Dungeon Robotics 121

Morning Everyone! I hope the week wasn't too rough on everyone! I'm planning on getting some art commissioned and was wondering who everyone wanted to see. Leave me a comment down below. 

Louella

After I sat at the table the lords looked at one another as if trying to decide who should talk first. Since a few of the other people had started eating, I went ahead and started myself. I felt the food was good but lacked a certain something that I couldn’t put my finger on. 

I was about halfway through the meal when one of the lords cleared their throat. Looking up, I noticed Lord Ferinight looking at me. I just gave him a raised eyebrow. If he wanted to talk then he should talk.

“Lady Louella. We would like to help you return to the surface.”

“That would be a great boon for us,” I replied lowering my fork. “I’m sure we could have returned on our own. With your assistance it will be much safer.”

“That is true, but we have another motive behind helping you. Glouris continues to grow in power by the hour. We have the ability to deal with him, but the undead of the Seal are causing more than a little headache in this area. Nero here says your friend on the surface has become sort of an expert in the matter of the undead.”

“Has he now?” I asked glancing at the man. He just shrugged with a grin. “Even if this is the case. I’m not sure I can get him to help you. As you know, my memories are a mess. I cannot say with assurance that he will mobilize to help you.”

“We understand that, but I’m sure if he knew that the world was in danger he would be more willing to lend a hand.”

“The world, Lord Ferinight?” 

“Indeed. The Seal contains an ancient evil. One that plagued this world for a millennium. Trust me when I say you don’t want to see it free.”

I stared at him but couldn’t see any indication that he was lying. Besides, I couldn’t think of a reason why he would want to lie. There was little in it for him. My friend on the surface didn’t pose a threat to them unless he comes down here. 

“I understand. Is there anything we can help with while in your care? Even with my memories missing, I know there is no such thing as a free lunch.”

“Glourios’s forces as well as the undead from the Seal are causing no small amount of damage to the surrounding communities. We might have to go their aid while we journey to the surface. If you could assist us in these skirmishes that would be more than enough to earn your place with us.”

Glacning at Yuno, he gave me a slight nod of agreement and I bobbed my head slowly to Lord Ferinight. While Yuno and Nero could fight, I didn’t trust myself in a confrontation like that. Nero claimed I was a lightning user, but fire flowed through my veins. I would hate to go to help then fail to deliver.

“We will try to assist where we can,” I said finally realizing the pause had gone on for an awkward amount of time.

“Excellent,” Lord Ferinight said then switched to another tongue as he turned to talk to the person next to him.

We soon finished breakfast, and made our separate ways through the camp. The others followed me back to our little section. I had to admit, my mind was in another place while we walked. I didn’t mind that we needed to help them, but personally I wanted to get back to the surface and fix my head.

“Lady Louella. Are you alright?” Yuno asked pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yes. I just can’t seem to stop my mind from wandering lately. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“About the best we can hope for. Last night I concentrated my senses. The tunnels for kilometers are crawling with the Beneath races. It is better to be with them rather than try to make our way through unaided.”

“I see. That is a bit of a problem.”

“Plus we get food and might not have to lift a finger during our stay,” Nero commented with what I thought was a lack of delicacy. 

“They seemed pretty eager to help after whatever you showed them last night. Pray tell what that was about?” I asked poking him in the chest.

“Unfortunately, that is a trade secret,” he replied crossing his arms.

“Then what is the soul of metal?” Yuno asked from next to me. 

“A prophecy my old man foretold before Celestia fell to Lelune. How did it go again?” He pressed a finger against his temple. “Ah. That’s right! A fragmented world. The Ancient hunger sealed under the world would rise again. A soul of metal is the key. A soul of the world is the engine. A soul of flesh is the lock.”

“What exactly does it mean?”

“Good question. One that generally follows a prophecy. Sadly, we don’t know. You’d be surprised at how many things are sealed in the Beneath. You have Teriso, the Conqueror. Modderm, the Original Dragon. Quite a few Demon generals. A couple of the Sovereigns that didn’t outright die.”

“Is the Beneath a dumping ground or something?” I exclaimed with some trepidation.

“You’re not far from the truth of it. The World Spirit is the only thing keeping most of these beings under lock and key. Half want to destroy Murgin. The other half want to rule it with an iron fist. Each victory over these powers cost the world greatly in the terms of strength.”

“That still doesn’t explain the prophecy. Does it predict something that will deal with these threats? A change in the status quo?”

“We don’t know. All we know is three individuals will in some form or fashion have a great power. I am fairly confident that your metal friend is the soul of metal, but I can’t be sure until I actually meet him.”

“I see. I hope it is one of the good kind of prophecies,” I mumbled to myself.

~~~

The Beneath expedition as we started to call it only remained in the cavern for another few hours before they broke camp and started on their way. To me the caves all looked the same, but Yuno assured me that we were moving in the right direction. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter any trouble on the path.

Without the sun, it was hard to tell the passage of time, but after what felt like ten or so hours, we made it to a large cavern that had several structures. There was a gate that had several dozen guards that looked battle weary. Large scrotch marks decorated the walls and surface of the gate.

“Leftovers from encounters with Glourios’s troops. They expand their territory by the day,” Lord Ferinight commented when he saw me looking.

“I’m surprised we didn’t meet any of them on your way here.”

“Our scouts still know the Beneath better than conjured fire spirits,” Lord Ondre remarked with a growl. 

I bowed my head to the dark elf. “I meant no disrespect.”

Once we were through the gates, I saw that this was full of High races of human, elf and beastkin. The people on the streets were giving the dark elves not so much hateful looks but there was a touch of fear. I guess even a common enemy wasn’t enough to remove centuries of fighting and bloodshed from their memories.

We were shown to an empty building and quickly set up camp. In what I could only assume was a bid to earn my appreciation, the two lords gave up the best room for me to use. I asked Sera to join me so the girl could have some comfort as well. Plus, I wanted to spend some more time with the girl.

After the incident in the mushroom cave, she had almost completely withdrawn into herself. While this was helpful as she didn’t wander off anymore. I knew it was unheathly. Her brother appeared to worry about her but between the girl, Nero and myself. I felt he was close to his limit as well. 

I didn’t know if I could help her, but maybe talking to another woman would help her. Of course, this might just be me wanting to not be the one everyone worried about due to my memory loss. With a deep breath which I was finding increasingly stifling in the caves, I dropped onto the bed with my thoughts tumbling all over the place.