unlike the sound of river. It was difficult—almost impossible—to pinpoint their source, so Hall didn’t even try.

After a minute he shook his head and opened his mouth but Lily’s eyes widened. She moved her hands, telling him to listen.

Shrugging, Hall complied. Something was there, something above the noise. He nodded towards Lily and closed his eyes, concentrating on that peculiar sound.

Is it…? ”Voices?” Hall suggested, hesitation in his tone. “But I don’t know what they say.”

Lily nodded and listened for a bit longer. “They are voices, yes. I think they are pleading for help.” She pointed toward a crossing ahead and urged him to hurry. “There! Quick now, they sound desperate.”

Still unsure, Hall followed his familiar. “Tread carefully,” Moira warned him. “This labyrinth is more than an aggregation of tunnels and holes.”

“Of course it is.” Hall sighed. His ‘Soul Perception’ didn’t pick up anything out of the ordinary. Thick walls hindered his skill and all he could sense were insects and rats a few meters ahead and behind. Yet at the edge of his sensory field, something felt… different.

Lily, still following the voices, approached the source of the abnormal sensation fast and he ran after her, taking turns, rushing through the dark. But no matter how far they ran, the voices never came closer and the weird feeling remained at the edge of his skill range.

“Wait!” In the middle of a crossing he stopped their chase. “This is wrong. I don’t think there is anybody.”

They both cast worried glances into the darkness around them. “You’re probably right,” Lily agreed. “But…I can still hear them.”

Hall shook his head, trying to ignore the voices, but now that he knew they were there, they were difficult to push aside. They lost an hour chasing shadows. “Moira, I hope you know where we are, because I certainly don’t.”

Of course she answered with a snotty comment. “That’s what I expected. And yes, I know where we are, just follow the trickle of water in the cracks of the floor. It flows into the right direction.”

“Alright.” They picked up the pace again. “Moira, what can you see and how?” The question just popped into his head after she described the ground. It wasn’t the first time she knew about their surroundings, but he never asked before.

“That’s a rather insensitive question to ask a lady.” Moira sulked.

“It is?” He didn’t even have time to look surprised when he stepped into a puddle, lost his footing and fell straight on his face. “God damn it!”

Lily tried hard not to laugh, but Moira made no attempt to hide her amusement and giggled happily. “Ah, if it isn’t karma.”

Cursing in silence he got up and tried to clean his front, but only managed to spread mud and dirt to the unblemished parts of his clothes. “Well, if I got my punishment anyway you might as well answer right?”

“I agree.” Her cheerful tone made him frown, but he let her have the win and listened. “I can see everything you see, everything your familiar sees and more. Whatever you perceive, all your senses and hers. Our souls are connected and though I can’t read your thoughts we can communicate telepathically.”

If a situation required stealth or if they needed to discuss a sensitive topic, he could talk to her through the ingame message system. Still, receiving information on everything he and Lily sensed, no wonder Moira was always on top of things.

The three continued their happy banter as they wandered through dark tunnels and walked down several stairs. With each step the temperature around them dropped slightly. At first it was barely noticeable, but soon Hall saw clouds form each time he exhaled. The air tasted like metal and smelled of raw iron and earth.

At some point their conversation died down, along with most sounds around them. Only the voices that called for them remained, whispering in the back of Hall’s head.

“Are you sure this is the way?” Hall trusted Moira’s guidance, he just hoped she might have made a mistake.

But her response left no doubt in him. “No, this is the right path. It’s probably one of the oldest parts of the labyrinth. Yet, I don’t remember it like this. It shouldn’t be this cold. It shouldn’t be this—for the lack of a better word—eerie.”

So far the maze felt just like another dungeon, but the low ceiling, covered in icicles, and the frozen walls turned it into a cold grave.

Hall carried torches with him, but the walls emitted a faint glow that allowed him to see. No, not the walls. Unconsciously he rubbed his hands together as he examined the source of the light.

“Runes.” Though they were covered by a layer of ice, he could still make them out. More than that, he could read them—for the most part. “Lily, look at that. Aren’t those Sorian runes? The same as in the tower we met in.”

The fabric of her white dress, though incorporeal, fell like silk. Hall shivered at the sight of her thin clothes. Yet the cold didn’t bother her. She didn’t even seem to notice as her fingers brushed over the frozen wall.

“Similar, yes, very much so. But not the same. They look, I don’t know, cruder?” Lily muttered while she inspected the runes carefully. “They feel different too. The light they emit, it’s not as threatening as I remember. But they are Sorian, no doubt.”

“Correct.” Moira interjected. “And they are old. They’ve already been old when I came here centuries ago. I think their purpose was to prot—”

A bloodcurdling scream emerged from the darkness behind them. Hall had deactivated his ‘Soul Perception’ hours ago and now froze at the horrifying screech. Luckily, the unknown enemy triggered his passive skill ‘Watching over me’. Time slowed down and an instant before the blade of a rusty sword penetrated his chest, Hall dropped to the floor.

-160hp

You have resisted Shadow Sickness

The jagged blade left a shallow wound on his left shoulder. Though the damage was surprisingly high for the minor cut, Hall had no time to think about it. The dim runes around them exploded with blinding light and turned the dark corridor into bright day.

Another scream, this time filled with pain, emerged from the figure above him. The skeleton arm of his attacker dropped its weapon and it fell to its knees. Hall felt no heat from the light in the tunnel, but thick, black smoke rose from his enemy. A torn, dark cloak, charcoal rags and battered metal armor covered its large body. But in mere seconds the rune’s light burned the skeletal attacker and bones, along with cloth, crumbled and left nothing but ash behind.

“They are getting closer every year.” A voice came from the other direction. Hall turned towards it, but the light around them disappeared together with the attacker and the tunnel seemed darker than before.

“Who’s there?” Hall asked, his hand on the grip of his sword. His eyes needed a few more seconds to adjust and he couldn’t make out the man who spoke.

“Oh, that’s a surprise.” The man continued as he approached Hall. “I welcome you, young Harbinger, in the depth of the labyrinth, in the remnants of the Sorian civilization.”

He heard the rustling of dry fabric and saw the faint outlines of a figure bowing. “Wait, how do you know? And remnants? I thought they were all gone?” Hall asked in confusion. “And what was that, the light, the skeleton?” He swallowed his next words and forced himself to calm down. “What’s going on?”

The man before him chuckled. “You have a lot of questions. But that’s good. I like curiosity. For now follow me. The cold is hurting my old bones.” Without waiting for Hall, the stranger turned and walked into the darkness.

“You should go after him.” Moira advised him. “If I’m correct, and I usually am, he’s one of the keeper.”

Still wary, Hall followed the man deeper into the labyrinth. “Keeper?”

“Yes. I came here with the last harbinger. They gather and protect the knowledge of the Sorian tribes that once roamed Bredon and its neighboring countries,” Moira explained while they walked through frozen tunnels. “Down here nobody disturbs them because it’s almost impossible to find. Even your map has no information about this place. But I still remember most—well, some—of it.”

“Comforting.” Hall furrowed his brow. He gave up on memorizing their path long ago. They hadn’t followed the man for more than fifteen minutes and he already lost track of the turns they made. The man himself remained silent and ignored Hall’s questions.

No matter how long they walked, the same string of runes covered the walls. Throughout this level of the labyrinth they seemed to be the only source of light. After a few steps the alignment of runes always repeated, in every corridor, on every wall. Twenty-eight runes. No exception.

If -- will not bow to kindness, it will bow to fire.

He couldn’t understand the second word and neither could Lily.

“It’s as if new runes were carved over older ones. It says Nephesh-Ra,” Moira told them. “But I don’t know what it means.”

They traveled further through the dim maze. Sometimes the ice on the walls and ceiling broke and reflected the light from the runes. Flickering glow and dancing rays of light. Flames frozen in time. On those rare occasions the icy hell showed a fascinating, even beautiful side.

After another hour they finally left the tunnel and entered a large cavern. Thousands and thousands of runes covered walls and ceiling and plunged the chamber into a dazzling glow.

Though far from bright, he could see the other side of the dome-shaped room or at least the runes on the wall.

Several hooded figures that looked like the man who led them, turned towards the small group.

Hall sucked in cold air between his teeth, quickly activated his ‘Soul Perception’ and grabbed the invisible chains. He only relaxed when he sensed no malice from the group. Quite the opposite. Their souls carried no darkness, not even a trace of sin. The most peculiar thing though was the shape of their soul. As if fused with their bodies he could see glowing bones and skin. No, not fused. They were the same, one being.

“What are you?” Hall murmured. Everybody, except for their guide, continued with their work. Some carried books, others wrote new ones or carved characters into stone and wood.

“We are Nephesh-Tobh, young Harbinger.” His face lay in the shadows when he finally broke the silence. “We are what is left of the once powerful Sorian people. Caretaker of knowledge and protectors of secrets.” He raised his arms and a humorless laugh accompanied his motion.

“Truly, we are the cemetery keepers of a once glorious civilization that now rots in this crypt.

Once spread over thousands and thousands of miles, dozens of tribes in every corner of this kingdom and the bordering ones. Our magic was powerful and sought after. But our own blindness, our greed and the envy of others caused the downfall of the Sorian people. But I’m digressing. Though we are one, call me Shom. It’s easier that way.”

“And how do you know what I am?” Hall had a hundred questions but forced himself to be patient.

“I can see it.” Shom said as if it would explain everything.

But Hall didn’t give up that fast. “How? Nobody else noticed it and in this darkness?”

“You—better than most—should know we don’t need eyes to see.” With a sigh he lifted the hood off his head.

Lily gasped and covered her mouth. Even Hall had to swallow hard. If he hadn’t seen Shom’s soul, he would grasp for his weapon. A hairless skull, covered by thin, grey skin stared at him from empty eye-sockets. Narrow lips couldn’t disguise the broken teeth in his mouth. The ashen cloak hid nothing but bones and dead skin.

“I know what you are Harbinger. I also know about your companions. A familiar and the same grimoire that was here before yet now bound. How very intriguing.” Shom snickered without a tongue. “And you are not the first of your kind I met.” His voice grew colder. “No, not I, not this body, but we. The Nephesh-Tobh always had a good relationship with most harbingers, but especially Death’s. Until your predecessor that is.”

“My predecessor?” Hall almost missed something important. “Wait, other harbingers?”

“Of course there are others. But because of the Sorian magic—its connection to the soul—we have always been close to death. In the past.” His tone indicated he wanted to move on, but Hall needed to know more.

“What happened?” He wanted to avoid aggravating Shom. Hall didn’t know enough about the bizarre—be it pure—soul and the group in the cavern. All he sensed was that they were vastly more powerful than himself. Angering them sounded like a bad idea. His intimacy with them seemed low too, so they wouldn’t tell him too much.

“What was done, was done. Let’s just say things didn’t go well, for all of us.” His fragile hand drew a line in the air. The topic was done. “And don’t ask about the other harbingers. It’s not my place to tell you. Now speak, why are you here?”

Hall scratched his head. Didn’t the guy say he liked curiosity?

“I’m here to learn about soul weaving,” Hall stated with a firm voice.

The hooded figures around them stopped their movements for a moment and Shom’s eyeless gaze lingered on him.

“Soul weaving? Yes, you already have found central pieces of its heritage.” The frail man pointed at Hall’s weapons and the amulet around his neck. “But certainly you don’t expect us to simply offer you one of the greatest secrets of the Sorian tribes?”

“For souls as pure as theirs, they sure don’t act very welcoming.” Moira mumbled in the back of Hall’s head.

“For now, can you tell me what exactly soul weaving is?” Hall decided to start small.

Shom hesitated, but nodded. “Soul weaving—at the beginning—allows you to use your soul energy to temporarily connect things already in tune with your soul. The higher the rank, the stronger this bond and the less strict the condition for the bonding itself. Among other things. But know, control over soul energy on a deep level is a powerful, but dangerous thing. You should be certain if you strive for this ability.”

“I’ll deal with the fallout,” stated Hall. “But what would it take for you to teach me?”

Shom scratched his chin. A sound as if he rubbed two pieces of paper together.

“There are still countless Sorian artifacts scattered in the world. In the wrong hands they can create havoc. Enslave souls, corrupt or bind them. As you can imagine it’s difficult for us to leave this place.” He shrugged. “Currently there’s a more pressing issue.”

The thin man gestured them to follow. He led Hall and his companions past high shelves filled with books, vials and a number of odd artifacts.

Shom grabbed a map from a pile of documents and spread it on the table. “This is the level of the maze we’re on. But only few know there are passages to mines, to caves and dungeons all over Bredon, hundreds of miles away. We used them to gather the Sorian heritage left in the world.” His voice grew heavier. “Remember the thing that attacked you before? We call those revenants.”

“Hard to forget.” Hall nodded. “Is that what Nephesh-Ra means? Revenant?”

The frail figure sighed again. Where he seemed like a monster before, he now looked incredibly tired.

“Well, revenant is just that special type of enemy. They are Nephesh-Ra, but that’s not what it means,” Shom explained. “I’m sorry. This is difficult to explain, it’s been centuries since any of us used your language.”

Hall watched the keeper add a heavy piece of wood to the fireplace behind him. “Then what does it mean? I couldn’t translate it and neither could my companions.”

“I’m not surprised.” For a moment Shom stared into the flames as they devoured the log, but left the ice on the walls untouched. “The Nephesh are…different—unnatural maybe. Honestly, we aren’t sure. The Sorian researched the soul further than anybody. Obviously. But a lot of it was lost over time.

“The soul as you know it is something separate from flesh, from your mortal shell. Yet one of our tribes managed to fuse the two. A soul and its body became one. A unity, one being. The Nephesh were born. It only worked if a soul was forcibly purified and enhanced. The death toll was enormous. Immense power and a long life came with it, but the price was high.”

He stretched his arms towards them. What little of his flesh remained, decayed under the crumbling skin. Like twigs about to snap at the slightest touch.

Lily soon averted her eyes, but Hall’s gaze didn’t wander. “So how is all that connected to the revenants?”

Shom covered his arms again and returned to the desk. “They are Nephesh. Just like us. Their souls are fused with their body.”

Hall raised an eyebrow. “Wait, aren’t Nephesh supposed to be pure?”

The skin tore around Shom’s joints as he clenched his fists. But the wounds disappeared when he opened his hands and put them on the table. He shook his head slowly. There was pain in his voice. “They are. You haven’t looked at him have you? They are as pure as we are. Pure darkness. Pure sin. They don’t even have a mind of their own. Only the desire to destroy.”

“Are they created by Sorian magic too?” Shom flinched at the question. But Hall needed the information.

“We don’t know. We had problems with corrupted creatures before, but something like them. Something like the Nephesh-Ra.” He shook his head again. “No. They appeared a few centuries ago when—.” For a moment Hall felt a reproachful glare.

“Anyway. Ever since then we fought a losing battle. And today we lost the last exit from this level of the maze.”

Wait, then I’m stuck? Well, worst case I still have my respawn point. If a player died, he would have the option to revive at the next graveyard or at one of the spawn points he chose beforehand.

Reassured, Hall focused on the conversation again. “What about the runes? I saw their effect, shouldn’t they keep you safe?”

“They were enough before the Nephesh-Ra appeared. Then we had to change them. But they are fueled by our own strength. Only two centuries ago there were hundreds of Nephresh-Tobh. There are less than two dozen left and we still had to give up most tunnels.” He breathed in deeply. “I doubt we’ll survive more than a year. There are just too many of them and too few of us.” His head hung deep, his shoulder slumped. He had resigned himself to defeat. They all did and just performed their tasks without hope for salvation.

“That’s where I come in?” Hall guessed. Lily, fascinated by the cavern and its contents, wandered off during the explanation, but remained in hearing distance. Despite their knowledge of her, the hooded men either couldn’t see his familiar or ignored her.

“Correct,” Shom confirmed. “There aren’t many left with grasp over soul energy. In exchange for your help, we’ll teach soul weaving. What do you say?”

Quest: Man in the BoxYou are trapped in a maze together with the Nephesh-Tobh. They are the keeper of Sorian heritage and stand at the brink of extinction.

Find and defeat the darkness that threatens to overwhelm them.

Difficulty: D+

Quest requirements:

None

Rewards:

Skill Soul Weaving

Failure: the last Nephesh-Tobh dies

“That’s a tall order.” Still, he needed the skill. “Alright, I’ll do it.” Hall agreed.

Quest accepted

A flicker of hope showed on the Nephesh’s face. “Good. I marked the location where the first Ra showed up.” He held the map towards Hall who grabbed and used it without putting it away first.

Your map of Roselake’s Underground Labyrinth has been updated

“But be careful.” Shom warned him. “Revenants are only the first, and weakest enemies you will encounter.”

Hall looked around the cavern and his gaze stuck to the myriad of books. Despite the ice and cold they seemed unscathed.

“Do you have some information for me? About the maze, about its obstacles? It would help a lot in supporting the Nephesh-Tobh.” Hall’s words carried truth, but they also hid selfishness. Knowledge would help Moira to grow and getting the same books on the surface could be impossible.

Hall’s low intimacy caused Shom to hesitate. But he groaned and nodded. He needed Hall to succeed. “Very well. I’ll give you what we know about the labyrinth.”

Though nobody called for him, another man, face and body covered, approached them. He carried a small notebook, more of a journal than a tome.

“This is one of our treasures. It is connected to the magic that protects our library. You can read what we allow you to access from anywhere as long as this place—these books—exist.”

Good thing I asked. Hall hoped to hold on to the book and maybe get the permission to more knowledge. But he kept his mouth shut—for now.

Dravan, the one who still held part of Lily’s soul, and his army of darkness. The Sorian artifacts in the world. His own stained soul. Hall had so many questions. But the Nephesh-Tobh would tell him more if he finished the quest.

So, with a smile, he accepted the offered journal.

“Identify,” he murmured.

Linked Pocket Book (connected)Type:BookQuality:RareAn old journal, magically linked to the library of the Nephesh-Tobh, protectors of Sorian knowledge.

Effects:

Access

Requirements:

Permission by the Nephesh-Tobh

Hall never heard about anything like it. Moira needed knowledge, but he couldn’t carry hundreds of books while he traveled. Libraries would tie him to one place and he would lose too much time. But if there were other books, other items, that allowed him the access to knowledge from afar, he needed to look into it. Though his grimoire didn’t say anything, he felt her excitement. She suffered most from her lack of strength.

“Thank you for this gift. I’ll put it to good use.” He barely managed to suppress a wide grin. The inconspicuous notebook, bound in plain, brown leather, pages sticking out, wandered into his inventory. “I’ll be going then.”

Shom followed him to the exit of the cavern and waved as Hall stepped into the dim corridor. Before entering it, he turned around and casually, as if unimportant, he asked. “The voices in the maze, do you know anything about them?”

“No.” Shom sounded surprised and concerned. “We rarely leave here nowadays, but I can’t say we heard or saw anything.”

Interesting. Hall scratched his cheek. Despite their extensive knowledge, they didn’t know. And he doubted they would lie. So he shrugged and, breathing in deeply, raised a hand and waved goodbye. The light of the cavern soon disappeared and Shom’s parting words disturbed the silent dreariness.

“You are entering the darkness. May your soul’s light guide you, Harbinger.”

A shiver ran down Hall’s spine. The Nephesh-Tobh didn’t expect him to succeed. But he didn’t plan to fail. He had one week left until all hell would break loose in Roselake. His current strength wasn’t enough. He needed more.

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Author’s Note:

Hey guys,

Hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

Well, after I put in the donations button, a few of you asked me what I plan to do with the money. I kind of plan to get a real cover art at some point. If I split the fiction up in more than one volume, I might need two or three. It would also literally buy me some time I can put into writing and maybe get stuff done a bit faster.

So while we’re at it, I’d like to thank the guys who donated so far:

Brian, Jonathan, Martijn, Thomas, Fernando, Theodore, Kevin and Thomas again, thanks a lot, you guys are awesome :D

I’d also like to thank those who keep making suggestions and point out mistakes, that’s really great :)

And as always, please rate, follow and favor, it means a lot

Until next time :bye: