The assembly of Kleots scattered quickly once the ruling was made to spare the lives of Clarke and Eric. Apparently, their execution was a more interesting sight than their release. Eric hastily examined the new quest and distributed his precious new characteristic points into Vitality. He wasn’t interested in getting knocked out cold so easily again.

Ka’tra meandered over to the two humans after some of the crowd cleared. He unsheathed a massive blade and cut the bindings from Clarke’s wrists with a single stroke. He gave Eric a meaningful glare and said, “I have no patience for your kind, but the council thinks you may prove valuable so I will follow their orders for now. Ma’tix will help equip you with any provisions you need from the storeroom. We will leave shortly.”

Ka’tra nodded toward a slender built Kleot watching their conversation from nearby. Then he turned around hastily and disappeared into the dispersing crowd. Eric followed him with his eyes and turned back to find the new Kleot standing before him. He was wearing a look of interest and examined Clarke and Eric closely.

“I’m Ma’tix. Knowing Ka’tra we don’t have much time so you better follow me to the storeroom right away,” he said after a few moments.

Eric motioned to Clarke and quickly caught him up on the events that transpired as they tailed the new Kleot that was assigned to help them. Eric realized they desperately needed to find another Tome of Translation for Clarke. It would get old acting as a translator if they continued to encounter races that were not fluent in common tongue.

Clarke nodded thoughtfully and listened intently to all of Eric’s words. He gave Eric a slap on the back once he finished and said, “Sounds like we might just have lucked out with this detour.”

Eric nodded thoughtfully, but he was still wary to trust the Kleots. They had not learned much about them or their ambitions. As they talked, they were led down a long and winding passage that eventually opened into a bustling cavern of catwalks and tightly packed wooden structures. Eric discovered Kleots of all ages and size traversing the bridges connecting the various structures, and he looked down to see a path on the cavern floor covered in various shops and stalls on each side.

“Incredible,” he mumbled to Clarke.

“Talk about not judging a book by its cover,” Clarke replied as he gazed across the area.

“Seriously,” Eric said. Eric never imagined the Kleot maintained an entire economy within the subterranean city. The great hall was impressive in size and architect, but seeing the size of the active population living and working was even more impressive. He had already started rethinking his initial conceptions of the race.

As they crossed the walkway, Eric noticed the entire underground system was lit by a soft glow emitting from the ceiling and walls of the cavern. As they crossed a wide bridge high above the streets below he got a closer look at the glow and discovered it was some sort of living organism. It pulsated slightly and shone a colorful bluish yellow. It provided plenty of light that illuminated most of the cavern, and he realized it also prevented the need to use torches which produced dangerous fire and smoke.

The group stepped off the bridge and into a small corridor after a walking for several minutes. They were greeted by a feeble looking Kleot sitting behind a desk at the front of a long corridor. He took stock of the group as they approached his desk.

“Come to take more of my supplies Ma’tix?” the old Kleot said in a surprisingly eerie voice.

Ma’tix scrunched his face and said, “Don’t give me that Ta’zar. We both know you enjoy the company. We have a couple outsiders looking for some supplies to before continuing on their way into the frontier. How about finding them what they may need?”

Ta’zar sniffed and looked them over. “Fine. Fine. I know all about it from the council hearing. You know news travels fast around here. Come with me,” he said and stood up from his hunched over position at his desk.

They followed the grumpy Kleot down the hallway past a dozen rooms before stopping in front of a solid wooden door framed in thick iron. Ta’zar pulled a large key from his pocket and opened the door to reveal a bizarre scene.

The inside of the room was covered in a thick black substance that reminded Eric of bubbling tar. It covered the walls and floor, completely obscuring the shapes hidden below. Ta’zar walked in and made several intricate hand motions while chanting in a low voice.

The moment he lowered his arms the black substance began to shift and peel away from the surfaces in the room. It started to gather in a small circular ball at the center of the chamber. After a few moments, the entire room was revealed, and a swirling mass of black spun in the air above their heads.

Under the substance were wooden shelves loaded with equipment and supplies of all kinds. Eric looked back and forth from the swirling mass and Ta’zar. Unable to contain his curiosity he sputtered, “What is that stuff?”

Ta’zar gave him a bemused look and replied, “It’s security. Earth magic has always been our gift from the gods, and we use it for many purposes.”

Eric stood dumbfounded for a moment. The application of magic was impressive. It was an ingenious way to keep away anyone who didn’t know the correct incantation to remove the substance.

Eric’s thoughts were interrupted as Ta’zar starting walking along the shelves tossing items toward them as he went. The majority were rations of various types but also some sturdy equipment including coats and blankets.

“They showed me your poor excuse of equipment. If you are going to find the Tarth, you will require warm clothing. They reside deep in the mountains where the temperatures plummet,” Ta’zar said smugly.

Eric looked down at his leather armor and thin undergarments. He wasn’t sure how they could know what equipment they carried in their inventory, but he supposed there was some magic or explanation thought up by the system. Eric was feeling anxious as he realized he was still without his most valuable possession, Shadowspark. His senses immediately heightened and he felt a wave of fear crawl over him at the potential loss.

He knew a bonded weapon couldn’t be lost from death, but he wasn’t entirely sure about theft. He couldn’t imagine anyone would let a relic like that slip through their fingers so easily even if they couldn’t appropriately wield it like its true owner. He felt an echo in the back of his mind and clasped onto it as he reached out mentally to the familiar connection he felt when Shadowspark was within his grasp. The connection was weak and distance, but it was still present. He focused on the far off presence, and it slowly grew in his mind.

Suddenly, as if all at once the connection bloomed in his mind and unexpectedly darkness replaced the space in front of him and Shadowspark appeared in his hands.

Ting!

New Skill Alert: Shadow Recall (100 Mana) – You have formed a powerful connection with your bonded weapon. You can focus on this connection to transfer possession of bonded Grand Bow back to yourself if it is stolen or misplaced.

Warning: This skill may fail if the bonded weapon connection is severed through neglect or magical disruption.

Eric stood wide eyed for a moment. Clarke and the two Kleots looked towards him with perplexed looks. He quickly put Shadowspark over his shoulder to ensure hostilities were not warranted. “Sorry about that. Sometimes this thing has a mind of its own,” he said tapping the shaft of Shadowspark gently to make light of the appearance of a weapon in thier midst.

Ta’zar was the first to recover. “Neat trick. You will have some explaining to do to the guards when you and your friend go retrieve your weapons, and they find you’ve managed to get it out from under their noses,” he huffed before returning to the storeroom supplies.

Ta’zar’s comment seemed to discharge the situation, and they returned to the loading of inventories with the various equipment and supplies Ta’zar offered them.

After the group finished loading the supplies provided by Ta’zar they were guided out of the room. The storeroom keeper quickly chanted a few short verses and the swirling mass in the center of the room oozed back to the floor and took its place over the room’s wares. Eric made a mental note to try and find out more about earth magic. It proved to be a powerful element, and he was already churning through a few uses for particular spell he observed.

Eric gave thanked Ta’zar for his hospitality, and they were led back through the woodwork city and into the main hall. Clarke and Eric discovered Ka’tra was strapped with weapons and already waiting for them near the exit. Ma’tix gave them a quick bow and disappeared without another word. Apparently, he knew Ka’tra well enough to tell he wasn’t in the best of moods.

The companions approached cautiously and the massive Kleot looked down at them with a grimace. “Took you long enough. We will grab the rest of your gear from the guard house on the way out. Let’s go,” he said gruffly.

Eric nodded, and Ka’tra turned around and stomped off toward a hallway branching upward away from the main hall. Clarke and Eric followed behind keeping their distance. “We should probably stay out of his way as much as possible. I don’t think he expected the council to assign him as our chaperone to the edge of their territory,” Eric said to Clarke in a hushed tone.

“Yea, all of these Kleot creatures look annoyed when they see us, but he takes it to a whole new level,” Clarke replied nodding toward Ka’tra as he stormed past a couple guards.

They kept their heads down and made it to the guardhouse without issue. Clarke was thrilled to get reequipped after being unarmed and helpless for his extended stay as a prisoner. Eric tossed his quiver back on his shoulder and slid his knife into its sheath and felt a similar feeling of ease.

They finally emerged from the cave system after another ten minutes of fast paced marching. The sun was already deep in the sky, and Eric found it was already late afternoon. He found it was difficult to keep track of time in the Kleot’s underground city, not to mention being knocked out for some period of time had him twisted up.

Once they emerged Ka’tra finally stopped his quick charge and approached some sentries stationed at the base of one of the many fortifications surrounding the entrance. He began exchanging a few words with the sentries giving Clarke and Eric a chance to look around.

Eric noticed the sentries were bountiful and the defenses into the cave system were extensive. He was impressed by the guard towers and the essentially miniature fort that was built at the entrance. It was primarily constructed of thick black stonework. It was another testament to the Kleot’s craftsmanship and likely the ability of their earth mages to shape bricks and constructs from the hard to move material.

Clarke and Eric waited patiently in a mustering area admiring the construction until Ka’tra returned. “We will make for Plantic Pass. If we want a decent shelter for the night, we need to move quickly and quietly. The sentries have been reporting sightings of Raklers in the area,” he said tensely.

Eric turned his head slightly and asked the obvious question, “What are Raklers?”

Ka’tra gave him an annoyed look obviously not interested in answering Eric’s questions, but he gritted his teeth and replied, “They are an aggressive monster race with skin as thick as iron and a mouth full of teeth as sharp as spears. All you need to know is if you see one you better hope it hasn’t seen you first.”

Eric nodded gravely. He feared Raklers were higher level monsters than any they had faced up to that point. He took a quick look at his character sheet and felt this was bound to be an interesting stage of their adventure.

CharacterName: Eric ShadowsparkRace: HumanSub-Race: SwiftswornLevel: 15Experience: 9,800/10,600 Satiety: 72/100Fame: 890Leadership: 30Competence: StrengthHealth: 319/319 - Regeneration: 31.9/HourMana: 110/110 - Regeneration: 11/HourStamina: 268/315 - Regeneration 31.5/Hour

Attributes (0 Points Unallocated)Strength: 70 (7)Intellect: 15Agility: 20Vitality: 29 (2.9)Wisdom: 11Dexterity: 30 (1.5)