As time passed they moved further and further from the brook. The fairy became distracted. Eventually, she mumbled something that only Scott picked up on.

"Hyup?" he asked her curiously.

"Is something wrong, my dear prince?" asked Etragar.

Scott looked back toward the fish man then gestured at the fairy on his shoulder. "Yah."

She shook her head. "The guide wisp is leading us toward Lulu, but this isn't the way to my home."

"No. It does not appear to be." Etragar waddled over to the duo. "Where are you leading us?"

"We are not far from the pond, but as you can see the woods are dying around here." She gestured toward several leafless trees and areas of dry brown grass. "I think it's leading us to an underworld entrance."

"Why would my daughter be in such a place?" Etragar glanced at the fairy in a penetrating manner. "Are you not simply trying to make my dear prince help your cause without meeting my daughter first?"

"No!" The fairy stood up on Scott's shoulder then placed her one hand to her hip while she pointed a finger at Etragar. "I made a promise and fairies do not take that sort of thing lightly!"

Etragar nodded to the fairy. "This is a well-known truth, but that does not change the facts. Does it?"

The fairy stuck out her tongue at the fish man then folded her arms across her chest. "Big mean old fish."

Scott pointed at the wisp. It had continued to move onward without them. Unable to do anything else at the moment, the trio continued. Soon they found themselves in an area of the forest where the trees were dead and no grass covered the ground. One large twisted oak tree in the center of the area offered them a small passageway that lead down into the earth via stone stairs. The wisp entered the underground entrance and continued onward into the darkness beyond.

The entry into the underworld held the appearance of a ghastly mouth, two holes in the massive tree trunk offered the appearance of eyes to complete the effect. Scott did not like the fact that it literally looked as though the earth might swallow them whole if they stepped inside, but clearly this was an important event.

Before he could say anything, not that he would have been able to say much, the world slowed to a stop and took on a black and white tone. A bright blue message window appeared before him.

[Side Mission Briefing]

The Skeletal Drudges in the Whispering Wood have begun to congregate for their annual Gathering of Darkness. There are several locations where they will appear frequently throughout the coming month. One such location is the underworld entrance that you have discovered.

Luau' Ra, daughter of the Kaizo River Merchant Etragar, has gone missing and is presumed to be within the twisting underground tunnels that lead into the world of darkness. Find her before it is too late.

Difficulty: H-3

World Type: Heroic Fantasy Adventure

Force Response Authorization: Solo | Party

Primary Goal: Find Luau' Ra and Escape the Underworld.

Approximate Initial Enemies: 317

Time Limit: 3 Hours

Reward: Special Event Loot

Special Note: Due to the dark powers of the underworld the skeletal drudges located in the underworld are stronger than those that appear on the surface, albeit not by much. Skeletal drudges defeated while in the underworld will not count toward your primary mission total. However, they are more likely to drop loot and will grant twice the standard amount of experience points.

Underworld entrances are also the primary means of entrance into the world above for the skeletal drudges during the Dark Festival. Any that come out of the entrances at night will count toward your primary mission goal once defeated.

[==]

Scott accepted the mission without hesitation. The missing girl was the top priority, but there was another priority that he needed to address. Drudges were not worth much experience individually, but a chance to gain loot and easy points could not be overlooked.

The yawning entrance into the underworld beckoned. Scott's hesitation proved brief. He had faced down far worse than a scary cavern entrance in recent days. Etragar followed nervously behind. If his daughter was truly down in the twisting corridors which led into the world of darkness, he did want to find her.

During the journey across Ha' Ruul the fires of Scott's sense of adventure had been stoked. The background music, visual splendor, and general ambiance of the world around him proved intoxicating. The underworld was similar, but in a different and far darker way.

The music became slightly discordant. The ambient noises turned sinister, menacing. There was a tenseness to the air, as though at any moment some terrible beast might leap from the shadows to steal his life away.

A feral grin split his lips as Scott began to enjoy the outing thoroughly. For some reason the omnipresent tension and fear-inducing sound effects that should make his blood run cold, made his blood burn hotter instead. Was it the Ferakai blood in his veins? Perhaps it was a side-effect of that ability he purchased which would reduce his fear? Was it simply the fact that he suspected that any enemies he faced should be weak? He neither knew, nor cared. Though, admittedly he looked forward to what was to come.

The only fly in the punch bowl of his merriment was the unknown nature of Etragar's daughter's whereabouts. As long as the girl was found safe and sound, there was nothing but fun to be had in these gloomy depths.

He had noticed that since he became a hybrid, there was a certain joy in his heart whenever he was confronted with a fight. He had not had enough time to enjoy the full-blood version without dire circumstances involved. Perhaps in a less tense atmosphere, he would have seen conflict as an even more enjoyable prospect were he currently a full-blooded Ferakai warrior.

The underground world was lit better than he originally expected. Glowing crystals that protruded from the walls nearby lit the place enough that his enhanced senses easily picked up on the environment. Etragar and their fairy friend did not seem to have trouble navigating the area either, so Scott concluded that Ha' Ruulian races were more capable of night vision than humans in general.

"Kekekee. Morsels have come," said a whispering voice nearby.

Scott peaked around a turn in the corridor then yanked his head back quickly. A rusty scimitar whistled downward in a bid to strike his head, but the attack came nowhere close to actually hitting him.

A smile on his lips, he lunged forward with sword in hand. The skeletal drudge tried to correct his posture and strike again, but he was far too late. Scott's blade whipped forward in a fierce lunge that pierced the creature through its empty eye socket and shattered the back of its skull.

"So tasteee!" it cried in denial, then fell to the cold stone floor. Its bones rattled and clattered for a moment then it began to dissipate into motes of light.

Over a dozen of its companions clattered their way down the corridor not long afterward, their teeth cheerfully chattering while they laughed manically.

"My prince! There are too many of them!" exclaimed Etragar excitedly.

Scott snorted lightly then unleashed a loud war cry. "Feeyah!"

"My prince!" cried Etragar in a futile effort to reign in youthful impulses. His look of aghast horror slowly turned to one of disbelief as the so-called prince leapt upon his laughing foes with another wild inarticulate cry.

Scott barreled into the skeletons with no seeming regard for defense. He lead with a powerful flying kick then spun to his left and right in a furious movement of whirling steel. Enemies of this level were nothing to him. Stronger than a basic zombie, and no doubt smarter, they were still not even on the same threat level as a feral zombie. Their ability to use weapons made them more dangerous than the normal zombies, but they lacked the speed and power to make those attacks count against someone like the flailing mostly human champion.

He began to sing a song that came to mind, an English rendition of "The Hero" the theme song to the anime series One Punch Man. Of course, instead of the rollicking pulse-pounding nature of that tune he mostly screamed "Heyah! Fey. Feyht. Yah!"

A spear managed to tag him lightly on the shoulder, but could not break past his armor. He laughed wildly, a joyful light in his eyes as he danced among the skeletons.

"The morsel is a beast!" cheerfully cried a spear skeleton just before Scott leapt upwards and performed a glorious spin-kick that tore its head from his neck. Its skull cackled madly as it sailed through the air only to smash against the nearby stone wall.

Further down the corridor, Etragar and the fairy looked on with wide disbelieving eyes as the supposed hero prince completely overwhelmed over a dozen skeletal drudges empowered by the underworld.

"Is he truly...?" Etragar was flabbergasted. All this time, he thought the man to merely be a wandering foreign adventurer. Was he truly a foreign hero, or actual royalty? Maybe both? No mere soldier or adventurer could fight in such a wild manner while laughing so uproariously. A wandering noble might be able to manage such a feat, and a hero certainly could do so. Yet, he had never heard of a round-eared hero.

Scott slammed his booted heel into the chest of an ill-prepared skeleton and sent it flying back into the wall. Several of its bones shattered on impact and it fell broken to the ground. "It hurts! It hurts right in the bones! Gyahaha!"

He performed an artful flying cartwheel over the head of the remaining spear skeleton when it tried to skewer him. Scott kicked off of the wall and wheeled over its head in the opposite direction when it tried to reverse its attack. His sword flashed downward in a powerful arc. The skeleton cried out in panicked denial as it was shorn in half from the ridiculous power of the blow.

The battle at an end, Scott wandered the area briefly. He put broken skeletons out of his misery then collected a few crystals for his trouble. The loot was scarce, but still better than what the drudges provided on the surface.

'I really needed that,' he tried to say. Of course, it came out as an amused bit of nonsense sound.

The fairy gasped lightly then clapped her hands in excitement. "The goddess truly must have sent you, hero. Here, a kiss to reward your good deeds!"

She tried to zoom forward to reward her hero with a kiss, but Etragar reached up and grasped her by the leg. "Enough of that, you overly amorous little dragon fly. The prince should not be bothered, and we have more pressing concerns."

The fairy turned around and offered the fish man a scandalous look. "You're so mean!"

"Behave yourself!" he chided the fairy.

"You're not my mother!" exclaimed the fairy in annoyance. She crossed her arms over her chest then leveled a puffy-cheeked pout at him in protest.

"Be glad of that! No daughter of mine would grow up to be a flying tart," exclaimed Etragar.

"What's wrong with being a tart, you stupid flounder!" She ran her hands along the curves of her body then shook her chest a little. "Tarts are sweet and tasty, loved by everyone! So there!"

Scott glanced back at them then rolled his eyes. Bemused by their antics, however, he could not help but smile. If not for the fact that they had a missing girl to locate, this would be a perfect little outing.