The Wandering Spire

Tier 6 monsters were meant to be battled by a team of five Adventurer-ranked Guild members. Not two, unless Viel was a higher rank. Jeze reflected to herself. He is a Dragon, she added with some hope as the two fled the furious, fiery onslaught from the menacing Ogre. She and Viel tried to lure the Demon out into the chamber where they could properly flank it, but the Ogre was too clever for that. It knew its advantage and stayed in the doorway where it could lob fireballs at them until they decided to rush in and engage. If they fought the Ogre head-on, the Demon would have a massive advantage due to its size. Their advantage of speed would be negated due to the creature standing in the door frame.

"We have to lure it out," Viel rasped as the two ducked behind one of the pillars.

The heat from the flames blasted them from the sides as another fireball exploded. They would have to move soon to avoid getting burned.

"How do we do that?" Jeze cried as the two ran in opposite directions. The area they just fled became engulfed in flames.

"Aren't you a Rune caster? Do something magical!" Viel exclaimed.

Jeze snorted in frustration. She had tried lobbing boulders at the Ogre, but the Demon had batted them to the side with his massive club. It was perfectly content to stay where it was to guard the Hold Core, and the Demon didn't appear to be running out of Will, for it lobbed Fireballs with causal ease. She had an idea and tapped her Affliction aspect ring.

Jeze Summoned and Shaped a ball of curse energy and launched it at the Ogre in the hopes of enraging it. The greasy red energy struck the Demon in the chest, and the monster blinked twice and snarled. I needed to pour more, Will. Jeze reflected, and then her eyes widened. The Ogre Summoned its own curse magic and Shaped it into a red sparkling mist. How could I dodge that? She thought in a panic. The Ogre Controlled the Affliction mist to rapidly spew forth. Jeze tried to outrun the area of effect but was engulfed by the curse magic. The spell afflicted her with nausea, and she focused her Will to resist it. In the end, Jeze had no choice but to retch and vomit. The Ogre laughed. Its voice resonated deeply against the walls like malicious thunder.

"You're lucky the spell didn't make you poop your pants. I've seen that happen one time. Nasty business," Viel observed.

"Don't give it ideas," Jeze growled after she finished retching.

The Ogre's laughter subsided and it returned to launching Fireballs and soon the two were running from the fiery blasts. The two weaved throughout the chamber and found themselves back behind the pillars.

"I will throw another boulder at it and when its distracted, I need you to attack right away before it could recover to Shape runes," Jeze quickly said.

"Then what? I can't go toe to toe with that thing!" Viel cried.

"We keep the pressure on so that it can't shape the glyphs," Jeze responded as the two parted ways to avoid being burned.

They ran across the chamber, avoiding fireballs, and returned back again behind the pillars.

"That's not a good plan," Viel rasped out. He was getting tired from running.

Jeze peeked around the pillar and quickly ducked back as a ball of Fire whooshed past her to explode against the far wall. The heat was intense.

"If you distract it enough, I could squeeze past and then we will be flanking it from the front and back," Jeze said.

Viel nodded, "The Ogre will have no choice but to move toward one of us, and then we will have space to fight it!"

The two separated again as the Ogre lobbed fireballs to engulf the area behind the pillars in flames. Without further discussion, the two initiated their plan. As she ran, with exploding fireballs licking her heels, Jeze Summoned two piles of dirt and Shaped them into boulders. Viel circled dangerously closer toward the Ogre and its fire magic and massive club. Jeze launched one boulder at the Demon, and it responded by bashing the rock to pieces with its mighty club. Viel howled and charged. The tall man managed to land a gash across the Ogre's arm. The Demon moved fast, and Viel barely dodged being crushed by the massive club.

"It's now or never," Jeze said to herself as she sprinted as hard as her legs could move her.

The Ogre was too fast and there was no chance for Jeze to dodge past. But she had one more boulder, and demonstrating Mastery, Jeze shaped the glyphs as she ran and Controlled the Boulder to fly toward the Ogre. The Demon smashed the attack as Jeze slid in between its legs and into the chamber beyond.

"Yes!" Viel howled as he landed a second gash on the Ogre, this time behind its less-protected knees.

All mirth faded from the large Demon's tusked face as it howled with rage. The Ogre charged Viel while furiously swinging its two-handed club. The tall man dodged and barely escaped being turned into pulp. Jeze quickly glanced around the circular room she was in. It was dimly lit, and the only source of light came from the pale pillar where the Hold Core floated from within. She knew it would be dangerous to reach for it now as the pale light was made out of pure Rune energy. Jeze guessed a combination of the Light and Fire aspects, much like the beam weapon from the Pyramid or her Glow Orb. The room was filled with other treasures from books and gems, lots of gems. She recalled from her Brother's journal that Ogres coveted gems.

"A little help here!" Viel cried and snapped Jeze back into the present.

The Ogre was completely enraged as it chased after the tall man. The Demon's attacks were getting closer, but Viel demonstrated excellent swordsmanship as he was able to dart in with counterattacks that left small nicks along the Ogre's unprotected knees and arms. However, it was only a matter of time before the much stronger Demon would win. It only needed one hit to end the fight, and Jeze wouldn't stand a chance against the Ogre alone. She marveled at the speed at which the two fought and the skill that Viel demonstrated. Jeze wondered if he was Adept ranked. Viel's speed and grace reminded her of Berserker Orn.

For the moment, the Ogre was focused on the tall man, and its back was toward Jeze. She struck it hard with a boulder and knocked the Demon down on one knee. Viel lunged forward, and the Ogre batted the sword to the side with its heavy club. Jeze charged ahead and buried her axe into the Ogre's arm. The beast howled and spun to strike her, but Jeze backflipped out of the way. The Ogre rose, and Viel sliced the back of its knees, and the monster stumbled back to the ground. Jeze leaped into the air with her back arched as she delivered a mighty chop with her axe. The Ogre blocked the attack with this club that sent sparks flying. Viel came right behind Jeze and stabbed the Ogre through its neck. The Tier 6 monster dropped its club to clutch its throat. It gurgled as it fell to the ground, and the fight ended.

"That was quick," Jeze said. She was surprised.

"Most fights are," Viel replied as he wiped the blood from his sword. "But it was not easy," he added.

The two entered the chamber with the pillar of light and the Hold Core. Viel's eyes lit up at the piles of gems, and his mouth dropped as he neared the floating orb.

"Wait!" Jeze warned, but she was too late.

The tall man reached for the Hold Core and cursed as his hand sizzled and burned from the magical energies. Viel stumbled back and nursed his injury. Jeze watched as the burnt flesh rapidly healed and wondered at this strange man's power. She handed Viel a recovery broth, and he hungrily drank it, some of the thick liquid spilling down his chin.

"Thank you," Viel said and then asked, "Can you disarm this trap?"

"I don't think it's a trap," Jeze replied.

"Oh? Then what is it?"

Jeze studied the pillar of light. Golden motes of light drifted from the orb and floated upwards, and disappeared into the dark hole in the ceiling.

"I think it's a power source," Jeze observed and then asked, "Are you sure this is your sister's heart?"

Viel nodded.

"So dragon hearts are shaped like an orb?" Jeze said.

The tall man grumbled and replied, "The orb is made out of a dragon's heart. The Fiends hunted my kind for this very purpose."

"To make Hold Cores?" Jeze asked.

Viel nodded quietly.

"Were you and your sister hiding from the Fiends? Why would she be in the Spire?" Jeze wondered.

Viel stammered, "I, I don't know."

Jeze reached up and rubbed his shoulder. "I will figure out how to get the orb out."

The tall man smiled warmly at her and replied, "You and your brother have done so much for me. I can't find the words to thank you."

"Just hold up your end of the promise," Jeze reminded him.

"You got it," Viel said and extended his hands. The two shook. He glanced at the pillar of light and asked, "So what now?"

Jeze grinned and waved at the tomes. "We read."

Viel groaned, and the two explored the tomes. They were written in the same language as the Pyramid, and Jeze was able to do her research. Viel quickly gave up.

"I'll gather the gems," he muttered as he searched for a way to scoop up the treasures.

"We split them," Jeze stated.

Viel grinned and replied, "Of course."

The tall man's eyes went wide as he pulled out a sword from the piles. It had a golden handle and hilt with a shiny silver blade.

"I prefer bigger swords. Here, for you," he said as he presented the sword, handle first, to her.

Jeze put down the tome she was reading and accepted the sword. It was straight bladed and double edged with a similar weight and feel as the Devil Steel weapon she owned. Most important was that the sword had a sharp point for thrusting, which was how she primarily used swords with her fighting style. Jeze used her axe for chopping and slashing.

"That's a real magic blade. Not an enchanted one," Viel observed.

"What's the difference?" Jeze wondered.

The tall man snorted and joked, "You call yourself a Rune caster? An enchanted blade is a normal sword with magical charges. A magic sword does not need to be powered. I would be careful with that edge. It is probably very sharp."

Jeze tested the blade on the wall and was surprised to see the steel cut a line through the stone. It was not a deep cut, and the sword would not be able to cut a rock in half, but it was a deeper scratch than what a normal blade could achieve.

"Hey, don't ruin the blade! You just got it!" Viel cautioned.

Jeze nodded and replaced her Devil Steel blade at her hip with her new sword. She packed the other sword away in her pack. It was still worth something. Jeze returned to her research.

"Fascinating!" Jeze exclaimed.

Viel looked up from his work on collecting gems and asked, "You can disarm the magic?"

"No, but this tome talked about the Core Tunnels and how to maintain them," Jeze replied.

Viel sulked as she opened another book. There were dozens of tomes, and this could take awhile. Jeze found a book on the Light aspect. She tucked it away for later. Another tome was on how to use the parts from various Demons and beasts for enchanting. That also interested her. She pulled another book from the pile.

"Found it!" She exclaimed.

"Really?" Viel perked up.

"Yes, but I want to collect these other books for later research," Jeze said.

"I will get them. Please work on getting my sister's heart out. I've waited too long," Viel pleaded.

The tome that Jeze discovered was on the maintenance of the Hold Core. She followed the diagrams and walked over to the pedestal. Jeze ran her fingers along the pages of Runes and shaped the final Glyphs in the air. Nothing happened. Her face scrunched up.

"What's the matter?" Viel asked, worry written on his face as clear as a sunrise.

"I am not familiar with the Light aspect," Jeze replied.

She tried to shape the Glyphs several times, and after fifteen minutes, she succeeded. Silver glowing Runes appeared along the pedestal. Jeze smiled. Now, all she needed to do was infuse the pedestal with the Fire aspect. It only took her three tries as she was more familiar with the Fire runes, and the pale pillar of light flickered briefly before disappearing. The orb slowly sank, as if it was in water, down to settle on the stone pedestal. The Core Tunnels hummed around them before going silent. The room grew dark as the lights along the walls dimmed and turned off. Jeze glanced around.

"I think we powered down the Core Tunnel," she observed.

Jeze activated her Glow Globe and discovered that Viel had taken the Hold Core. He opened his mouth, inhumanly wide, and consumed it before Jeze could say anything. Viel's body tensed as if it were struck by lightning.

"Viel?" Jeze called out in concern.

The tall man began to convulse so violently that Jeze took a step back in trepidation. She feared getting struck by one of his flailing limbs. He moved so rapidly that it appeared as a blur. Jeze began to skim through her tome for any information.

"Hold on!" Jeze cried out as she scanned the pages. She wondered if she should use her Life aspect.

Viel continued to shake and twist and turn. He moved so fast and hard that Jeze worried that the man's bones would break. Then they did.

"By the Night Eye! I don't know what to do!" Jeze cried.

Viel crumbled to the ground, his body shaking so violently with the sounds of his bones gnashing and crunching. Red energy erupted from his body and began to dance around him like fire. The Affliction aspect! It was the curse being removed when he consumed the dragon's heart! Jeze realized and rushed over while she prepared her Affliction ring. Viel rose up and expanded so fast that it knocked her off her feet. He was growing! No, Jeze realized in horror he was changing shape. Dark leathery wings ripped outwards from his back. His arms grew thicker, and dark scales sprouted from his flesh as he howled in agony. Viel fell on all fours, and his neck and face elongated. Sharp fangs sprang from his gums, and his screams turned into a primal roar that thundered through the chamber. He tripled in size and towered above Jeze. He expanded his wings, and his entire body encompassed the circular chamber. He was no longer Viel. He was Eclipse. Red curse magic shimmered angrily around his enormous form. Jeze scrambled to her feet, and a giant clawed paw pinned her to the ground. Jeze gritted her teeth as fear bubbled up in her chest. Why was he doing this to her?

"I now know the truth of what your kind did to us," the dragon growled as it lowered its head down to glare at Jeze with rage filled red eyes.

"Viel! You are hurting me," she cried.

"Puny humans! You feared us, and then you cursed us! But now I am free!" Eclipse roared.

Viel was gone. She didn't recognize him in this new form, and instead what she saw was the horror told in the tales from the Ironfist Kingdom. Were they true? What have I done? Jeze thought to herself as fear and panic threatened to consume her. But then she realized something. The curse energy remained floating in the room that gave Jeze a slim chance at survival.