Day 46

Kai Cooper

Everyone took a turn passing through the memorial on the island. None passed through unaffected. In the end, Malachi called it a day and no one argued. They all returned to the Hall. Plans to search the lake for the Key were put off until the next day. Most spent the rest of the day enjoying the many pleasures of life. Vivian and he were no different.

Today the Sixty returned to work. Giving the memorial a wide berth as they prepared to search the lake.

Kai stood where the water met the land and tried to pretend it was a sunny day at the beach. A very hard task between sharp pebbles under his feet and icy water lapping at his toes. The only thing helping the illusion was the heat of the sun crystals and Vivian’s fiery stare. She wasn’t too pleased with him volunteering to join the team searching the lake. Not that his love could argue. His expertise in swimming was too useful to this expedition. Her issue stemmed entirely from the danger.

Especially since it required him and others to go armorless.

Even with Mana empowerment, their armor would be too heavy to swim in. Perhaps in time, that would change, but today Kai refused to risk the constriction. Trying to move through the water with boots on was particularly frustrating.

Standing on the shore with him in a similar state of undress were Malachi and Analia. Both claimed to have the swimming talents needed and the leader of the Sixty insisted on being one of those to take on this risk. Kai wasn’t going to argue with that. He liked that sense of duty. It was a rare sight in his experience. His family had taught a much bleaker style of leadership.

The three of them would begin exploring the lake bottom soon. All they were waiting for was the finishing touches on the raft.

A circular block of ice floated just before the depth of water plunged. Standing atop were four more people, all acolytes. Driving and maintaining the raft of course fell on Carlo, the one who made the bulk of it. Damien and Anastasia would use the mobile platform to provide support. Focusing on illuminating with orbs of light and watching their backs with the eye scouts. The last one was Leon, there for his defensive prowess. Scrap wood had been collected to line the edge of the iceberg for a handhold. That way a tired swimmer didn’t have to grip solid ice. The water was cold enough.

The rest of the Sixty would wait on the shore. Divided between the cove and the island to offer safe havens. Should there be an unknown threat and they needed to flee, there would be two directions to go. The barrier acolyte would hopefully buy them enough time to make it. Carlo claimed to be able to propel the ice pretty quickly if anything went wrong.

Damien gave the three of them a thumbs up. Time to swim.

He reached for the golden light within. Giving it a command and having faith that the power would respond. The light flared, warmth flooded across his skin. His Form was simply defensive, but as a by-product made him glow. The heat was also welcome. Both aspects would be helpful in the depths of the water.

In the corner of his eye, Kai saw Malachi looking at him thoughtfully. Then suddenly there was a burst of Mana around the leader of the Sixty. It settled first as a mild glow that was adjusted before holding at a similar level of illumination as himself. The prideful acolyte clenched his jaw. Feeling a little envious of the Will-based acolytes. Their power was so much more pliable and they found it easier to create a new one. Faith-based allowed things to snap into place, but there was a lot of reaching blindly for anything to work. Annoyingly, taking leaps of faith was required.

Much as getting mad at that was the same as getting mad at yourself, the prideful acolyte found the distinction irritating. He didn’t like feeling limited. Especially since likely something was missing to bridge the gap. One branch of the tree shouldn’t be less than the other. Kai felt this was true, and had faith there was more. Something else to discover.

Kai shunted the repetitive thought aside. There was time for that later, it would bother him again. Time to dive into dark waters. All three of them walked into the waters as beacons of light. Analia was surrounded by a ghostly light that was distinctly off. The light reached towards her rather than away. She also didn’t flinch as the icy water swept past sensitive skin as the depth hit chest level. Malachi and he both sounded like strangled cats before the light around them flared.

Then they began a cycle of diving down, looking around, and then returning to the surface. Following the ice raft slowly towards the center waterfall. At each dive, the roar grew louder. Hushing above the water and growling below.

It was murky below even with their lights. The glow of his form gave Kai barely a foot of sight. Without an encirclement of lights from the acolytes on the raft, things would have been very difficult. Basically would have forced them to get close to anything and everything to identify it. With the light, scouting was only a hassle. Swim a couple of strokes in a circle, close enough to see the bottom, but without disturbing the silt before returning to the surface. Three cycles of that and then a break.

Slowly they progressed until all sound blanketed out, below and above. The falls were close enough for the mist to kiss them. Those standing on the raft were blurry and ghost-like. Kai was starting to feel an ache in his muscles. Mana or no Mana, exhaustion wasn’t too far off. He gripped the wooden edge and swore to make it to the cliff. One full strip of the lake and then someone else could take a turn. Almost aggressively, he gave the other two swimmers a thumbs up. Impatient to get moving again. They both gave him a thumbs up back. The three of them disappeared in a splash.

Down, down, down into the murk. The lake bottom had leveled out a few cycles ago. He counted off the seconds, knowing there was nothing, but water for a while. Empty green water and suddenly a face appeared short of the bottom. Bubbles escaped from Kai’s mouth as he clamped down on a roar. A stone face stared up at him, silently judging his reaction.

He frowned at the face, getting closer and looking about. An entire person, gripping a sword and laying down, was carved on top of a large rectangular box. Finely decorated from crown to boot. The skill involved was absolute, polished to the level of appearing alive. Only sleeping.

It was placed flat on a platform rising from the mud. Cold must have been affecting him. Kai was so busy trying to figure out why it was there, that it didn’t occur to him to ask what it was. A sarcophagus, a chill running through his body.

Creepy as that was, it deserved a closer look. On the side, Kai found what he was looking for. A carved plaque with the man’s name.

Here Slumbers The Last King Of The Union

Setanta Duine

Bearer of the Shining Sword and A Worthy Of Hope’s Mantle

Died Unbroken And With Honor Intact

As The World’s Armies Brought Their Final Blow

He Went Unflinching Into The Great Beyond

Goodbye My Friend

His eyes froze on the last line. It seemed so out of place and hopeless. The words were rough, carved deeper. A gesture of heartbreak that was passed on to Kai on sight alone. Like the memorials above, even with the disconnect, the grief was unmistakable. Everyone had taken a look and no one had been left untouched. Though there was nothing to do, Kai reluctantly looked away. There was still work to do.

The prideful acolyte shifted his attention upwards, not for sight, but as a gesture. Mentally gauging where the raft was. Those calculations went quiet at the shadowed forming standing across the platform. Human in shape, but twice as big. Wriggling too. When that proved to be the only movement, Kai carefully swam towards it. Out of the murk was another figure of stone. A standing statue of another king. Covered into algae, eels, and seaweeds.

Kai compared the two workings of stone. There were more differences than the faces carved. The style differed as well, one seemed to be an homage to a once-living person, and the other an image representing the concept of a king. Quality also starkly divided the two. The sarcophagus was superior in every way. Underneath the clutter on the statue, there was also a sure sign of aging. It might be only the quality shining through, but the prideful acolyte was certain the standing king had been in place much longer.

Deciding this was what they were looking for, he rose swiftly to the surface. It only took a moment to catch the raft's attention. The other swimmers were directed upwards and the acolytes directed the center of their operation where Kai had surfaced. Orbs of light multiplied until the prideful acolyte was swimming in illumination.

Damien’s and Anastasia’s eye scouts scanned the platform below while all three swimmers rested off the raft. As the clues had suggested to them, there was a compartment in the chest of the statue. They dove down to open it. Kai and Analia easily figured out the triggering method. Just a trick of Mana. Within was a ruby heart, aglow. Warm to the touch, the prideful acolyte scooped it up and headed up. Malachi stayed to study the sarcophagus steadily before joining them.

Julia Sarcos

Ruby heart in hand, the Sixty marched to the Gate. The second floor was completed. Kai and Analia took the lead as the finders of the Keys. Malachi encouraged the glory to fall on their shoulders. Choosing instead to walk behind them, beside her. It made the shieldmaiden itch to have people in front. Being the vanguard had sunken into her bones and was a duty she adored. The pomp of letting them walk ahead made sense, but felt wrong.

Julia swallowed the paranoia. There shouldn’t be anything to threaten them on their journey. It was a straight shoot over the ridgeline, an area largely devoid of monsters. Only Rock Chameleons and those barely counted. She would lose precious seconds having to push through those two to raise her shield. That scenario wouldn’t likely happen.

The shieldmaiden kept a close watch to make sure.

Every squawk and splash got her scrutiny. A rock tumbling got a glare from her. She refused for some beast to surprise them, spoil their day. Vigilant.

Of course, the tension she mustered was pointless. Not even the stupid lizards would make an attempt on such a large party. Even sketched out as they were, still they weren’t a good target. Through the narrow cleft, the Sixty went unmolested to find the Gate inside. There were no more bars to their progress. The second floor was out of tricks.

They lit their own way to the Gate. The words of its demand and clue ghostly in the dimness. Without ceremony, Kai offered the ruby heart to the empty socket in the golden door. The Key flashed and floated within the receptacle. A moment later the hole closed up and the door rolled out of the way. Before them was the same layout as before. One long hallway led to another golden door with a turn-off to a teleporter room.

The decorations on the wall were different though. Still celebratory, but rather than cities it was towns. Not parades, but instead festivals. Pictured as snapshots of different towns’ pageantry rather than a single long mural. There was a personal flare to each image, implying a group of artists had staked claims for their own spaces. Showing the challengers of The Pit the memories of their lost hometowns. That was the feeling Julia got as she appraised the display.

It made her a little homesick. Remembering the festivals her own hometown had every few months. A little city enclosed in the metropolis of another. They had a small-town feel despite the urbanization and she missed it in moments like this. Her little apartment and studio, hidden on main street. Everywhere to walk to. A lonely life for a shy artist, but Julia had loved it. She made plans to return, to spend some time admiring the paintings on her own.

As expected, the ghost appeared when the Sixty got close enough to the next floor. Transparent and fussy as an old tv’s reception. Static and interruptions without sound. The cloaked figure looked them over slowly from within the cowl. A blip. It was a few steps forward with the hood down. That ancient face greeted them with a smile. Tugging at dry skin that seemed to have forgotten the expression.

Questions were thrown at him, big ones and small ones. Most were still stunned by the figure, but a view threw it off enough to demand answers. The smile never faltered. Everyone was silent when the ghostly Xaiver Ceaitle began to speak.

“Hello again. You’ve made it through the second trial, I had no doubt you would. It shouldn’t be said that the second trial is easier, but before Ratsins, it is a breath of fresh air I’m sure. Though I can guess the false sunlight is a little bittersweet…”

He fell quiet, breathing deeply and looking into the distance. Touching his heart for a moment before proceeding.

“The second trial is important for many reasons. It is the beginning of the floors built from the old research facility and the site of the Memorial Of The Thirteen. The Ratsins were a barrier to filter for true warriors. Should the horrors of those mutants prevent your progress, then it was best you did not experience the horrors of war directly. Even fighting for our survival, we didn’t want to expose anyone unnecessarily. Arrogance, I know. I don’t believe any of us, Sages, the Generals, the King… all of Humanity… we didn’t really believe we could lose. It was all just a matter of time for us. We underestimated their fear.”

The projection smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, this old man is rambling. The second trial is special as I said. The first step towards becoming warriors acknowledged by the Union. In those old days completing the original fifty floors gained you the title of Brave, but anything after the first floor would still enable you to join the military. A judgment of where you belonged, if you will. To drive them, to remind them why we fought, the Memorial was placed here.”

“It should not be forgotten that once Humanity had lived on the surface. The World turned against us and the Thirteen Great Cities of the Union burned. For no sin on our part. For nothing. Looking on to the Memorial would encourage our future Braves to reclaim the surface. Only the military got to see the sky and we dreamed one day all of our children would see it.”

“That dream, as you know, was not fulfilled. All are now gone, and there was only me for so long. You, my hopefuls, rise! Be brave! I know you can.”

A flicker and the ghost was hooded again. Disappearing a breath later to their reflecting silence.

“I think that might be a recording,” said Julia.

Malachi turned to her, “You think he’s just playing a message for us? Not really coming down here? Well, coming down as a hologram, I mean.”

“That, or he’s got a speech already written. At the very least that man knows what to say and isn’t going to be diverted.”

“Alright, yeah, I can see that,” conceded Malachi. “Xavier doesn’t seem interested in answering our questions directly. There is definitely a tactic to what he is telling us. Praising our efforts and tugging at our heartstrings.”

“It is a little manipulative,” agreed Julia. She wasn’t really resentful, but a little put out by it.

“Whatever the case, I hope he isn’t hands off,” stated the sword acolyte. At her raised eyebrow, he explained. “Much as I have a bone to pick with him, about the whole pulling us into another world then… but the idea that everything is just running without anyone at the helm is far more worrisome to me. Terrifying honestly.”

“O’ yeah, that is kinda horrible to think about,” she frowned at that nightmare. Sixty lost souls stuck in a dungeon and the person that put them there wasn’t paying any attention. Concerning at the very least.

“But we are being watched over thankfully,” praised Harken, joining them. “Xavier Ceaitle gifts us with new knowledge to consider. This Union and that Armies of the World… still so much to understand. We should pool our thoughts, all of us.”

Feeling where the priestly man wanted to take the conversation, Julia started getting moving. “We should do that, but let’s take a look at what the third floor has in store for us!” Speaking privately with Malachi was one thing, but what Harken wanted was something more in-depth than she was comfortable with. She wasn’t alone in that. The invitation to broach why they were here had been loud and clear. Many of the Sixty energetically followed her to the golden door.

Behind her, Harken frowned and Malachi shrugged.

At their proximity, the Gate rolled clear. Greenery covered the view through the portal. It felt somewhat like looking through a sliding glass door into an overgrown backyard. Bushes grew very close to the door on the other side and greedily spread into the new space offered. From atop the doorway peeked leaves from trees that stood on the border as well. Only a little space above the center was unobstructed.

Through that patch was a misty forest. Here and there were bushes and small trees. What dominated the view were giant trees. The trunks were reminiscent of redwoods, tall and bare of branches. At the top though sprang a sprawl of branches like an overcrowded jungle. Many somethings sparkled brightly in the foliage. The forest floor itself was very uncluttered. Groomed grass between the bigger things.

An antlered elk appeared in the mist. Just a shadow. It nosed some of the bushes while passing back out of sight.