454. Interlude - Cloaks and Daggers Part One
A crimson glare rose from the horizon as the group crested atop the hill. Morning dew sat fresh on the blades of grass beneath their feet. The inkling signs of dawn prefigured the rising sun, yet the sun wasn’t even close to touching the pale blue sky.
Orgaf cast his gaze over the bright landscape. He saw the thin crimson pillar rising from the earth— so familiar. Yet, so different. With that, he turned back to those accompanying him.
“We’re here.”
There was a snort in response. Lofus the Broken Berserker of Bherein leaned against her war axe as she rolled her eyes.
undefined[Warrior - Lvl. 158]
“What clued you in on that? The fact that the map says we’ve arrived, or that gigantic ritual unfolding before us.”
She spoke in a sardonic voice. Orgaf frowned as he eyed her, but he didn’t respond. A second voice drew his attention. A middle-aged man dressed in a bright blue robe with a long pointed hat. It was Domenic the Archsorcerer.
[Mage - Lvl. 143]
“What you’re seeing here, Ms Lofus, is not the grand ritual itself. Quite the contrary, it is simply a byproduct of this attempt to merge the planes.”
He rubbed the stubble on his chin as he finished. Another disgruntled voice spoke up.
“What’s the difference, then?”
Marwin the Silver Swordsman growled. He had his arms folded across his chest— well, his arm. Singular. He apparently lost the other one a month ago or so. Orgaf didn’t really know or care how that happened. The Thief of the Golden Scale just knew that Salvos was somehow involved— which probably meant that Marwin deserved it.
[Warrior - Lvl. 142]
“You can’t just say all that without explaining shit.”
The Silver Swordsman continued. Domenic furrowed his brows, but he wasn’t affronted. He raised a finger, adjusting his glasses as if to elaborate. But a soft voice cut him off.
[Archer - Lvl. 146]
“In simple terms, stopping the ritual here will not prevent the merger of the planes as a whole.”
Alice the Shadow Consort raised her head fractionally. She stood to the side, wearing a cloak made of shadows. She had no visible weapon on her— no bow, no arrows. Domenic nodded, clearing his throat.
“Yes, that is indeed correct, Ms Alice. Although, I would say it is more akin to patching up a single crack on a glass window when the house itself is crumbling all around us.”
“Then why the fuck are we here?”
Lofus grunted, clearly annoyed. Orgaf couldn’t blame her. She looked slightly tired. Sure, she was an Elite Ranked adventurer. The only other one present here, besides Orgaf. The rest were Diamond Ranked— high Diamond. Close to Elite in level. But she was a [Warrior]. Not fit for fast travel. Not especially while sneaking around enemy defenses.
They’d spent the last day traveling across the Human lands to get here. To arrive at the Inoria Empire. But not just at the fringe of the country where the front lines were. They were relatively deep inside of the Inoria Empire for a reason.
It was a simple mission. One that could only be carried out by a group of high-leveled individuals. As Alice the Shadow Consort and Domenic the Archsorcerer had said, this wasn’t the source of the Demon’s ritual to bring the Netherworld to the Mortal Realm. It was a ritual— but not the ritual.
Apparently, in addition to the main ritual that encompassed most of the Inoria Empire and the Elutra Kingdom, there were thirteen other… sub-rituals. Smaller rituals that empowered and hastened the spread of what they now called the ‘Hellification’ of the Mortal Realm. So, rather than this process spreading out from a single point— the center of the grand ritual— it would be hastened from expanding from these thirteen other points as well.
Here was one of said points. Orgaf turned away from the bickering as he faced the academy up ahead. It was like a small city— more comparable to a town in size, really. However, it was anything but a town. The academy was ornate. Regal. Like it was a palace of sorts with tall spires decorated with frivolous designs to glamorize the buildings in it. Even the palace of Alyras didn’t look quite as lavish as this academy.
Orgaf shook his head and turned back to this team of Elites and Diamond Ranks.
“—it was Archmage Warshade’s directive that infiltrated the enemy lines to put a halt to the ritual!”
“We’re at Cedric Academy! This isn’t enemy lines— and didn’t you say we weren’t even putting a halt to the ritual, anyway?”
“That’s enough.”
Orgaf spoke over them, cutting off their argument. The Thief of the Golden Scale spoke, and they listened. Well, all except for Lofus. The Berserker just harrumphed.
Still, he was the most senior of them all. He had the most battle experience. He had even ventured into the Kobold lands alone before, something only a handful of other Humans could boast of. Most of all, Orgaf was the highest-level of the group. That made him their leader. So they listened to him.
“We’re not going to be putting an end to this war overnight. Cedric Academy just so happens to be one of the least fortified of the thirteen sub-rituals across Inoria. Our job is to just put a stop to it when they’re not prepared. Got it?”
Marwin scowled, and Domenic nodded. Alice didn’t quite react. Lofus started forward, punching a fist into an open palm as she cracked her neck.
“Whatever. As long as I get to break some shit.”
Adventurers. Orgaf snorted. All they cared about was for themselves. That was why they were adventurers. Sure, Orgaf could admit that he was occasionally just like them— so selfish and self-serving. But he understood when things mattered, unlike plenty of others. He always tried to find that little overlap where what he did was beneficial for himself and beneficial for others.
Orgaf pointed towards the center of Cedric Academy— where the red pillar of light was shooting up and painting the sky red. At the tallest tower of the school.
“There. That’s the source of it. Let’s go.”
He leapt forward as Lofus and the Diamond Ranked adventurers followed after him. He landed at the base of the hill, looking down at the line where the grass was replaced by a pure white stone. Up ahead, the entire landscape was replaced by this marble-like earth for miles.
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