Rencesvals

Lured by tales of crystalline formations said to contribute to the unusually hardy and bountiful harvests of Dagan, Ren had travelled from the lowest extremes of the floating castle to the highest, purely to satisfy his curiosity. Wispy white hair and alabaster features still marred from soot and smears earned at Callum's forge, his studies were progressing slowly. It didn't help that he kept having to play fetch to feed the blazing furnace's endless appetite. Maybe something in these crystals could catalyze the combustion and make their fuel burn longer or hotter, or even help refine the q

Ren's brow furrowed. "Did you just..." You could practically follow the mental math as he struggled to explain what Dimos was saying. Sure, just following orders made sense to the guy barking the orders, but didn't that also paint a bullseye on that same guy? Dimos didn't strike him as a responsibility-taking sort. He was more akin to 'blame management.' Or, maybe, he'd just read him wrong during their brief time together. Illi was fully engaged in a titanic battle of wills with the same batch of dandelions he'd just given up on. Something, something about unstoppable for

"Terence? TERENCE!!!" A blur of green cloth broke from the passage Ren had followed to this place, wrapping itself like tape to Ren's ragged companion. Exhausted, but glad to have reunited the miner and his wife, Ren locked the cart brake one last time and slumped against its side. His breaths were short and taken through clenched teeth, revealing how much closer to his limits he had pushed himself than he'd been willing to let on. "Oww! Careful woman! I'm pretty sure that was broken for a few days. It's still tender!" Mirth overflowed his complaints as Terenzio spoke them. H

After clearing enough rubble to free Terenzio, their trip back to the surface was no easy matter. The miner was in no shape to walk, until Ren provided him with one of the healing potions he'd been fortunate enough to receive with his starter kit. "Thanks again, my friend. I think I might actually be able to walk with some assistance." "Good. If you can walk, then you can lean." Ren grinned slyly as he pointed to the half-full cart of samples he'd collected on his journey down here. "You can use it as a crutch and support. I'll take care of bearing the weight. It doesn't seem

A short while later, Ren had managed to brace a few nearby posts against the ceiling and found an old wooden mallet with enough heft in it to pound them into place. Terenzio, as he barely managed to introduce himself, otherwise remained quiet and borderline unconscious. "Stay with me! You can't fall asleep, understand? Tell me about Giovanna. How do you know her?" Terenzio's head lolled to the side as a rare smile creased his heavily parched lips. "She's my wife, and was likely the curse's first victim. That compass you mentioned? That's how this all started. It points

"Sorry, friend. I've no idea who Gadwyn is, but I'm glad I found you." Setting his lantern down, Ren crept as close as he dared without risking any further collapse. "What happened here? Are there any more of you?" He kept his voice low, just in case. The man's gaunt face was a mixture of exhaustion and exaltation. "I don't care who you are. Just that you're here!" He coughed in a wheeze and hacking fit just by trying to laugh at his situation. Prolonged exposure to this air wouldn't have done him any favours. The small pool of ponding water an arm's length from him likely kept

"I always feel stupid skulking around in dark tunnels with a bloody spotlight in my hands. Never makes sense when they do it in the movies. This doesn't seem like any sort of improvement." The mental image of an iridescent bullseye painted on the centre of his chestplate prompted a morbid grin. "Who's out there? Show yourself!" And do me the favour of sparing me trying to find you amidst all this crap. Shadows to put a gothic cathedral to shame splayed themselves across the cave walls as light beamed between the stalactite and stalagmites all around him. Clattering rocks drew Re

Yanking hard on the brake, Ren once again brought the mine cart to a stop. It was getting full and growing more vulnerable to a sudden runaway rolling spree if not properly secured. Smelting all of this stuff would be its own separate challenge, assuming he ever got it all back to the surface. Figuring out where to setup shop might be a challenge equal to just learning the trade. A fantasy world offered much broader options for a smithy than just setting up a furnace next to any town, though the neighbours would bring other benefits. "I wonder if there are any dwarves or gnomes anywhe

The air was getting thick as he went deeper. Moisture accumulated on the walls as the temperature cooled and caused condensation. Stalactites were appearing with more frequency and in greater size, gradually connecting their floor-laden brethren. "Maybe I should have brought a canary." Toxic gas buildup was no joke and had killed more miners than most were ever willing to admit, or even consider. If the bird died, you were likely to be next. In its absence, your nose was your next best savior. Glancing occasionally at the lantern swing from the front end of the cart, he was just as c

Time lost all meaning in the underground, forcing you to measure it by other standards. Normally, everyone just wore a watch, but that wasn't exactly a thing here. Sure, Ren could pop open his UI. He'd even experimented to see if it would cast light when opened, but the game physics apparently prevented that particular loophole. He could see the interface just fine, but it shed to additional light upon his surroundings. Shame. He'd found a few other metals on the tunnel walls as he went, gradually filling the cart that he would push and park forward a few dozen feet at a time. It wa

Several short side-passages branched off from the main line, each clearly pursuing a vein or prospect and having been mined mostly clean. 'Rock hounds chase the goods wherever they go', or so he'd been told a thousand times at the family business. Not exactly deep - he snickered at the pun - but accurate enough. Timber crossbeams lined several parts of the tunnel the deeper he went. "Did they encounter some instability, or were they just prudent?" His voice barely a whisper, it made good sense not to make excessive noise, whether to alert anything unsavory that might still linger down

Thankfully, the cart's wheels and bearings were still in good repair. A quick check of the brake ensure that it was also in good working order. The last thing Ren needed was some runaway cart going all Indianan Jones on him after he'd loaded it up with goodies. His sword still hung loose and ready in its scabbard, should he have need of it. Something had clearly happened here - enough to get that Giovanna woman all worked up and leave at least one miner dead on the trail. The rest were still missing. Could they have been raided by other players, or monsters? Going in here alone wasn't t

Grabbing and lighting a lantern and slotting a weathered claw hammer into a spare belt loop, Ren found a mine cart full of castoffs still sitting on the tracks that led inside. "They actually laid tracks. Whoever did this was serious, or found enough here to make this kind of effort worthwhile." Aincrad didn't exactly have a lot of heavy machinery available, or the ability to airlft supplies deep into the woods. Maybe the designers just plunked everything in place, ignoring those types of details? Regardless, it gave him an option. Dumping and sifting through the existing contents re

Light grew brighter ahead as the ravine finally emerged into a wider clearing against the base of a high and broken cliff face. Things finally started to make sense. A cleft in the rock face revealed a cavern entrance adapted to serve as a mine. Remnants of a base camp lay strewn all about: a firepit that hadn't seen use in some time; crates full of equipment and a few rugged carts stained with stone dust and beaten by the bearing of heavy loads. Something metallic was creaking Stirring the ashes with the tip of his sword confirmed it. There were no embers, but a short stack of kindl

Quick thinking by Austerlitz kept the rest of them alive. The man was ever sharp. Agincourt had pulled Ren back by the collar to keep him from diving after the others. It was already too late. She saved his life that day. The sound of blood and rage thrummed in his ears remembering as pulsing adrenaline overrode his good sense. That and the sound of the rain. What began as a light drizzle had turned to virtual typhoon by the time the attack came. No wonder they hadn't spotted the threat. Their 'friends' had made sure that they'd be easy prey. The shrill cry of some distant bird o

That was where he'd met his peers. Ironic, given the handle he'd chosen. Each of them had been major history buffs, favouring foreign studies. In a total pique of nerd exhibition, they'd all vowed to take on the name of a famous battle, whether real or fictional. Arguing that some sort of theme or cohesion, Arakawa had convinced them all to randomly determine the country that would have to be connected to the name. France was selected, much to Kano's delight. She had long studied the language and quickly chose Verdun as her title. Everyone just called her Verdy. A smile came unbeckoned

Branches creaked and snapped overhead, placing him immediately on alert. By now, the roots of the surrounding trees above had begun growing together, weaving an awning canopy that bridged the gap between both faces of the crevice. Light still shone through, but only because the sun remained high in the sky. It had to be close to noon by now, serving as a warning that he could find himself lost in the dark quite quickly if he lingered too long down here. More cart tracks, and this time a broken iron-shod wagon wheel discarded off to the side. "Maybe the ruts weren't made so much by fr

"These look like iron ore deposits. Could this be why anyone was down here?" The exposed rock face looked like it was bleeding, with rust-red streaks running down its face as the oxidized mineral was gradually being exposed and washed away. There were signs that some excavation had occurred, but only at a superficial level. Soft, moist earth had given way to bear grey rock as Ren climbed higher up the hill, though the ravine still concealed most of this location. Animals could be heard flitting about above, but ominously preferring to avoid this sheltered passage. "Out of sight and o

The ravine walls showed no evidence of a slide or collapse. No claw or finger marks marred the damp earthen surface to indicate he'd tried to climb his way out. The mystery man's footprints still lingered, notable in the muddy ground and ending where he fell. Parting the tall grasses that obscured it, Ren found traces of old cart wheel ruts as well, pulled by booted feet by the looks of them. "Strange. Why would anyone be carting anything down here?" Things didn't add up. On a whim, he pulled out the strange compass and held it aloft. The needle spun slowly back and forth, now, goi

It didn't take long to find their destination. Giovanna, who introduced herself after a bit of polite coaxing, claimed to be looking for her husband. Whatever backbone she still retained melted away when they crested a nearby ridge. Below, on the floor of a shallow ravine, was a body. The crevice wasn't particularly wide from their vantage, and easy to overlook. "Are you alright?" Ren asked, sympathetic to the quivering squeak that was all she managed in response. "I'll go down and take a look. There are no signs of battle. He may simply have fallen." The fact that a body remained

Wincing slightly, Ren realized that the pain was more instinct that reality. He'd expected it to hurt, but the game's suppression filters dulled most of the impact. Hesitantly, he lowered his hand to confirm that there was no cut, nor any blood. Of course there wasn't. Not here. Golden eyes softened as he looked again in her direction. She was shorter than him by at least a head, wearing green robes consistent with the locals throughout this level. Bright emerald eyes stared more lethally his way than the dagger still shaking in her grasp. The yellow icon spinning over her head reveale

Scouring the outskirts of the floor and map out all the best mining nodes had been the plan. It started off well enough with a thoroughly boring survey of the boulder fields and quarry face on the western outskirts of Tolbana. Life got a bit spicy when a raucous pack of wild boars with nasty dispositions showed up and he had to circle the long way around to avoid them. Having recently fought wolves alongside Illi and Enya was lesson enough that there might be another pack just around the corner and that they were all too squishy to be taking foolish liberties for the sake of a handful of sp

The scritch and scratch of quill to paper serving as harbinger, the man's shock of white hair peeked above the large bound tome he held firmly trapped between his left arm and black armored chestpiece. "Hmm? Sunlight? Here? Where have I wandered this time?" Golden eyes peered up to the spec of blue sky peering in on their present location among the otherwise thick foliage of the forest. "Is this supposed to be here? It doesn't seem like a very practical location." A glance upon his manual gave no indication, not that he'd yet had much time to annotate its barely sketched

Quick glancing and checks. No significant injuries. "Thank goodness for that." Words mumbled aloud to ease fears and tensions alike. "Nicely done, ladies. You both earned your stripes today. Sorry that I couldn't be more help." Pressing the plain-looking hilt and pommel of his battered blade to his forehead, Ren silently mouthed a few words that might have been prayers. "The sign of death? I ran in circles where latin was common, but I'm surprised to find it spoken so fluently by others. Where did you study it?" Illi's combat-speak had not gone unnoticed. "The scythe is

Dimos' words sounded hollow, yet also tinged with desperation spoke about how he needed them to be true. Had he also been betrayed? Listening to Enya's plea and argument reminded him of the debate he and the others had the night before agreeing to enter this blasted game. Friends and allies? What did they mean when they turned against each other? But going alone was also certain death. What remained? What path could be walked under such circumstances? A butler's grace. A fart in the wind. A price to be paid. "Heh. So that's the trick." The words were meant only for him, but esc