章 1: The Lonely Road
The road had not been maintained, but it was still magnificent. It was made with the idea of several wagons passing at the same time, and it had been made with magic and muscle. The boreal road, was once called, now it was the dusk road.
A lone caravan made of 3 wagons was moving at a fast pace, it was trying to reach Neverglen, before nightfall but it would not make it, those who were part of it all knew it, yet keeping a fast pace, made most of them more at ease.
The road crossed trough the Boreal Winter Thicket, the caravan had rested at the outskirts of the forest, and they were crossing the Snowflake fields, the last part of the road before reaching its destination.
The summer was about to end, the large forest was slowly preparing for the change of seasons, and so were the open fields that followed it along the road, by the end of autumn they would be covered in snow, the air was cold but it would be freezing soon. The snowflake fields, were a very large meadow, a very rich land, many creatures thrived on it, some time ago the snowflake fields were considered a very safe zone to travel but, there had been an influx of different creatures coming from the north.
"Do you think we will be able to reach Neverglen before nightfall?" a young man sitting next to the driver of the first wagon, asked the man who led the horse reins.
"No, we wont" the driver answered quickly, he was in a bad mood, he disliked having to spend the night in the opens. The driver was a veteran, he had been a wagon driver for a very long time, and he had covered this rout for most of his life as a driver. He had gone to other places as well, because of some trade opportunities, but he had almost exclusively, covered the routs to Neverglen.
Not many like to cover the rout, even though it payed well. True, it was not a guaranteed journey, but that was why it payed so well, and the most dangerous parts of the road could be avoided if you planned your trip well, he had insisted in keep moving yesterday, but the clients had refused.
He did not liked traveling with passengers, other than and escort, but this time, the caravan was moving more people than expected, and they have had to stop at the edges of the Boreal Winter Thicket, and that was the reason why the driver was in a bad mood, and the young man sitting next to him, was one of those responsible for the delay.
"I am sorry Mr. Dumas, I know you told us we should have pushed yesterday a bit more, but I guarantee you, me and my companions will guard the caravan at night, we will not let anything happen to you" the young man smiled at the older driver, as he pounded a hand on his chest, it resounded a bit with the leather armor he was wearing, and the driver could do nothing else but sigh. The young man was an adventurer, and for the looks of it, he was starting his career.
"Well, let us hope there is no need for you to show your skills" the driver said firmly. The caravan they were traveling was organized by the adventurer's guild in Levanoit, some adventurers were heading to Neverglen, and why would they not earn coin why traveling?, they offered the escorting service, at a very reasonable price. The driver had accepted this kind of deals many times before, it was a good agreement, he got a cheap escort, and the adventurers get to ride a wagon part of the way.
The driver took another look at the young man sitting next to him, he had a fair leather armor, and a bow and quiver, and a dagger on his belt, he looked the part, he and his companions were an E ranked party or Iron, if you preferred to rank adventurers in that manner. That meant, they knew their job, but they were nothing special. They could handle the monsters who would come near the road in the Snowflake fields, but the ones coming from the north, well he did not want to think about it, but they were young, they could have a bright future ahead.
There was also a Silver ranked adventurer who was traveling in the middle wagon, as well an alchemist apprentice. In the last one wagon was another adventurer who was supposed to be Platinum ranked and two other girls, who were on their way to Neverglen as well. The driver hoped it the real deal, the guy had spent most of the time reading on top of the wagon, but you could never tell on adventurers, he might be a mage.
"Do you know the other adventurers?" the question coming from the driver startled the young man at his side, who for all the cheerful he looked, was always looking far away.
"Just a bit, do you want to know about anyone in particular?" the young man asked happy to see the silent driver was talking with him.
"Well, you all might become famous, might as well know your names" the driver wanted to know about the platinum adventurer, but it would be rude, and for all his silence and displeasure, it was never a mistake to become friends with adventurers, specially if you were a wagon driver; the young man looked thrilled about it.
"Well, you know us, the Shiver Cloaks, we are a Iron ranked party" the driver nodded at his words, he did know the name of the four members of the party, the young man next to him was called Vitas, he was the party scout and second in command. Behind them resting on the wagon was their leader Leounin, a half elf as well as the woman of their group Indra, and walking next to them a man named Dainius "The one traveling behind us, is named Carter Walsh, he is part of a silver ranked party, Venom Lust" the young man said with respect on his voice "He was in Levianoit, to sell some things his party had gotten, and to get some supplies" the driver nodded, he have heard the name, Venom Lust, they were beginning to gain fame, silver ranked adventurers were professionals.
"There is also Emma, the alchemist apprentice" Vitas, the young man voice changed a bit there "She managed to gather what her master asked, and we received a bit of compensation for looking after her" they had stopped to allow the girl to gather some herbs that grew at the outskirts of the forest, and the Shiver Rangers were asked to guard her, that was they have lost time.
"On the last wagon, there is a platinum rank guy, but I do not know much about him, do you know something Leo?" the young man Vitas, turned to ask his leader.
"He is indeed platinum, but he is not from around here, I heard he was working on the west,the guild checked his credentials, so he is good, I guess" the leader of the Shiver Cloaks, a half elf, with a mace at his side, and a shield near him, answered from behind them.
The driver sighed, it was good to know there was a silver rank as well, and just by the number of adventurers they should be safe, but a platinum rank was a guarantee. The iron and silver ranked adventurers made the bulk of the adventurer's guild, but the platinum rank was the one who divided the accomplished adventurers from the very skilled ones. Most adventurers would end their careers at the silver rank, but those who were good enough, would end as platinum, that is what most adventurers aspired to achieve.
There were three more ranks above platinum, but those were for famed adventurers, arcanite, orichalcum and last, mithril. Very few adventurers reached the last rank, and it was a shame, in the drivers opinion, they were tasked with very dangerous tasks, that would usually benefit the world as a whole, that is why it was a shame so few reached the rank.
"Well, I do not know much about adventurers, but I have seen much of Neverglen, and only those who are strong, can make a living there" the driver said.
"Have you seen some of the monsters from the vault?" the young man asked with curiosity, but care.
"Sadly, I have, once or twice, on the road" that was all the driver wanted to say. The road did not stopped at Neverglen, no, a small city like it, could not have afforded to built such a road. The rout ended further north, to the wretched city of Midy, the Northen Star was called before, now it had another name, a more fitting one, the Vault of Twilight, a name given by the place resting beneath the city, and the reason why many adventurers came to Neverglen, the Labyrinth.
"What did you encounter?" the young adventurer curiosity was more than his respect for the driver, he was polite, but youth came with eagerness.
"I do not want to talk about it young man, you are the ones traveling to Neverglen, I hope you wont encounter what I did, but if you do, be prepared, that is all I am saying" and the driver went quiet.
Vitas wanted to ask more, be he did not wish to bother the driver. They already were going to have to camp more night than intended, but he truly wished to know what had he seen. The Shiver Cloaks had been and iron ranked party for over a year, they worked near the north, but they have had not luck with their quest. They were a decent party, Leo was their front liner, Dainius was a shaman, and he knew some healing and buff spells, he could cover them with his bow, or help Leo in close combat, and last was Indra, she had receive some formal magic education and with that came a wide range of spells at her disposal, and they had been growing well, but they lacked money and equipment, and well, fame.
Those three things would often come together, and they had discussed the possibility of coming to Neverglen. The city had a great need of adventurers, and though the pay was not incredible, the lost city of Midy, was still not taken back, and many things were still waiting there, and that would earn them the coin they needed. The adventurer's guild there was very important, and it had been asking for new bloods, they asked for iron ranked or above, and they had jobs destined for any rank.
The Shiver Cloaks had talked about it for a while, but in the end, they all wanted to grow a bit faster, it was true that Neverglen and the Vault were a risk, but any quest could be one as well. Neverglen had been growing very quickly, and there was and advance group that had already regained a piece of the old Midy. The driver Mr. Dumas was right in being worried, it was more probable to find a lost monster from the vault here, than near Neverglen.
In the end, they had tried to learn whatever they could from what they would face, and they prepared as well as they could, and now, they were just a day away from reaching Neverglen. That is why he had wanted to know what the older driver had seen.
"Vitas, I think you should relieve Dainius, take special attention to those hills on the east" the voice from his leader, have Vitas woke from his thoughts.
"Sure thing, Leo" the young man leaped from his sit "Hey Dainius, Leo says you should get on the wagon, you are making us look bad with your turtle walk"
"Vitas, you little pile of dung" the man named Dainius, was taller than Vitas, and had a similar leather armor, but he had 2 small axes on his waist "Come here, you runt" Dainius was about to jump on Vitas, but he was very nimble, and had already began running towards the eastern hills that the half elf Leo, had mentioned. The shaman cursed some more before, climbing on the wagon, the driver just sighed.
"We are sorry Mr. Dumas" the girl voice came from behind the driver "My companions are good adventurers, but they behave like children most of the time, and we know Vitas has been bothering you a lot but for all his looks, he is trying to learn what he cans from this place, he does not look like it, but he takes his job as our scout very seriously.
The driver just nodded, as a response. He had seen that, the young man, had never stopped looking for trouble while he was sitting next to him, and for all his aloof attitude, he had his bow at the ready, as he walked past them. The Shiver Cloaks, it was a weird name, perhaps, next time he came over, he would hear about them, at least he would hoped, they were still around.
The caravan continued, but when night came, they stopped. They could see the lights from Neverglen, but it would not be wise, to keep advancing. As they had done on the nights before, the wagons were place trying to form a circle, and a camp fire was built at the center. The passengers of the other wagons were sitting near the center, and all of them were preparing some food.
The silver ranked adventurer Carter Walsh, was dressed in a decent armor, and he had a long spear with him. He had been trying to entertain Emma, the alchemist apprentice, but for the looks of it without much success. The young girl, had gone to speak with Indra, as soon as the wagons had stopped.
The other two drivers were young, and they knew each other, they sat near Mr. Dumas, who was the experienced one, and they were preparing some kind of soup. Near the camp fire, there also a very tall man, sitting with a large book on his lap. He was wearing a simple cotton white shirt, and black trousers, and had a long sword on his shirt, and he was eating some jerky.
"Hi, we have not introduce ourselves, my name is Vitas and yours?" the cheerful Vitas, was standing in front of the man reading, much to his companions surprise. The man reading, placed a marker on the book and close it, before looking at Vitas.
"Good night, Vitas, the name is Blue, a pleasure to meet you" the voice was a lot more deep than what you might have expected from the man. He extended his hand, and Vitas smiling grab it "I am sorry, you are right, I have been rude, it is just that I have just got this book, and sometimes and loose my self while reading"
"It is alright, what it is you are reading?" Vitas askes with curiosity, everyone in the camp, had some, the book was very large, and its cover looked like some special kind of leather.
"The Records of the Dragon Hunter Eladrin" Blue, the man replied.
"Who?" Vitas asked almost instinctively
"Dragon Hunter Eladrin, he was a man who well, dedicated his life to hunting dragons" Blue answered a bit amused.
"But, why do we not know of him, any dragon hunter is famous" Vitas replied confused, and some of the other hearing the conversation were as well.
"Well, he was a dragon hunter with some questioning degrees of success" Blue said a bit embarrassed.
"And why would you read a book about a bad Dragon Hunter?" Vitas asked mercilessly much to the other people listening dismay.
"Because he was very thorough, and detailed about his attempts, there is much to learn from his mistakes" Blue answered as he adjusted his glasses, and smiled.
"Well I guess" that was all Vitas could answer to that "Why don't you come and sit with us?" he pointed at to where his companions where sitting. Almost everyone was gathered together, with just Blue sitting on a side.
"Sure" and they both went to were everyone else was having dinner.
"Well, everyone this is Blue" Vitas said as they arrived where everyone else was "Those are my party companions, Indra, Leo and the ugly one Dainius" as Vitas spoked he pointed at his friends and they nodded politely, even Daninius said nothing, and Blue bowed a bit as a salute.
"That man is Mr. Dumas, our driver, and there is Mr. Martin and Mr. Blanche, who you are sharing a ride" the three drivers were surprised to be called as well, and they saluted, Blue did the same.
"And last we have Carter, who is a silver ranked adventurer, and Emma, she is an alchemist apprentice" Vitas finally presented everyone, Carter nodded a bit surprised, and Emma was red from embarrassment.
"Nice to meet you all" Blue bowed once more and he sat near the middle, next to Vitas "I am sorry miss Emma, but whom are you apprenticing on, in Neverglen?" the question made all of them look at the embarrassed girl.
"I am learning with master Xerin, do you know him, Mr. Blue?" the girl replied more at ease to talk about her master. The name did not rang any bells on the other people, but there were several good alchemist in Neverglen, so it could probably be an upcoming one.
"Not in person, but his healing potions are superb, are you interested in learning those, miss Emma?" Carter the silver ranked adventurer was surprised to see how see was for the young girl he had been trying to talk to the whole trip to speak but he had never tried talking about her job.
"I am, I was lucky to be accepted as an apprentice, and I want to learn to create good healing potions, so that I may return to my hometown" the girl admitted.
"Well having a good master, will certainty get you on your way, and Neverglen is a very good place to learn about healing" there was a somber tone on that remark, but the girl nodded still.
"We are also looking to become a better party at Neverglen" Vitas said with a mouth full of soup, making Dainius sigh, there was a silver and platinum rank before them, but Vitas did not care to talk about their plans.
"Well it is a very good place to grow, and learn, but hard, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Carter" Blue answered, and the silver ranked adventurer, nodded.
"Call me Carter, please" said the man in question, he looked a to be almost in his thirties, and Blue seemed to be near his age "But you are right. My friends and I, came to Neverglen, when we were made a silver ranked party, and had been making good money, and we are growing faster, than we did before, but, our leader is very careful, there was another group who had come with us, and they lost some of their members, on the first weeks after coming to Neverglen".
The iron ranked adventurers said nothing, they were coming to Neverglen, greener than what Carter had, but they believed they could do it. The drivers, nodded, it was hard but it was true, the life of and adventurer, and particularly in Neverglen.
"I am sorry, but may I know the name of your parties?" Blue asked changing the subject.
"Mine is called Venom Lust, my companions are already waiting for me in Neverglen" Carter replied content.
"Ours is called Shiver Cloaks" Vitas answered happily, and this time it was Indra who blushed, the name was a bit weird, but they had been happy when deciding it, but she felt a bit embarrassed hearing it being called to a platinum ranked adventurer.
"Are you part of a party Mr. Blue?" Carter asked, before Vitas could.
"It is Blue as well, Carter" the man smiled "I guess, I'm still in one, but currently I am the only member" he had a bit melancholic tone, when he said it, but no one would ask, the answer would probably not be a good one.
"Why are you going to Neverglen Mr. Blue, are you going to look for work as and adventurer as well?" it was Indra, the one who asked, surprising her companions, but she was curious about this lone adventurer.
"I guess, I will. You see, I am already on an assignment, miss Indra, but I will be free shortly, but please you may also call me Blue" the man replied smiling at her.
"What is is your assignment, if I may ask?" Vitas who was always curious asked, it was a bit rude to ask that from someone who you just met, but not unheard of between adventurers.
"There have been reports of people, gone missing, after they completed the trip to Neverglen, it took a while for the guild to notice it, for the disappearances happen, after they completed the trip, and as such, it took some cases, to reach a conclusion" the words surprised some of the other people, but Mr. Dumas and Leounin.
"Wait, what kind of thing, would make people disappear, after they crossed, are you sure the guild is not confused?" Vitas asked with genuine concern on his face.
"Something, that could take over, its host..." Carter the silver ranked adventurer said, and he turned to look at Blue, who gave him a nod.
"Wait, what kind of thing could take control over someone, and why would you say you were almost done with your assignment" Indra´s words died on her voice as she reached a conclusion, and she turned to look at everyone near the camp fire, and everyone was doing the same.
"There are several things, but in this particular case, it is a Nishi Dak, miss Indra" Blue answered, and he was still seating with a piece of jerky on his hand, but he had left his book were he had been before, and yet he was the only calm one "and what I mean, miss Indra, is that I have already found it" everyone tense up at his words again "Please be calm, you would know if you had already been taken over by one, there is only someone among us, who needs to be worried" as the platinum adventurer said that, he had gotten up on his feet. He was the tallest one in the camp, and he was well built, his shirt was loose, and it gave him and air of being slim.
The other people all looked at him with expectation, the drivers had been very worried, but after he said they would know if they had been taken over, none of them felt that way. The party members of the Shiver Cloaks looked at each other, and they nodded, none of them was either. Carter the silver ranked adventurer, looked at Blue expectantly, and the man turned to face the young girl, Emma, much to the other man and everyone else surprise.
"You will not be able to escape, and there is no way I'll let you harm the girl. Release her, and I will end you quickly" Blue had finished his jerky, and was resting his hand on his sword grip, as he face the young girl, whose face had changed from surprise to a grin.
"How did you know it was me?" a voice in a very different tone than Emma's answered.
"She is going to be tested by master Xerin, the guild had given me a information about you all, so that I could check if needed. This is the last chance I am giving you spirit, leave the girl, and I will end you quickly" Blue said, as he was coming closer, to the girl. The Shiver Cloaks were still surprised about what was happening, the drivers were all clamped together as well, and Carter, was slowly coming closer to Emma as well.
"If anyone of you moves even a little I will have her kill herself" the strange voice once more came out of the young girl, but Blue, was still smiling.
"You will not be able to do such a thing, release her" Blue answered as he walk closer to the young girl, everyone looked at it, and worried, as the girl had taken a knife from somewhere and was going to place it on her neck, but her hands stopped before they reached her kneck.
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