As the celestial bodies overhead began to fade into morning light, the pair continued their journey in the silence of the early morn twilight. The faint flickering glint of fire from the distant caravan slowly came into view, and the faint smell of seasoned meat being roasted was carried to them on the wind.
Zephyr, stifling a yawn half-absentmindedly, "Looks like we will be eating well at least."
"You think they will share?" Lirien asked, ready for a break.
"Traders never refuse coin. Especially from wayward travelers." Zephyr said. "Let's pick up the pace."
As they approached the bustling campsite, the surrounding noise of chatter, laughter, and the muffled clattering of cookware became audible, along with a distant "Hail travelers" from a shadow in the distance."
As the pair came into view of the camp's lookout, a man separated himself from the group and walked towards them. He was a burly figure with a weathered face, bearing the marks of countless days under the sun. Yet his eyes sparkled with an inviting warmth.
"Greetings, travelers!" He boomed, his voice deep and welcoming. "My name is Tolen, the caravan master of this little band. What brings you to our humble camp at this hour?"
"Good morning, Tolen. We are weary from our journey and were hoping for a meal and a short rest, if you could spare it," Zephyr responded, giving a respectful nod.
"Of course! We welcome all who come with coins. Have a seat by the fire; we'll take good care of ya." Tolen gestured towards the crackling hearth and makeshift tables and chairs hacked together from spare barrel parts, where a few others sat, sharing stories and food.
Zephyr pulled out a small pouch and poured three gold coins into his hand, then handed them to Tolen. "I think this should cover it", Zephyr said with a smile.
Tolen looked at the coins in surprise. "I'll get you two some rations and travel supplies ready as well." He boomed with a smile as he rushed off.
They made their way into camp and sat down at one of the free tables.
"What was that about?" Lirien asked, unsure of the reasoning behind Tolen's sudden change in expression.
"Three gold is a lot of money for most people." Zephyr said, slightly oblivious to why she asked.
"Huh. In Selune, we didn't use money all that often. When we did, it was from wayward nobles, and their donations were more than enough for trade, and the high priestess handled all of that." Lirien said.
"Wait. How much did you bring with you when you traveled to Eldermere?" Zephyr asked, worried.
"Uh. None. I didn't know I'd need it." Lirien said, now even more confused, as Zephyr had a look of despair on his face.
"Oh..." Zephyr paused a moment, partially understanding but also slightly irritated at her ignorance. "In a month, most people make around sixty silver pieces. A single gold piece is 100 silver, and a silver piece is 100 copper."
"Wait... I spent over 2 years of pay on my supplies..." Lirien said mortified.
Zephyr gave a light laugh. "If you had some regular job, yeah. Adventurers get paid a lot more since we are constantly risking our lives. It's not uncommon for a bigger job to cost upward of twenty gold just to prepare for."
After their meal, some of the caravan members came and sat with them. Zephyr and Lirien listened to tales of foreign lands and various pieces of news and gossip.
One of the younger kids Jumped up and shouted while gesturing wildly to one of the caravan beasts, "Behold the Yuribor, the famed Great Plains Walker. The beast that can move a MOUNTIAN." The group laughed in approval of the kid as he ran off to play with the beasts.
Lirien chuckled. "He's certainly energetic."
"That he is." Tolen said, putting a sack with various foods and herbs on the table. "You two should be set to head through the chasm now. I added extra water since the area's going through a dry spell."
"Thank you so much!" Lirien said, slightly bowing her head.
"Any other info on the state of the area?" Zephyr asked.
"Not particularly. Our journey, though, was pretty uneventful. If not oddly quiet, The heat wave might have scared most of them out I reckon." Tolen said, stroking his beard.
"That's good news, then," Zephyr said, picking up the bag and motioning to Lirien. "Let's get going then, priestess."
"Hummmm, hommmm..." the canyon seemed to sing as they approached its maw.
"What's that sound?" Lirien asked. "It's like the calls of the dead."
"You've never heard of Windsong Chasm I take it?" Zephyr asked? "It's quite famous throughout the world. The haunting melody's of the canyon have inspired many musical pieces... and even more folk tales."
"It's really creepy. I can feel it throughout my body." She said.
As they continued down the path, Zephyr began a history lesson, much to Lirien's dismay. "Long ago, it was thought that the canyon was possessed by evil spirits. As a result, most people avoided the area. That led it to being overrun by bandits, dungeons, and other ilk. That, of course, didn't help its reputation. Since the kingdom at the time was ignoring it as a problem, it steadily got worse. Until one day, a dungeon burst occurred."
"A dungeon burst?" Lirien asked, suddenly interested.
"A dungeon burst happens when a dungeon is left uncleared and unsealed for too long. They also happen when two dungeons merge or get connected in some way. Their space distortions cause their magic to go haywire. It starts producing monsters at an unmanageable rate, and they start escaping into the real world. But that's not the worst of it. After a burst has occurred, there's not much time to seal it; otherwise, the dungeon detonates and warps the area around it. Destroying anything near it and corrupting all life into Crystal-class monsters at the least."
"I've seen the monster classes mentioned a few times. What actually are they?" Lirien asked.
"You really are a country bumpkin, aren't you?" Zephyr chided her with a smirk as Lirien glared at him.
"Anyway. They follow the same ranks as the guilds. Black, Wood, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Crystal But they also have three other classifications that the ranks don't have. Disaster rank, Cataclysmic rank, and Apocalyptical rank The monster that the guild master and I were talking about was a Cataclysmic rank monster left over from the old Windsong disaster I was mentioning before. Granted, it was weakened considerably by its age. Back to the three extra ranks. First, Disaster class monsters are monsters or beings that can easily destroy a small town in a matter of minutes. They are pretty rare and usually only show up after the start of a dungeon burst. Most high-ranking guild teams can kill them nowadays, but they are still dangerous and could wipe out a small army. Cataclysm-class monsters are a different beast all together. A single one of them would normally take the entire guild to take down, and if one ever got lose in a city, it would be leveled in mere hours. Finally, we have the Apocalyptic class monsters....." He grew silent for a moment. "There actually exists one today. Luckily, it's not hostile unless provoked. We could throw every person in the world at it, and it wouldn't even acknowledge our existence. If it were to attack, it would destroy the continent in seconds."
"How do you fight something like that?"
After a moment, "You don't," Zephyr responded. "If one attacks, we would need a god to save us."
"You said one exists, right? Aren't you worried that it will attack?" She asked, almost panicking.
"It's said that a thousand years ago, the world was destroyed by two gods clashing. It warped the face of the earth and the creatures on it. Normally, a tale like that would be legend. But in the southern sea, the victor of that clash resides to this day. It's no god. But it might as well be."
"You've seen it? Whats it look like? Did it attack you?" She asked, now buzzing with energy.
"Of course it didn't attack me. I'm still standing here. As for what it looked like... It looked like a city.. or, more like, chunks of the world. Buildings as tall as the clouds along its surface. You could start an empire on its back. It's so large that even dungeons form on its surface from time to time, and we have to go seal them."
"YOU'VE BEEN ON THE MONSTER?" Lirien yelled in surprise.
"Like I said, We aren't even worth it acknowledging our existence."
"It was terrifying at first, but once on it, it was almost indistinguishable from a mountain. Well, if it wasn't for the bizarre architecture."
Lirien, a bit overwhelmed, continued to walk in science for a while, admiring the low melodic howling of the canyon and the oil shale-colored walls.
"Hey... When we were surrounded back at the manor, Why didn't you use the strength you used on the Nyluths?" She asked
Zephyr laughed. "I prefer not to kill. Despite my race being known for being master assassins, I always disliked it. After 130 years, you gain strength and knowledge that far surpass those of a common person. If I really wanted to, I could have turned them into canned paste."
"If you're that strong, why bother with having me tag along?" She asked, a bit worried about the response.
"It's just as I said to the guild master. You have potential. And are interesting. and a bit clueless. I mean, what kind of idiot approaches someone in a dark alley and demands to know what they are doing?" Zephyr said, smirking.
"Potential huh." Lirien said to herself.
After a while of traveling in silence, the canyon opened up before them with a fork in the road, and some symbols were carved into either side.
"The left one represents a dead end, the right a safe path." Zephyr explained before she could even ask.
"Why not just write signs?" Lirien asked.
"They use universal signs so that beasts, uneducated commoners, and foreigners can determine where to go. Few people outside of the city can read." Zephyr said while tracing each out with his hand. "There are others as well. A sign for danger, steep cliffs, monsters, and dungeons."
"Are there really still dungeons in the canyon?" she asked. "I thought that the guild cleaned them all up after the disaster."
Continuing down the path, he explains
"Dungeons form wherever unbridled magical power is. Whether it's an extraordinarily powerful monster or a natural force of some kind, Particularly strong monsters of magical attributes can become dungeons in and of themselves. Meaning it's impossible to seal all of them all the time. Normally, adventurers from the guild come along and clear them since they hold great wealth. Lots of magic stones, artifacts, and other useful bits. If we come across one, we can look inside," he told her.
"We won't clear it? What if it bursts?" she said worriedly.
"We are already on a quest. We would take down its location and let the guild know. They give a finder's bonus, so it's worth doing that alone. Besides, dungeons usually take several years to a decade to burst," he said. "Anyway. Pay attention to this invocation. It's useful for areas like this since regions of it can be near pitch black."
Looking around, it was true that the shadow of the canyon had eclipsed the sun completely; it was almost a cave at this point.
Holding a small, clear gemstone, he chants
"ᛖᚹᛟᚲᛟ ᛚᚢᛗᛁᚾᛟ: ᛋᛖᚾᛋᚢᛗ, ᛗᛟᛞᚢᛚᛟ, ᛖᛗᛁᛏᛟ" (Evoco Lumino: Sensum, Modulo, Emito!)
A gentle white light filled the area, just intense enough to light the path.
"This spell adjusts its intensity based on ambient light." He explained as he placed it into the small lantern-like container hanging from his waist. "A small gem like this is good for a few days."
"How... do you even find magic like this?" She asked.
"Oh. This is a custom spell. I got annoyed while reading one day because the sun setting interrupted the climax of my book. So I did what any reasonable scholar would do. Devote several months to studying spells and gems that could eliminate the problem." Zephyr spoke confidently, as if what he said was sane in the slightest.
"O-k then...." Lirien said, unsure of how to respond to such absurdity as they continued down the path.
Through the course of the morning and into the afternoon, they navigated the serpentine canyons, their way lit by a glowing orb summoned by Zephyr and the various dips in the landscape that let sunlight through. The combination of magical light and natural sunlit shadows transformed the surrounding sandstone walls into a dynamic theater of shadow and illumination, occasionally hitting some crystals and ore splashing color throughout the canyon.
"This area is beautiful," Lirien said.
"This area is truly a sight to behold at times." Zephyr responded.
As the day advanced, a soft rustling sound began to resonate from the deeper recesses of the chasm, growing in intensity as it progressed. Intermittent flashes of luminescence hinted at the presence of the chasm's inhabitants.
Rumble...........
Emerging from the shadows, the pair was suddenly surrounded on all sides by tiny insects with bioluminescent bodies flickering in a kaleidoscope of iridescent colors.
"Seems it's hit midafternoon. Gleam mites are moving to feed." Zephyr said with a big yawn. "Take a rest. Last thing you want is to fall to your death due to some bugs."
Seeing how Zephyr hardly reacted to their presence, she assumed they were friendly enough and sat down on a nearby rock as the mites carried on around them. Hundreds of thousands of tiny legs scurrying around, like rapidly moving stars.
Mesmerized, she allowed a Gleam Mite to crawl onto her hand. Its cool touch and the soft, colorful glow it emitted made for an enchanting spectacle. Zephyr simply observed with a smile.
Once the congregation of Gleam Mites had passed through, their trek resumed. The chasm widened into a grand canyon, the walls embellished with clusters of glowing moss, low shrubbery, sparse trees, and a small creek.
"Well. It looks like we've reached the end of the canyon. Let's set up camp for the night." Zephyr said, setting his pack down.
After a small stent gathering wood, Lirien arranged the campfire as Zephyr prepared the cooking materials.
"Here," Zephyr said, handing Lirien a small piece of paper. "An incantation to light a fire."
"Oh, Thanks!" She said and walked over to the fire pit.
"ᛖᚹᛟᚲᛟ ᚠᚢᛖᚷᛟ: ᛗᛁᚾᛁ ᛁᚷᚾᛁᛏᛟ!" (Evoco Fuego: Mini Ignito!) She chanted, and a small flame appeared at the tip of her finger. She carefully lit the kindling.
"Another useful incantation." "ᛖᚹᛟᚲᛟ ᛖᚱᚦᛟ: ᛗᚢᚱᛟ ᚱᛁᛋᛖ!" (Evoco Ertho: Muro Rise!) He chanted while gesturing in a broad motion. From the earth rose a head-high wall of rock that encompassed most of the camp. He then started to set up the tent, attaching the cloth to part of the wall instead of the ground.
A bit awestruck, Lirien asked. "Well, why didn't we use this yesterday? This is way nicer than a normal tent."
Now starting the cooking, he said. "I'm not great with earth magic. I can only really do this in areas where the earth is hard enough. The soil of the plains would have just fallen apart."
"Something you're NOT good at? To think you have such a weakness," She said, dripping with sarcasm.
"Yes yes. Even a mage as great as me has magic they aren't good at." He said matching her tone.
After their dinner, it was well into the final hours of dusk. The only light the flickering of the fire, the soft aura of Elderglow moss, and the twinkle of a few straggling Gleam mites.
Lirien and Zephyr reclined against their packs. "That dream I had... do you think it was a prophecy? Or maybe a memory from the distant past? It felt so real." She asked.
Zephyr staring into the fire, reminiscing on his own dream for a moment before answering. "Magic of this caliber often shows visions that are more than mere dreams. They could be realities, memories of a time long gone, or a mixture of both even.... We can only speculate, but with time, perhaps we will both figure it out."
That night, Lirien fell asleep to the soothing hum of the canyon. It was as if an unseen song had enveloped their own corner of the world. She dreamed again, but this time it was a gentle, whispering echo of her previous nightmare. When she woke up, she felt a strange sense of calm.