Chapter 422 - Into the Depths

Another long one today! Hope you like it.

All the stops were brought out for the day’s expedition. Each squad was supplied with a support party, his own consisting of a Chosen of Seres of the fifth circle to provide them even more speed to traverse the Remnant Realm, along with Chosen of Light, Vesta, Emirai, and Osidium. They were strong. Between them all, he could hardly imagine a scenario they were not prepared for, which just went to show how much importance was placed on the day’s mission. Hump supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised with Prince Gregory participating.

Today, they would finally explore the fissures, walk through the ruins of an ancient fissure of another world, and find the gorger’s lair. At least, if everything went to plan.

With the aid of the support parties, the journey across the barren lands was easy. Nisha had to push to keep up with them, a feat that riled her up and left Hump more than a little pleased. The little creature had it too easy and he’d sensed how proud she was for being the only one amongst them that could fly. Good to let her know that flying wasn’t everything.

They reached the fissure region in less than an hour—only half the time it would typically take them. Their first stop was the scene of the battle against the gorger.

Hump led the way with his map out, trying to find the exact spot along the fissure where they’d fought. Even with the marking, it was hard to tell. After two weeks, there were no signs of the fight left. The body of the gorger was gone, the dust left behind by the fallen shades blown away in the wind, and even their magic had crumbled. But Hump saw enough signs to know—large, unnatural stones, cracks in the ground, mounds of broken rocks.

“This is the place,” Hump said.

Randall approached and checked Hump’s map. “Gods. You would never know, would you?” the young lord said.

“Search the area,” Marshal Anara ordered the support parties. “See if something might have been missed beneath us.” She turned to Hump and the rest of Marcela’s squad. “I don’t mean to imply that your investigation is not trusted, only that we have more resources now. We must be sure.”

“Of course,” Marcela said.

Hump was fairly confident they would find nothing. He’d already scoured the fissures for cave openings, using his own spells to probe at the terrain, finding nothing beneath them that could make for a gorger lair. Still, a second opinion wasn’t entirely pointless if it meant they could rule out the possibility entirely.

The report came back quickly. There were six Chosen of Osidium from across the entire force, and none of them had detected so much as a small cave beneath the rocky expanse, just as Hump expected. With that out of the way, they were moving once more.

They covered ground quickly. In little more than two hours, the expedition force neared the crater. It was an impressive pace, especially considering their number. Blessings sure came in handy when it came to travelling. It was a nice boost Hump far preferred to the slog of endless walking.

Soon, Anara called for them to slow their approach. The last thing they wanted was to stir the shades below before they were ready. Hump approached the crater with the rest of the group, and the ancient village came into view—faint houses just visible in the dim light, but it was enough. Murmurs of awe spread through the ranks at the sight before them. Hump could relate. It didn’t matter how seasoned an adventurer one was, this was new—proof of life in another world. It was one thing to read about lost civilizations, to study ancient ruins in books. But it was something else entirely to stand at the edge of a colossal abyss, gazing down at a village that should not exist.

The crater stretched a mile across, its sheer cliffs dropping down into near complete darkness. It was deeper than any of the fissures they had encountered—so deep that light itself failed to reach the bottom. The remains of petrified buildings jutted from the stone like forgotten relics, their alien structures frozen in time.

“Spectacular,” Prince Gregory murmured beside him. His voice was calm, but Hump caught the gleam of excitement in his eyes. “How will we proceed, Marshal?”

Anara stood at the edge of the crater, her expression calculating as she took in the terrain.

“Our angle of approach is too exposed from here,” she said. “If we descend directly, we risk being attacked from all sides.”

Hump nodded to himself. It made sense. If the crater was swarming with shades—and it almost certainly was—then they would be sitting targets if they tried to scale the cliffs from above, and leaping to the bottom with blessings of weightlessness would leave them exposed.

“We backtrack,” Anara continued. “We’ll descend on of the nearby fissures and work our way through the darkness toward the crater’s base. It will take longer but provide us with cover and limit the number of directions we can be attacked from.”

Celaine sighed at Hump’s side. “How do we always manage to find a way below ground?” she whispered.

Hump chuckled. “At least there will be a little gap for you this time. It’s not as bad as a cave.”

Celaine gave Hump a look that very clearly meant it was not much better than a cave after all. He smiled at her and gave her arm a supportive squeeze.

***

The expedition split up briefly following Anara’s orders, each of them trailing various fissures leading away from the crater. In the end, Anara settled on one about half a mile from the crater. It was the widest and from what was visible from above, would provide a clear path to their objective. The first step of the plan—to kill any shades lurking within.

Hump stepped up to the ledge of the fissure, edging himself forward until he could peer into the darkness below. It had to be at least a hundred foot deep, though still far shallower than the crater had been.

The others took their positions along the precipice, weapons at the ready. His own heart thumped with anticipation. Whatever happened next, it would certainly be a spectacle. He couldn’t imagine anything down there causing them problems. There would need to be a whole lot of gorgers to cause an expedition this strong any trouble, and from what Hump saw about the life of the one at Fishers Lake, those beasts worked alone.

At his feet, Nisha poked her head over the edge, her tail flicking excitedly, picking up on own energy. Hunt?

Hump smirked and rested a hand on her back. “Not yet. Stay put.”

Her tail slowed, but she didn’t look away, her eyes gleaming as she stared into the darkness.

Anara raised a hand. “Now!”

Hump thrust his staff forward. “Light.” A ray of white erupted from his staff and filled the fissure with light. All along the line, other spells and blessings illuminated the enormous chasm, turning it from pitch black to bright as day. And in that light, life stirred.

A shudder ran through the darkness, eerie and unnatural. Shades. Hundreds of them. Their dark forms twitched and spasmed in the light, their shrouded figures jerking unnaturally, recoiling from the light. A terrible, piercing wail echoed through the fissure, a chorus of agony and rage.And then, like a flock of spooked birds, they moved as one.

A black tide swept upward—a swarm of writhing shadows, drawn by the essence that disturbed their rest.

Anara’s voice rang out. “Auras!”

Bud, Randall, and Chosen all along the ridge released their divine blessings. Offensive auras flared, spreading in a shimmering cloud of light, expanding over the edge of the fissure. To the shades, it was a beacon. They came for it with ravenous hunger.

Hunger that would kill them.

The shades surged in a frenzied wave. They had no strategy, no thought—only hunger. Their spirit forms twisted and lunged toward the energy like moths to a flame, only to be obliterated on contact. Fire, frostfire, light, and all manner of other powers consumed them. They were too weak to face such concentrated blessings. There was no need for a fight. Hump simply watched, waiting for the main host of shades to be destroyed. More creatures rose in the distance, drawn to the essence and battle, but they too would soon follow.

The shades were killed with little effort, their shrouded spirit forms dissipating into the air like leaves in the wind. In minutes, the number of attackers fell, yet there were still too many to ignore. Perhaps ten minutes had passed when Anara decided to split the force, leaving one squad at the top of the fissure to protect against any shades coming from above while the rest of them inspected the area below.

Soon, the immediate vicinity was clear. Dylan stretched out a hand, dropping seeds on the ground and sending his vines slithering downward, forming loops like ladder rungs for when they needed to get back out. Once ladders and such were in place, Feather Fall was cast across the expedition, the blessing settling over them in a faint shimmer of protection. Hump felt the weight of the air squeeze around him like a tightly wrapped blanket, his arms feeling heavy as he moved them through.

Along the ridge, one by one, the warriors leapt into the fissure. Hump edged closer, peering over the side—it sure looked like a long way down. The blessing seemed to be working well enough, but the gods probably didn’t like him too much these days. Trusting in one of their blessings felt like tempt—

Celaine took his hand. Hump turned in time to see a mischievous glint in her eyes. She squeezed his fingers… and then leapt.

Hump’s stomach dropped. His breath caught in his throat as he was yanked off the edge, wind rushing past his face. The magic caught him gently, their descent slow and controlled.

Celaine smirked playfully at him. “It’s not so bad, is it?”

Hump scowled. “I’m rethinking our relationship.”

Celaine laughed but didn’t relinquish her grasp.

After what felt like ten long seconds, the ground rushed up to meet them. Hump landed easily, his boots touching down softly at the same time as Dylan and Emilia. Bud, on the other hand, landed with far less grace, his armour clanking as he stumbled, catching himself against the fissure wall.

“I’d rather we didn’t need to do that again,” the knight said. “People just aren’t meant to fly.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Hump said.

“Always so dramatic,” Emilia said. “Would you rather climb?”

Hump shot her a look and turned his focus outward, inspecting their surroundings. After a few moments of analysis, he turned to Bud. “Definitely.”

“Oh yes.” Bud nodded. “Absolutely would rather climb.”

Emilia snorted and shook her head.

Smiling at his victory, Hump was about to get back to work when he caught Celaine’s bewildered look.

“You have a dragon!” she said.

“Yeah, but Nisha will do the flying, right?” Hump frowned. “I really need to learn Feather Fall. What if she drops me?”

“I’d drop you,” Celaine muttered.

“What?”

She smiled innocently. “Nothing.”

“Speaking of Nisha,” Hump looked up. She hadn’t jumped down with the rest of them. “I think you made her claustrophobic.”

“Me?” Celaine scoffed. “It’s not me. She’s just sensible. Can you blame her?”

“No, but she seems quite insistent.” Hump said. “She’s never had problems before.”

“Come on, Nisha,” Hump said through their bond. “We’ve got to go this way. You can’t stay up there alone.”

Nisha backed away from the ledge. Fear. Uncertainty. Hunt better up here.

“Now, Nisha!” Hump let a little bit more intensity pass through the bond. This time, Nisha reluctantly listened.

She jumped off the edge, flapping her wings as she descended, landing close by where she huddled up beside Hump. Hump ran a hand down her neck. “Good girl.”

“Your dragon, Nisha—she can convey emotions with such clarity?” Prince Gregory asked, his tone filled with curiosity.

Hump hesitated. He hadn’t exactly prepared himself for casual conversation with royalty, let alone an in-depth discussion about Nisha. What was the proper address again? Highness? Your Royal Highness? Something like that. Best to just avoid the titles altogether.

“That’s right,” Hump said. “She’s still young, but far beyond any ordinary beast. I’d compare her to a child rather than a trained animal.”

The prince tilted his head. “And you can understand her?”

“Not in words,” Hump explained. “It’s more like... impressions. Emotions, instincts, desires. She shares what she feels, and I piece the rest together.”

“You’re a lucky man, Wizard Humphrey.” The man clasped Hump’s shoulder and strode up to the front of the expedition to join Anara.

Dylan laughed.

“What?” Hump asked.

“A prince just called you lucky. I just… I don’t think anyone would believe me if I told them this story.”

Hump snorted. “You’re probably right.”

“Mask our presence.” Marshal Anara’s voice cut through the quiet, steady and composed as she instructed the support parties. “We enter the crater under stealth. Scouts will advance ahead to ensure we are not walking into something… unfortunate.” Her gaze swept over the expedition force. “For a place like this to exist, there must be a reason. That reason may have drawn the warlocks here. Proceed cautiously. We may be facing more than shades and flesh prowlers.”

Blessings of Light and shadow concealed them from the shades, at least in theory. They were supposed to mask their essence, though there was always a limit to those things. Hump expected that if they got into a fight, no number of veils could keep their presence from the creatures in this place.

“What a dreary place,” Prince Gregory said as they began walking. “I had heard how unpleasant these lands were, but the chasm’s essence is even worse than the world above.”

“Likely an effect of the shades consuming any essence they can down here,” Anara said. “If it’s too much, it’s not too late to turn back, your highness. You don’t need to come all the way to get a sense of this realm. Few have even seen this much.”

“Come now, Marshal. I can’t let my men have all the fun.” A charismatic smile touched his face. “And there is a certain thrill to an adventure like this, is there not? Exploring another world is straight out of a bard’s tale. We even have a dragon with us!”

So he’s a thrill seeker, Hump thought. Or perhaps he was being cynical. Here was a prince willing to walk and fight side-by-side with his people. He might not be especially powerful as a fourth circle Chosen, but that just showed his willingness to put his own life on the line for the kingdom.

Hump held up his staff, inspecting the smooth walls on each side as if he didn’t know what he would already find. The prince had a point—it really was dreary.

Between him and a number of the Chosen, the fissure was lit up as bright as anything on the surface. Everything was completely barren here. It was unnatural—no moss, or weeds, or even damp. Just dry, sandy stone.

The expedition moved in silence, their boots whispering against the cracked stone as they pressed deeper into the fissure. The air was thick with tension, the sheer cliffs looming over them like the walls of a grave. Though they had culled the shades above, the creatures were never truly gone. They lurked in the periphery, waiting.

The deeper they went, the more of them emerged from the gloom, drifting aimlessly like scraps of tattered cloth caught in an invisible current. Their hollow forms floated without purpose, their movements slow and lifeless. With their eerie, glowing eyes dimmed, Hump could almost convince himself they were harmless remnants of a world long lost. Almost. He knew better. One spark of essence, one careless flicker of power, and they would descend upon them in a screeching, frenzied tide.The plan went smoothly. The farther in they went, the more the fissure widened. There were a few hurdles—large stones that had fallen from the craggy walls, but soon they reached the edge of the crater.

The journey through the fissure was smooth. The path was wide enough for a full party to walk side by side, though none dared break the silence. The farther in they went, the more the terrain shifted. The walls of the fissure expanded, the jagged edges giving way to smooth, sloping stone. A few obstacles slowed their progress—collapsed rockfalls, deep pits, and treacherous ledges—but nothing they couldn't navigate.

Then, at last, they reached the edge of the crater.

Hump tilted his head back, staring up at the towering walls encircling them. From above, the crater had been immense. From down here, it was monolithic. Getting in had been easy the easy part. Getting out? That was a problem for future Hump.

But all thoughts of escape were secondary to the sight that lay before them.

Nestled at the heart of the crater, untouched by debris and time, was the village.

It wasn’t like any settlement Hump had ever seen. The petrified ruins jutted from the ground at odd angles, their structures smooth and fluid, as if they had been sculpted from living stone rather than built. The buildings curved and twisted, shaped by a design beyond human understanding. Time had turned them to fossil and dust, yet they remained—enduring, untouched by whatever cataclysm had shattered this land.

Hump’s pulse quickened. This is it. If the gorger had a lair, it had to be here. The creatures hoarded power, clung to things of significance. There was nothing else in this wasteland except this.

Hump reached into his pack and pulled out a piece of chalk, pressing it to the stone beside him.

“What are you doing?” Emilia asked, watching as he scratched a mark into the wall.

“Just in case we need to find our own way out.” He drew a circle around his marking, bold and deliberate. “Look for the X.” After a moment’s thought, he drew a couple of arrows pointing at it too. Just in case.