A Task Remembered

_____________________

The Wellspring – The Scriptorium

The cage gently stops. A nice contrast to its rough starts… Amber crystals yet remain here illuminating the modest workspace. Desks dominate the room, numbering well beyond what a mere glance can count. The room is filled with tomes, parchment, pens, and quills, and is likely dedicated to reading and copying the many volumes that line the shelves along the walls. Would read some of them, but that proved fruitless before, didn’t it?

Two chambers lead from here, both identified by simple wooden placards placed above their corresponding door frames. One of them reads ‘Living Quarters’, the other claiming ‘Gate of the Heathen’ as its name. How come I can read those, though? The contents of these halls are difficult to determine from this location, but a faint smell of spoiled meat permeates the entire area. Lovely.

Seeing one direction is just as good as the other, she proceeds towards the Living Quarters.

_________________________

The Wellspring – The Living Quarters

Guided solely by her probing hands and feet, Eidos enters the silent darkness of this new chamber—though the strengthening of the sour stench of rotting meat certainly offers further clues of what to expect.

Errant streams of subdued light give the three doors of this room an icy glow. The lack of lighting within the chamber, however, forces her eyes to grow attuned to the shadows. What the darkness once concealed is a living area in complete disarray. Bedding, chairs, tables, bunks, and tomes have all been hurled across the floor. Walking becomes difficult as a great number of the bunks themselves have been ripped from the walls and splintered into puzzles impossible to reassemble.

Eidos’ progress is eventually halted when she comes upon the bodies. Gross, more dead things. I’m guessing it was Luin again. From here to the limits of the room, corpses are strewn about in quantities large enough to populate a small township. But if it was Luin, then where’s the green glow? The bodies mirror the broken bunks in their numerous unnatural separations. And an absolute lack of sound or movement seems to corroborate the suspicion that none survived the slaughter.

Eidos quickly reconfirms the room's three exits by their pale blue haze before continuing her exploration. Best to know where to run if whatever did this comes back. But distance prevents her from reading the placards above them.

Among the corpses and chaos, she also detects a surprisingly unperturbed desk. A great many papers and documents lay atop, littering the surface of the desk.

Eidos moves to examine the bodies. I figured as much. You’re a rather morbid creature, you know that, body? Most folk here don robes slashed and crusted with blood. Clean cuts suggest a sharp blade, and precise angles indicate a skilled hand. The lacerations are too numerous and too deep to have been caused by a human weapon, looking more as though they were inflicted by some grotesque, shadowy creature. Well, at least I have a grotesque green creature in me as protection… Eidos notices many of the wounds were inflicted upon their backs and sides, as though they were in retreat when cut down.

Climbing over the corpses, careful not to further desecrate them with her footprints, Eidos makes her way to the lone beacon of order among the chaos. Upon arrival, she rifles through the documents looking for something she can understand. It’s pointless; I can’t read this stuff… Among the documents, Eidos discovers something interesting regarding Khaa's recent excavations. Wait! I can read this?! …So, why some things and not others? Merely by looking at it, she commits it to memory. Whoa! That’s a neat trick!

EXCAVATION REPORT II

'Bestiary of Falitan'

cr. Art. Falitan of Kabu

Falitan, artisan of Dazir, and overseer of the New Work of the Honorable Mage Khaa, beloved and watched by Biracul may he be, has set to record a full tabulation of the beings known to inhabit the Wellspring, both those well known to the Technocraft of Dazir of Old, as well as those to which the New Work has brought to the sight of man—and the Shining One that guides him. May Biracul guide my pen and assure this report's veracity and comprehensiveness.

First, be the Arclights, women said to have lain with the Vanquished and cursed to servitude by them. These creatures will only obey the commands of those carrying the Sigil of Wulfias. With it, we have been masters of the Wellspring since our ancestors conquered it from the Heathen. However, care must be taken when holding or moving the shards that serve as their prisons, given that the Trueflesh of the Arclights within will burn even those loved by Biracul until they stand by his side within the Eye.

The glory of the New Work is attested in what we have learned from the Neverborn unearthed from the excavation. These spawn of Famlicus are crafted in the avian form of their progenitor, with the beak of a hawk, taloned feet and clawed hands. Kushkucu has failed in his attempts to perceive their minds, though it may be that the Ruby Jinn has bestowed them with the gift of the Occult Mind of the loathsome Unseen. Thus, I fear these beings will not respond to the Glyph of Wulfias. They bear a resemblance to the idols that are housed within the accursed temple.

As, the wisdom of Khaa has unearthed this evil, I beg for his wisdom in guiding us in how to proceed with this new Awareness. I only pray that our people have not been watched with the smoldering eyes of the Enemy all these long years.

Eidos looks toward the nearest exit, now close enough to read the placard above it. Temple. I wonder if that’s the temple that Falitan guy was talking about. Only one way to find out. And she moves toward the temple.

___________________

The Wellspring – The Temple

Eidos enters a place of hallowed worship. Several crystalline sconces pour their dim, amber light down into the room—though, this dying incandescence seems to feel gravity's pull tenfold, leaving the ceiling drowned in a sea of shadows. The room's center is occupied by a raised altar of some sort, with bowls of offering placed upon it.

Most notable of all, perhaps, are the two statues flanking the altar. And I’m guessing those are the Neverborn Falitan was describing. That guy was pretty useful, it seems. They look to be crafted from wood, and clothed in dark raiments. Their form is a hybrid of human shape and avian features. Their feet are clawed with red-accented, ivory talons, and their elongated faces, though veiled in scarves, provide the impression of beaks. But why haven’t they tried to kill me yet?

Only one unexplored door leads from here to the ‘Gate of the Heathen’. The ‘Heathen’… must’ve been important—despite the terrible nickname.

_____________________________

The Wellspring – The Gate of the Heathen

Here, the fruits of death's labor reach full bloom. It’s much worse when you can see it so clearly… In a well-lit chamber, Eidos finds herself looking upon the festering fragments of what once were the Wellspring's operators, their dismembered corpses a testament to their failure to escape this cursed place.

This chamber had clearly served as the point of entry and egress from the Wellspring. However, the archway leading out hosts not the empty space of a door, but rather a massive and immobile slab of shadowy rock.

The dark rock preventing any hope of escape from the Wellspring is wholly unlike the limestone that makes up the environment around her. It seems to be a solid, monolithic chunk of onyx. No abrasions mar its smooth face, yet bloody streaks from the clawing fingers of desperate victims make for gory accents upon its shiny surface.

Bodies and body parts pile up in a chaotic heap before the unforgiving barrier. Likely, the folk were crawling over one another struggling to retreat even as they were torn to pieces by some unknown Wellspring horror that perhaps yet lurks in its depths. The few bodies still whole are rent with countless lacerations, as if clawed apart by something distinctly inhuman. I think I’ve had enough of this.

Turning her attention to the exits, she sees a placard for the Scriptorium, the first room she visited on this level. This is a loop, then? Guess I have to go back and check the third door in the Living Quarters… Probably should just call them Quarters now, since no one’s ‘living’ there anymore. Her constant exposure to the bizarre is clearly affecting her mind.

Eidos turns back toward the temple whence she came and begins walking toward it.

___________________

The Wellspring – The Temple

The temple is just as it was before, save one important exception: the two statues by the altar have vanished. Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. Luin, get ready!

She waits, quickly scanning the environs for signs of movement. She sees none. Perhaps there is no danger after all. Guess it’s all in my head… No! This is bullshit! Those statues were there and now they’re not and there are tons of dead bodies and what else could’ve done that?! I mean it’s clear those things are going to try to murder me!

Remaining unconvinced that the room is devoid of dangers, she crouches in a corner to observe. All grows quiet. So quiet. But then she hears something. What’s that?! It pounds with impressive regularity. Oh, it’s my heartbeat… But still! Maybe those things are just waiting for me to move! I won’t let them ambush me!

Thus, she waits and she waits. Yet despite her constant paranoia, nothing happens. I still think we should wait a little more. But growing tired of her baseless fears, she moves forward, on into the Living Quarters. Fine, body. Just be prepared!

___________________________

The Wellspring – The Living Quarters

Moving back into the darkness, Eidos’ eyes complain as they strain to make out shapes among the shadows. She moves forward, again avoiding the bodies as best she can.

About halfway through the room, a rhythmic clicking begins. Metal on stone echoes throughout the room. Body, listen: you need to run!

Giddiness fills her as a vibrant green sword emerges from the void. Luin, for once, I’m happy to see you. Its brilliance banishes the shadows and bathes all in its emerald light. Eidos searches for the source of the clicking, but the echoes make it impossible to locate.

The tempo accelerates as a choir of warped, avian cooing joins in the mix, and the source begins to move, growing louder, coming nearer.

Eidos’ head spins, frantically looking for her would-be assailants. Louder and louder their song grows. Sweat beads up on her skin, joining into streams pouring down her forehead. Her eye catches a drop of moisture, temporarily blinding her. She blinks to flush it out only to find it is sticky, and distinctly unsweat-like in its texture. Her eyes search toward the ceiling directly above here where she sees two green-washed rubies shimmering among the shadows. Eyes. Inhuman. Aaaahhh! She screams, terror strangling reason. The creature falls on her, like a desert hawk hunting its prey.

Luin moves to counter, but the enemy is too elusive, changing direction mid-dive with a mere flap of its wings. Luin gives chase, swiping at the Neverborn creature, missing narrowly each time. Frustration enters the volatile mix of emotions Luin brings, and like a child’s tantrum, Eidos’ mood grows frenzied. She pursues, recklessly swinging, now missing by far wider margins than before. She overextends, losing her balance. A corpse blocks her foot, preventing her recovery. She falls.

Suddenly, unspeakable pain surges through her back as Luin vanishes. A sound of glass shattering. Blood streaming. She reaches to touch the wound. Not deep. Another claw takes her in the face. Glass crackling. No blood. How?

Eidos soon recognizes a familiar green glow enveloping her skin. Luin as shield… Okay, body, I was wrong. You were right to touch the weird, green crystal!

The second statue joins, slashing and cleaving in tandem with its twin. Speed beyond sight, each attack seeks the flesh beneath Eidos’ skin. But their talons are like glass to her diamond skin, and succeed only in breaking themselves.

Luin reaches to intercept one of the enemies’ attacks, capturing it by the leg. Its thin limb disintegrates under the force of Eidos’ grip. She swings it by the leg, bringing it crashing into the wall. The creature erupts like a firework into a thousand splinters from the impact, its blue-green blood showering everything in range.

Undeterred, its partner prepares for one final attack, propelling itself forward and twisting like a drill, ready to bore a hole through Eidos. Contact. Its force colliding with her impenetrable skin splatters the wall behind her with chunks of its blood and body, clearly marking the outline of its vanquisher.

Is it over? There were only two, right? She pants heavily as Luin’s glow dissipates. That was… intense. Another encounter survived; another death avoided. She moves on toward the third and final exit.

___________________

The Wellspring – The Bridge

Walking from the corridor, Eidos steps out into a vast fracture in the earth. Huge rock formations tower overhead, and beyond them is a star-studded sky. While cold winds blow all about, the dominant sound is that of water coursing across stone. Okay, so the ravine from before and now I’m going to the side the silver throne thing was on.

Directly across the ravine is another cliff face, some hundred paces away. A massive stone bridge connects the distant sides; built of large and roughly hewn granite stones, it is a thing of no great beauty. However, it seems sturdy and well-maintained, if nothing else. For the moment, ‘safe’ is all I care about.

As she nears the midpoint, Eidos looks down and sees the likely source of the water's sound. Several great currents appear to flow mightily beneath this bridge through three covered channels. Yet she hears activity from only two; the third, the leftmost, is oddly silent, no water coursing through its lonesome ducts. Far below, an enormous and unmoving body of water appears to have once fed the silent channel. Looks like I’m getting closer. She continues forward, across the bridge.

After their tireless march, Eidos' feet find the end of the bridge. The landing laid out beneath her seems seldom used or newly discovered, as moss and plant growth creep up between its stones. Beyond the landing yawns the darkened mouth of a passage deeper into the earth.

____________________________

The Wellspring – The Chamber of Bones

Walking into the passage, Eidos feels the full oppression of the cold and damp. Droplets of moisture sprinkle down upon her head as she makes her way toward the faint, flickering light up ahead. Stumbling over the uneven and obscured paving stones, she nears the source of illumination only to discover its grim source: a human skull placed into a hollow in the stone wall. Not the most messed up thing I’ve seen. A single shard of crystalline glass has been placed within the left eye-socket, and it burns with a perpetual yet undulating light.

From here, she sees the path taking a sharp turn, leading toward another grisly light cyclops. Passing three such lanterns, dozens of paces separating one from the next, she finally arrives at a larger space, brilliantly illuminated with a powerful array of crystals.

In this room, Eidos looks upon the resting place of countless dead. The limestone chamber is simply carved, scores of alcoves lining both sides, each filled with bones. She notes that the remains are sorted according to kind—whether they be rib, limb, digit or spine. The skulls are venerated above all else, each placed within its own small hollow; each gifted with a shard of shining crystal as a left eye.

As she walks forward, it becomes clear that this chamber is larger than it at first appeared. Further wings extend from all sides; yet only two of these are of any note. The first, directly ahead, is a separate room, illuminated by a different species of light, pale white in color; the other is to the side and is significantly dimmed; all others are obstructed by mounds of excavated rock and the tools that moved them.

Peeking into the near lightless wing, the recent excavation adequately explains its dim state. Skull-lamps have been scattered throughout a lengthy tunnel, carved deep into the bedrock. Pickaxes and shovels litter the ground, while some human remains have been rather unceremoniously moved to wooden bins. So do they respect these remains or not? And who do these bones belong to anyway? They’re way too dusty to be recent…

Turning her attention to the pale room, all she can make out are the outlines of two bulky statues flanking either side of a doorway further into darkness. Dangerous looking and so… She moves to enter the room. …that’s where my body wants to go, clearly.

____________________________

The Wellspring – The Chantry of the Martyr

Eidos stands at the threshold of a chamber that at first appearance claims to be some sort of shrine. The room is but a few strides in length, of an unimaginative rectangular dimension, and bare but for two marble statues standing on either side of a simply carved rectangular door, opposite the entrance. Simple as simple can be.

Light softly emanates from the statues, as though reflecting the light of a full moon; yet a glance skyward confirms that the ceiling is solid, and lateral glances show it to be utterly windowless. The two figures stand opposite one another as though peering at their own reflections. Within the illusory mirror, identical women dressed for war, each nearly twice as tall as Eidos, lock eyes in front of an unobstructed doorway. Both have a hand resting upon the pommel of their giant swords, while the other is raised toward Eidos, palm facing outwards. They wear expressionless faces, making it impossible to tell if these are gestures of salutation, intimidation, or caution.

Eidos walks forward, meeting their icy gaze. Immediately, they begin to wake from their slumber, dropping the cloaks of dust that time has placed upon their shoulders. With the barest whisper of a noise, their outstretched palms lower to grip the hilts of their swords. The warrior figures swiftly—albeit inelegantly—move their sandaled feet towards Eidos, as they raise their massive blades on high.

In a sudden burst of motion, the marble warriors bring their lustrous swords down, converging upon Eidos. The instant before impact, Eidos can feel her skin harden as Luin responds to her mortal danger. The heavy swords send sparks flying as they scrape down her shielded Falseflesh, but unlike the claws of the first two statues, these weapons do not shatter.

Regardless, the pressure from the twinned blows is too great, the force too energetic, and she is violently ejected from the room.

____________________________

The Wellspring – The Chamber of Bones

Eidos comes sword-propelled back into the resting hall of the dead. Hundreds of light-giving eyes watch her above their deathly grins as she tumbles back into a wall, rattling the bones within. Her insides feel as though they have been rearranged from the impact, but she yet lives. No further proof is needed to deter her from re-entry. Yes, thank you. Now can we find out how to turn the water on? Oh boy, I hope that’s not the room I have to go to to do it…

This leaves but one path to explore: the path toward the excavation site. Eidos is clearly reticent to enter the cramped site, as the mephitic fumes oozing out from the passage launch a coordinated assault on her lungs and nose. That’s foul. But at least it doesn’t smell like it’s dead bodies… and I hate that I know the smell of dead bodies well enough to make that assumption. Soon, she is forced into an excruciating cycle of gasping and dry heaving. Yet, a decision made is an action taken, and thus, she crosses the threshold.

____________________________

The Wellspring – The Excavation Site

She is grateful that the fetid tunnel is at least well illuminated. It seems this vault is indebted to the burial room for the skull-lanterns keeping the shadows at bay. Taken from their resting places, they are now made to rest upon staves driven into loosened rubble piles on the floor. Not sure I’d want to made into a lamp when I died… if I could die.

No more than twenty paces in, the tunnel widens into an irregularly shaped chamber, bulging here and narrowing there, but never less than fifty paces wide. Nets line the ceiling to catch larger pieces of rubble before someone's head would have broken their fall. Crates and shelves, scattered tools and, oddly enough, even a desk, account for most of the contents of the room, though its other holdings are certainly more interesting.

A number of statues have been left in alcoves that combine avian and human features. Not those things again! Other areas hold fragments of darkened glasses, or perhaps crystal, of various shapes and sizes.

The wooden desk in the center of the room appears to have been hauled from elsewhere—no mean feat, given its awkward dimensions and hefty look. Upon it are parchments newly written, made legible by a skull left nearby, its flameless yet burning eye casting long shadows across the room. I can probably read something from there, too.

Yet another tunnel exits opposite the one Eidos entered, leading further into the earth. Peering in, she sees that it is simply a crumbling stairwell leading down towards the sound of water. Advancing ten paces or so, the way ahead terminates, broken and ruined, as though the staircase had been simply torn in two. A ways below the broken path appears to be a landing of sorts, and further still, the continuation of the staircase. Beside it, a precipitous drop hugs the edge of a tenebrous subterranean lake.

Eidos notices large wooden fragments scattered about on the landing below. They appear to have been ladders at one point, all hastily destroyed. Trying to stop us from going down or something else from coming up? Though jumping down to the landing would prove quite simple, if she does, it will likely be impossible to climb back up, the slick, moss-covered rock.

Before continuing down into the depths, she thinks it wise to check the contents of the desk. Never know what you might find. Searching through the papers, Eidos finds something among the writings. A man appears to have been composing a letter before tragedy struck. And again, at a mere glance she commits it to memory. That really is pretty amazing.

TO ALIA

'I fear the worst…'

cr. Art. Kushkucu of Kabu

My dearest Alia,

Something must be done to halt the madness of Khaa. While sycophants like Falitan may lick that old vulture's boots, I was right in my suspicion that this excavation will be the end of us all!

Even as we desecrated the Chamber of Bones, our success was 'blessed' by the Ruby Jinn. Neverborn creatures bearing the mark of Famlicus were unearthed as we dug a path into the underhalls of the Wellspring.

Now I know who sees through the smoldering eyes that look upon us from the accursed temple! If Khaa ever does sit upon the rumored Throne of the lower levels, I have no doubt that only desolation awaits.

I hope to return home as soon as Khaa's weekly inspection concludes. It will be good to be among my loved ones again. Would that the Shining One have shone His light upon the shadows blinding Khaa, so that I would never have been tasked with this lunacy!

Yours in Biracul,

-Kushkucu

Not a fan of Faiitan’s it seems. Also, confirms my suspicion that Khaa is a creep. What really happened here? Did Khaa stop the water to get rid of the Tacribians and it backfired? What were these excavations about? Were they the cause of the trouble? Why do these people have to be so frustrating?

She stands at the desk, wondering how to proceed. First, I release the water, so the Tacribians don’t slaughter the Dazirans. I don’t care about most of them, but Rada and Serpil seemed nice enough, and the others were annoying but don’t deserve to die… She moves, slowly walking toward the broken stairs. This has to be the way to that Throne. With that and the Sigil of Wulfias, I bet I can control the Wellspring and set things right!

Finally starting to feel a sense of purpose, she returns to the edge of the excavation site, ready to complete her task.