After the meeting, I left the city and returned to the fast travel point. An unwelcome sight was waiting for me, there.
Adam, wearing jogger pants and no shirt.
“What have you done with Olana?” He held a red lightblade in his hand. It was just like my own.
I’d put my rings on while I was leaving the city. I conjured my own lightblade and held it forward in a defensive stance.
“I’ve done nothing to her,” I replied.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her.”
That was the truth. Olana, his holy curseborn wife, wasn’t anywhere to be found. I’d asked Ayla to locate her, but she wasn’t in Port City.
Leric had mentioned that Rohan’s cronies had escaped to the mainland with his curseborn wives. I’d assumed they’d taken Olana with them.
“Liar!” Adam rushed toward me. I deflected his downward swipe with my blade, then backdashed away from him to get some distance.
“Stop it, Adam,” I said. “There’s no point in us fighting.”
“You have my wife!”
“I swear to God that I don’t have her.”
“Then where is she?”
I shrugged. “I assumed she’d gone along with Rohan’s wives.”
“Gone where?”
I sighed in annoyance. “Here, of course. Weren’t Rohan’s curseborn wives brought to Heimdal?”
“No… we all assumed they were still on the island, with you.”
Strange. It seemed we had a missing people case on our hands.
Those curseborn were citizens of the island. If they were missing, then it was my responsibility to find them.
“Olana…” Tears streamed from Adam’s eyes. “Oh Olana… what will I do without you?”
“You pathetic piece of shit.” I snickered. “Don’t think I forgot how you stabbed her, all just to demonstrate your power over her. You’re probably the last person on this planet she wants to see. How dare you pine for her, now?”
I carefully walked by Adam’s sulking form toward the fast travel point.
“You fool,” Adam said. “I don’t give a fuck about her. All I want are my holy powers back.”
What an asshole. If I did find Olana, I certainly wasn’t going to let Adam reclaim her.
Once I was near enough to the fast travel point, I teleported back to Whispering Waters.
Ayla was the first person I met. We spoke inside the temple, away from the others, since I didn’t want to cause a stir.
“Where did Olana and Rohan’s wives go?” I asked her.
“I thought they were taken to the mainland.”
I shook my head. “Well, think about it. It would make sense if some of them went there, yes. But all of them? Without even a single escapee? No, that implies something else.”
“Something else?”
“Someone else kidnapped them.”
Ayla covered her mouth in shock. “Who? Do you think it was Dukas?”
“No. If Dukas had done it, Adam would’ve known.”
“What should we do?”
“We need to investigate. Let’s keep it between the two of us, for now.”
Ayla nodded. “Okay. Where do we start?”
“We start by poking around the palace.”
The two of us teleported to Port City. Things looked like they’d mostly gone back to normal. The city streets were bustling, and so was the port.
Rohan’s curseborn lived in the east wing of the palace. The building was formed from limestone that gleamed beneath the crescent moons. It was three stories tall and filled with bedrooms, as well as a dining hall and several entertainment lounges.
But it was entirely empty of people. The rooms, however, were still filled with the belongings of Rohan’s curseborn. It didn’t look like much, if anything, had been taken. Wherever these women had gone, they’d left their belongings behind.
There was also a bath. It was massive, and contained both cold and hot pools. What we discovered there shocked us.
A black orb hovered in the air in the center of the bath. It was pulsating with black light. In shape, it resembled a fast travel point. But its color and behavior gave me chills.
“Don’t touch it!” Ayla said. “Who knows where it will teleport you to?”
“We need to follow them,” I said. “It’s obvious now that they were all kidnapped, somehow. They need our help.”
I’d need to assemble a proper party for this expedition. But how could I without knowing what I was facing in there?
“Listen.” I took Ayla’s hand. “I can make a fast travel point. Let’s go in and find out what we’re up against.”
“But it could literally be anything!”
“That’s why I need to know what kind of party to bring.” I kissed Ayla. “Don’t worry, my love. You’re safe with me.”
Ayla nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
We both reached out our hands and touched the throbbing black orb.
We materialized in the void of space. All around us were stars, though I could not recognize the constellations. Instead of floating, we stood upon a glass-like structure. This structure extended upward, toward a city made of glass. But the buildings and towers of the city were enormous: it must’ve been a place where giants dwelt, not humans.
ETERNAL DUNGEON: VAULTED CEILING UNLOCKED
“What the hell?” I exclaimed.
“We’re not in Lumaria anymore, are we?” Ayla said, her voice jittery.
It was cold. I rubbed my arms, wishing Sherry were with us. It wasn’t quite as cold as the snow floor of the Underground Forest, so we probably didn’t need our cold-resistant clothing. But bringing Sherry along didn’t sound like a bad idea.
“Should we explore?” I said.
Ayla pouted. “I’m afraid of this place. It doesn’t feel right. Doesn’t feel right at all.”
A city in the void… if I were to guess, it must be related to the Outer Gods, somehow, maybe in the same way that the Underground Forest was related to the Deep Ones.
I took Ayla’s hand. “All right, let’s go back.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just… I sense a great evil, here.”
I gazed up at the city of glass. Who, or what, had kidnapped Rohan’s curseborn and brought them here, of all places?
I could ponder that in the safety of Whispering Waters. I created a fast travel point so we could easily come back here. Then we teleported back to our base.
I gathered the girls in my house and explained what we’d discovered.
“It could be the home of the Outer Gods,” Maria said. “And if that’s the case… the monster’s we’ll find there will be insanely powerful.”
“But who would take so many curseborn to such a place?” Esme asked.
“My guess… it’s someone who worships the Shadowsoul,” Maria said. “Someone who wants to sacrifice those women to it.”
I scratched my head. It was beginning to sound like some weird cult was behind this. “Who on this world worships the Shadowsoul?”
“There are cults in the icy northern areas of the mainland who do,” Maria answered. “They believe the Shadowsoul came to save humanity.”
Ruby cleared her throat. “I had a customer from the north, once. Strange fellow.”
The girls began to discuss among themselves while I poured through my thoughts. Esme began massaging me, which helped me think. Sherry came to sit in my lap, which didn’t help me think.
In the end, though, we couldn’t solve this by talking and thinking. We had to explore that dungeon.
“Ruby,” I said. “Begin crafting all of us the best armor you have in your recipe books.” I looked to Ayla. “Ayla, get me soulcores. A lot of soulcores. Trade the goldcores in the treasury for them, if you must.” I caressed Maria’s cheek. “And you, cook us up some really useful food.”
Sherry pressed her warm behind against my crotch. “What about me, handsome?”
“You, Esme, and Tara have a very important mission. Go and clear more floors of the Underground Forest so we can amass useful treasure.”
“Sounds good to me!” Tara said. “If Ruby crafts us better gear, we should be able to do it on our own.”
Filia was sitting in silence across from me.
“Filia, tomorrow we’ll go talk to Dukas, again. He’s famed for having fought the Shadowsoul’s minions. He might know something about that place.”
Filia nodded. “Sure. I’ll help in any way I can.”
I spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hot pool. The girls were busy, so it was quite a lonely time. I still couldn’t process the idea that someone literally kidnapped all those women and brought them to a city floating in the void. It just sounded so ridiculous. And whoever had done it, he must be very dangerous.
Maybe even more dangerous than me.
My thoughts were making me antsy, so I invited Filia to stay with me for the night. Let’s just say she took my mind off of things. In fact, with her in my bed, there was simply no way of thinking about anything else.
We had a lot of fun, and then we slept deeply. The next day, I had a quick meeting with Ayla about Port City’s finances and need for goldcores. With that done, Filia and I teleported to Heimdal for another meeting with Emperor Dukas.
After the meeting, I left the city and returned to the fast travel point. An unwelcome sight was waiting for me, there.
Adam, wearing jogger pants and no shirt.
“What have you done with Olana?” He held a red lightblade in his hand. It was just like my own.
I’d put my rings on while I was leaving the city. I conjured my own lightblade and held it forward in a defensive stance.
“I’ve done nothing to her,” I replied.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her.”
That was the truth. Olana, his holy curseborn wife, wasn’t anywhere to be found. I’d asked Ayla to locate her, but she wasn’t in Port City.
Leric had mentioned that Rohan’s cronies had escaped to the mainland with his curseborn wives. I’d assumed they’d taken Olana with them.
“Liar!” Adam rushed toward me. I deflected his downward swipe with my blade, then backdashed away from him to get some distance.
“Stop it, Adam,” I said. “There’s no point in us fighting.”
“You have my wife!”
“I swear to God that I don’t have her.”
“Then where is she?”
I shrugged. “I assumed she’d gone along with Rohan’s wives.”
“Gone where?”
I sighed in annoyance. “Here, of course. Weren’t Rohan’s curseborn wives brought to Heimdal?”
“No… we all assumed they were still on the island, with you.”
Strange. It seemed we had a missing people case on our hands.
Those curseborn were citizens of the island. If they were missing, then it was my responsibility to find them.
“Olana…” Tears streamed from Adam’s eyes. “Oh Olana… what will I do without you?”
“You pathetic piece of shit.” I snickered. “Don’t think I forgot how you stabbed her, all just to demonstrate your power over her. You’re probably the last person on this planet she wants to see. How dare you pine for her, now?”
I carefully walked by Adam’s sulking form toward the fast travel point.
“You fool,” Adam said. “I don’t give a fuck about her. All I want are my holy powers back.”
What an asshole. If I did find Olana, I certainly wasn’t going to let Adam reclaim her.
Once I was near enough to the fast travel point, I teleported back to Whispering Waters.
Ayla was the first person I met. We spoke inside the temple, away from the others, since I didn’t want to cause a stir.
“Where did Olana and Rohan’s wives go?” I asked her.
“I thought they were taken to the mainland.”
I shook my head. “Well, think about it. It would make sense if some of them went there, yes. But all of them? Without even a single escapee? No, that implies something else.”
“Something else?”
“Someone else kidnapped them.”
Ayla covered her mouth in shock. “Who? Do you think it was Dukas?”
“No. If Dukas had done it, Adam would’ve known.”
“What should we do?”
“We need to investigate. Let’s keep it between the two of us, for now.”
Ayla nodded. “Okay. Where do we start?”
“We start by poking around the palace.”
The two of us teleported to Port City. Things looked like they’d mostly gone back to normal. The city streets were bustling, and so was the port.
Rohan’s curseborn lived in the east wing of the palace. The building was formed from limestone that gleamed beneath the crescent moons. It was three stories tall and filled with bedrooms, as well as a dining hall and several entertainment lounges.
But it was entirely empty of people. The rooms, however, were still filled with the belongings of Rohan’s curseborn. It didn’t look like much, if anything, had been taken. Wherever these women had gone, they’d left their belongings behind.
There was also a bath. It was massive, and contained both cold and hot pools. What we discovered there shocked us.
A black orb hovered in the air in the center of the bath. It was pulsating with black light. In shape, it resembled a fast travel point. But its color and behavior gave me chills.
“Don’t touch it!” Ayla said. “Who knows where it will teleport you to?”
“We need to follow them,” I said. “It’s obvious now that they were all kidnapped, somehow. They need our help.”
I’d need to assemble a proper party for this expedition. But how could I without knowing what I was facing in there?
“Listen.” I took Ayla’s hand. “I can make a fast travel point. Let’s go in and find out what we’re up against.”
“But it could literally be anything!”
“That’s why I need to know what kind of party to bring.” I kissed Ayla. “Don’t worry, my love. You’re safe with me.”
Ayla nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
We both reached out our hands and touched the throbbing black orb.
We materialized in the void of space. All around us were stars, though I could not recognize the constellations. Instead of floating, we stood upon a glass-like structure. This structure extended upward, toward a city made of glass. But the buildings and towers of the city were enormous: it must’ve been a place where giants dwelt, not humans.
ETERNAL DUNGEON: VAULTED CEILING UNLOCKED
“What the hell?” I exclaimed.
“We’re not in Lumaria anymore, are we?” Ayla said, her voice jittery.
It was cold. I rubbed my arms, wishing Sherry were with us. It wasn’t quite as cold as the snow floor of the Underground Forest, so we probably didn’t need our cold-resistant clothing. But bringing Sherry along didn’t sound like a bad idea.
“Should we explore?” I said.
Ayla pouted. “I’m afraid of this place. It doesn’t feel right. Doesn’t feel right at all.”
A city in the void… if I were to guess, it must be related to the Outer Gods, somehow, maybe in the same way that the Underground Forest was related to the Deep Ones.
I took Ayla’s hand. “All right, let’s go back.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just… I sense a great evil, here.”
I gazed up at the city of glass. Who, or what, had kidnapped Rohan’s curseborn and brought them here, of all places?
I could ponder that in the safety of Whispering Waters. I created a fast travel point so we could easily come back here. Then we teleported back to our base.
I gathered the girls in my house and explained what we’d discovered.
“It could be the home of the Outer Gods,” Maria said. “And if that’s the case… the monster’s we’ll find there will be insanely powerful.”
“But who would take so many curseborn to such a place?” Esme asked.
“My guess… it’s someone who worships the Shadowsoul,” Maria said. “Someone who wants to sacrifice those women to it.”
I scratched my head. It was beginning to sound like some weird cult was behind this. “Who on this world worships the Shadowsoul?”
“There are cults in the icy northern areas of the mainland who do,” Maria answered. “They believe the Shadowsoul came to save humanity.”
Ruby cleared her throat. “I had a customer from the north, once. Strange fellow.”
The girls began to discuss among themselves while I poured through my thoughts. Esme began massaging me, which helped me think. Sherry came to sit in my lap, which didn’t help me think.
In the end, though, we couldn’t solve this by talking and thinking. We had to explore that dungeon.
“Ruby,” I said. “Begin crafting all of us the best armor you have in your recipe books.” I looked to Ayla. “Ayla, get me soulcores. A lot of soulcores. Trade the goldcores in the treasury for them, if you must.” I caressed Maria’s cheek. “And you, cook us up some really useful food.”
Sherry pressed her warm behind against my crotch. “What about me, handsome?”
“You, Esme, and Tara have a very important mission. Go and clear more floors of the Underground Forest so we can amass useful treasure.”
“Sounds good to me!” Tara said. “If Ruby crafts us better gear, we should be able to do it on our own.”
Filia was sitting in silence across from me.
“Filia, tomorrow we’ll go talk to Dukas, again. He’s famed for having fought the Shadowsoul’s minions. He might know something about that place.”
Filia nodded. “Sure. I’ll help in any way I can.”
I spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hot pool. The girls were busy, so it was quite a lonely time. I still couldn’t process the idea that someone literally kidnapped all those women and brought them to a city floating in the void. It just sounded so ridiculous. And whoever had done it, he must be very dangerous.
Maybe even more dangerous than me.
My thoughts were making me antsy, so I invited Filia to stay with me for the night. Let’s just say she took my mind off of things. In fact, with her in my bed, there was simply no way of thinking about anything else.
We had a lot of fun, and then we slept deeply. The next day, I had a quick meeting with Ayla about Port City’s finances and need for goldcores. With that done, Filia and I teleported to Heimdal for another meeting with Emperor Dukas.
