Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Agatha stood in front of the door, excitement stretched across a wrinkled brow as she examined the symbols on the door. Elly stood next to her, chin rested in her hand, her skin sheening amidst the glow of the emblem on the door. Helbram and the others stood some ways off to the side, their eyes also fixed to the glowing stone that barred their path.

“It almost looks too simple,” Leaf said.

Agatha nodded, “You have the right of it there, but hiding complexity behind simplicity is one of the hallmarks of Ruhian design. Otherwise whoever came before us would have already made it in.”

“I don’t know about that,” Jahora said, “Marlin may have been a mage but he was a brute at heart.”

“Tis true,” Helbram added, “It was most likely due to his heavy hand that the mountain underwent so much resonance.”

Helbram walked up to the door, peering closer at the carving, “Now my knowledge of the Ruhian language is scant at best, but does this carving not represent the Six Virtues?”

Both Elly and Agatha’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I did not take you for a scholar,” Agatha said with a smile, “You’d be surprised how many people are not versed in such things…”

“It's just something my grandfather taught me long ago,” Helbram admitted, “He deserves that label more than I. Temper could be something fierce though…”

“Well his information was correct,” Elly said as she motioned towards the door, “This symbol represents the Six Virtues,” she pointed towards the top most circle and began to motion through them in a clockwise movement, “Intelligence, Wisdom, Strength of Body, Strength of Spirit, Dexterity, and Grace,” She pointed towards the circle in the center, “The Ruhians believed that each Virtue represented only one part of the Self, and that mastery of each Virtue led to its betterment and in turn society as a whole.”

“Aren’t Grace and Dexterity similar?” Leaf said, “Seems just a bit redundant.”

“It depends on the context,” Agatha explained, “For the Ruhia Dexterity is more in reference to how deft they were with their hands. Given their prominence as sculptors, having such a virtue makes sense. Grace, however, more represents how well one carries themselves in public, namely how calm and collected you were perceived to be.”

“Leaf is certainly good at that,” Jahora said with a coy smile, “The frowning really adds to the serenity.”

“Aye,” Leaf grinned, “You don’t get such steel nerves without a bit of Grace.”

Agatha and Elly snorted.

“Now now, we are getting off track,” Agatha said in a kindly tone, “If you youngsters don’t mind, this old lady has some pondering to do.”

Elly nodded and reached for her notebook, but paused as the elderly woman held a hand up.

“That won’t be necessary,” she said, “I dare say that I’ve had the sudden desire to try and handle this riddle on my own. Take a brief respite in the meantime, I’ve a feeling that things will only get more exciting from here.”

Elly stared at her master in confusion, “Are you certain?“

“Indeed I am, allow me to humor myself for a spell. It’s been quite some time since I’ve given my mind a good stretch.”

Helbram noted a flash of disappointment in Elly’s eyes, but the student sighed and gave her teacher a soft smile, “I suppose that’s true, but you must involve me on the next one. Tis no fair if you’re the only one having a spot of fun.”

“Yes yes, now shoo, I’ve secrets to ruminate over.”

Elly shrugged and stepped away from the door, “Best leave my master to her own devices, Gods pity the one who stands between her and her work…”

Helbram smirked and followed the dusk elf, “I can see that, your teacher appears to be quite the passionate scholar.”

“Passionate is an understatement,” Elly said with a smile, “I dare say that even death would hesitate to stand in her path when she gets like this…”

“I can tell, there is a great deal of power nestled within that weathered frame of hers.”

Elly peered at him, “You are quite the perceptive one. A result of your travels I presume?”

Helbram nodded, “You tend to pick up an eye for these things when you’ve done a spot of traveling.”

He looked back at the elderly woman, who stared at the door while tapping her chin with her staff. If she heard their conversation, she gave no indication of it.

“But let’s not disturb her thoughts,” he motioned for Leaf and Jahora to follow them as they walked towards the opposite end of the cavern.

“Yes,” Elly said, “in the meantime I am curious to know how much of the Ruhia you are aware of.”

Helbram shrugged, “Beyond the Virtues I’m afraid not much more than anyone else. It’s just a bit of knowledge that’s lingered from my younger days.”

“Still, enlighten me.”

“If you insist…” the armored man rolled his shoulders and cleared his throat, “Long ago, before the arrival of the Starborn - those we know as the Quetali, Ishtani, and Zechanil - two great powers ruled over Ellios. Saputa, the Empire of the Sky, and Ruhia, the great Nation of the Earth… and I do believe Jahora can take it from here,” he said, the grin evident in his voice.

“What? Oh! Yes well…” the gnome tapped her head, “Where Saputa conquered the skies with floating nations of metal and magitech, Ruhia engrained its legacy into the Earth through magic and stonework. The ruins of these two great powers dot the entirety of the world, and their secrets have been the subject of study for many a scholar since ages past.”

“Yes, that’s typically what most people are aware of… but the presence of ruins tells us that these great nations eventually fell,” Elly turned to Leaf, “I don’t suppose our bow-wielding friend would care to elaborate why?”

“I couldn’t tell ya, I bloody barely knew about the other stuff,” He turned to Helbram, “I honestly forgot that the Quetali came from the stars.”

“Most people do, it’s been quite the few millennia since it happened,” the armored man responded.

“All the more curious that you’ve retained that knowledge,” Elly said.

“Result of the occasional interest in books,” he sighed, “Though that’s more of an ingrained trait rather than anything hereditary.”

“I see… but before we get too off track let’s return to the subject of The Great Collapse, though that’s more of a general term rather than any specific event…”

Elly leaned against the wall and flicked her hand towards the center of the circle Helbram and the others had formed. A ring of Aether appeared around her wrist, and the motion produced two orbs of light that hovered just above the ground. She held her hands out to one, moving them in a methodical manner to sculpt it into the shape of a humanoid statue  adorned in armor and wielding a greatsword.  Its armor was more elaborate compared to the rudimentary aesthetic popular throughout the Freemarks, composed of interlocking plates that managed to cover the entirety of its body.  Slits trailed across the visor of its full helm, matching the various grooves that trailed across its armor and even the large, wide blade that it wielded. Weapon and armor both bore no ornamentation, but the lines that wrapped around its make were suffused with the same soft light of the door in the distance.

She reached out towards the other orb and began to pull at it, producing the image of a figure that was only humanoid in shape. It was composed of various bits of floating black and gold metal hovering around a central orb. The orb itself bled a soft blue aura into the air from the immaterial core that rested at its center. Its limbs held no hands or feet and were of a sharp, blade like design. Its face held little features beyond the singular mass of blue light at its center that mimicked the one of the orb below. As opposed to standing on the ground like the statue, this one hovered in the air, it’s metallic bits hovering as if perpetually wrapped in a soft breeze.

Elly nodded as she finished her sculpting of the images, and, still holding her hands out, began to manipulate her fingers like a puppeteer. The images moved in response.

“Many believe that the Collapse was the result of a great war between the two nations,” she said as she flicked her fingers. 

As she did, the statue clashed its blade against the sharpened limbs of the metallic construct. The images crossed weapons multiple times before the statue landed a blow to the orb of the construct, but not before it’s torso was pierced by one of its opponents metallic limbs. The two figures collapsed to the ground and faded away before reappearing in their original positions.

“There are others that also believe that the nations collapsed under their own weight, be it from some sort of rebellion or being unable to handle the burden of their size.” 

The dusk elf flicked her fingers again, causing the statue to crumble into dust and the construct’s lights to flicker before dying out, its body falling into a pile of metal.

“Of course, we cannot deny the possibility that they collapsed through the interference of an outside force,” She snapped her fingers, producing a burst of illusory fire and light that washed over the two figures. The flash blinded Helbram for a moment, and by the time that his vision returned the statue and construct disappeared. “However,  despite the resilience of the two nation’s ruins there remains scant reference to any possible force that could have caused  such a widespread ruin.”

“Really?” Leaf asked, “With all their fancy bits and bobs they weren’t very good record keepers were they?

“It’s the opposite really,” Elly explained, “Ruhian records remain relatively intact due to their timeless designs, but any reference to a great fall, or even hints of it, have eluded scholars for years,” she shrugged, “Then again, while we’re steeped in personal journals of the average Ruhian citizen we’ve made little in the way of discovering any pools of knowledge that could shed light on the situation.”

“Such a thing most likely lies within the Sealed City,” Helbram suggested.

Elly gave him a curious glance,  “Is that another thing that you’ve just happened to recall?”

“Indeed, though it’s more something that Grandfather brought up every now and then with a distinct bitterness.”

Elly snorted, “Yes, the cries of scholars trying to breach its gate do serve as a rather unique ambience to study to.”

“Was your grandfather from Orelia?” Jahora asked.

“Oh no, he just spent some time there before I was born, though I am told that my mother was a student there once.”

“Really? Might I get her name? I might have been privy to some of her work.”

“Eden Rivensong,” Helbram said, “Well that was her name before she married my father.”

“I see… that name isn’t ringing any bells.”

Helbram shrugged, “No matter, I’ve no real curiosity about it anyhow,” he turned back to Agatha, who continued to examine the door, “Any idea what your master is up to?”

Elly looked back towards her master, “She’s most likely trying to figure out the combination of the lock before us.”

“Lock?” Jahora asked.

“Yes, while the diagram on the door represents a common theme of Ruhian philosophy it also served as one of their locking mechanisms,” the dusk elf flicked her hand again, producing a recreation of the diagram in front of her, “To put it simply, unlocking it requires inputting the correct combination of Virtues,” she started to move her fingers, shifting the circles on the outside towards the center one by one in alternating patterns. When the final circle joined the center, the lines on the diagram disappeared and the image dissolved, “Knowing the combination is another matter, as it is typically determined by the person who created it in the first place. Without that knowledge you are at the mercy of guessing, and in the case of these locks there are only a limited amount of tries.”

She generated the diagram again and input a random combination of the circles. As she input the last Virtue, the image flashed red and burst into illusory fire.

“Fail them all and the magic stored within the diagram will react, destroying the very thing it was meant to protect.”

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“Well that seems a bit extreme,” Leaf said.

“I agree, but when you study the Ruhia for so long such methods are not surprising. Gods know how much information we’ve lost to overly eager appraisers or students in the past.”

“Marlin must have been putting in the wrong combination then…” Helbram said,
“Everytime he did he was pulling the town closer to its destruction.”

“That is possible, but the amount of Aether that needs to be stored within the lock would have to be quite substantial to infuse the very rocks with Aether.”

“Well it has been sitting here for thousands of years…”

“There is also the chance that Marlin might have simply tried breaking the door down. “ Helbram suggested, “I can’t imagine magical barriers react too well to being struck by brute force.”

Elly nodded, “Very much a possibility, yes.”

Leaf fell against the cavern wall and slid down the rocky surface, “So how can you tell what the combination is? Whoever made the blasted thing is long dead at this point.”

“Well, that takes us back to the Virtues. The combination reflects the order of importance that its creator placed upon the Virtues. Those of a more political sort might start with using Grace as the first Virtue in their combination while a Warrior would start with Strength of Body.”

“So if you knew who made the lock you might have some semblance of what the combination could be,” Jahora said.

“That doesn’t seem very secure,” Leaf added, “Seems like someone could access your secrets by debating you on life for a spell.”

“That’s just the base of the lock,” Elly explained, “The lock also operates on other factors, such as the amount of Aether utilized in manipulating it, type of Aether used for each Virtue or even the speed by which the combination is inputted. And the combination is not only limited to 6 inputs. Some can go far beyond that.”

“And does your master believe that she can determine such details?” Helbram asked, “That is quite a lot to factor when the creator of the lock is unknown.”

Elly smiled, “Well, there are methods by which that can be determined. Consider each creation from the Ruhia like a piece of art. Based on the techniques or tools utilized in its creation you get a sense of who created the piece, and from that it is possible to extrapolate further information.”

As the dusk elf explained all of this to the group, Helbram noted that Agatha had lifted her staff towards the door, and a string of yellow Aether flowed from the twisted wood and into the door. The elderly woman rubbed her chin as she channeled the Aether, her eyebrows lifting soon after realization washed over her features.

“My master has dedicated a large portion of her life to the study of the Ruhia, so if there was someone who has such information, we are in no better hands… wouldn’t have minded having a crack at it myself though…” Elly murmured that last part.

They fell into silence as they watched Agatha work. The dull white Aether that radiated from the door had faded and was now replaced by a mix of other colors. The top most circle, Intelligence, was suffused with yellow light, followed by green for Wisdom and red for Strength of Body. She continued to fill each circle with Aether at a steady rate, only lowering her staff the moment that the final circle was filled. Helbram noted that the intensity of the light in each circle differed, with some glowing brighter than others. The elderly woman took a moment to look over her work, then put in a combination.

Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength of Body, Wisdom, Strength of Spirit, Grace. 

The rate by which each circle moved towards the center differed according to Agatha’s manipulations, but by the time that Grace was placed over the center circle Helbram felt a snap in the air followed by a release of tension that he had not even realized was there. The light faded from the door and the cavern itself, followed by the sound of stone grinding against stone as the doors began to slide open.

Despite the deafening noise that reverberated through the cavern, he could make out a distinct, hearty laugh through it all, originating from the elderly woman who stood in front of the door.

“Haha, it appears my mind has not left me yet,” Agatha said as the noise died down.

“Indeed,” Elly said in an unsurprised tone, “Might I ask who you settled on in the end?”

Helbram heard the sound of wood knocking against stone, followed by an orb of light that hovered over Agatha’s staff. It filled the cavern with light once again, and revealed the smile that tugged at the elderly woman’s lips.

“Azator Meteron, the Smiling Architect.”

Elly’s eyes widened, “Really? Well this will certainly prove to be interesting indeed…”

“Might I ask why that name is important?” Helbram asked.

“Out of all the notable figures of Ruhian history, his name is one of the most mentioned in their records. Even more distinct was that he distinguished himself through acts of creation and building as opposed to the more prominent heroes of the Ruhian age,” Elly explained, “We’ve stumbled across many a ruin that possessed some mark of his influence, but finding a lock like this is considered to be quite the rare find.”

“And if my assumptions are correct, then most that lies beyond this door is untouched… I am not wont to jump to conclusions, but if this were a personal project of Azator himself…”

“Then we could very well be walking into discovery for the ages,” Elly said as excitement rose in her voice, “What are we waiting for then? Onwards!”

She set out towards the door, but Helbram intercepted her before she could cross the threshold.

“Let us just take a moment to get organized, shall we?” He suggested, “I’m quite excited myself but it’s always during times like this where tragedy likes to strike.”

Elly opened her mouth, expression revealing the objection that she was about to voice, but she stopped before any words left her mouth.

Instead, she sighed, “You are right, I suppose you and your lot will be taking point, correct?”

“If the both of you are fine with that, of course.”

“I have no objections to that,” Agatha said, “Though I’m likely to walk over you if you go too slowly.”

Helbram snorted, “We shall keep a steady pace I assure you. Though just so our travels are on the safer side may I ask you to search for any traps? The both of you have far more experience with that sort of thing.”

Elly nodded, “We can certainly do that, if you’ll just allow me to…”

She walked up to the doorway, a ring of Aether forming around her wrist as an orb of yellow light started to pass through her fingers. She tapped the orb against the doorframe, sending a pulse of yellow light that was swallowed by the darkness that lay beyond the door. She waited for a moment before turning to Helbram.

“It’s clear.”

Helbram nodded, “Right then, we’ll take point from here,” he reached for his sword, paused, then drew the sledgehammer instead.

“Leaf, stick to the middle. Jahora, with me, I’ve a feeling if any surprises occur your magic is going to save my hide.”

The two nodded and slipped into position. Leaf pulled an arrow from his quiver, marked by black feathering and possessing an arrowhead that was blunt and flat headed as opposed to the normal broadheads that he used. Jahora gripped the crystal of her focus , traces of light seeping through her fingers as she channeled Aether.

The group slipped into formation with Helbram at its head. Elly and Agatha stood towards the back, both murmuring to one another, but eyes scanning for any details they could make out in the darkness ahead of them. They kept their pace brisk as they started marching.

Then watched their formation collapse the moment they crossed the threshold.

The moment that Agatha crossed the threshold, he felt a snap at the back of his mind. Given how the others froze with him, they must have felt it too. Helbram looked back to Elly, who had a look of confusion on her face.

“I swear, I checked for everything,” she said.

He heard the rushing of wind in the distance, growing steadily louder with each moment. Tension washed over him first, and he felt the air grow thicker until his shoulders started to sag from the weight.”

“Turn bac-” He began, only for the words to be smothered in his mouth as the wind struck him at his back. His vision went white as his feet left the ground.

---

His vision returned only moments later, but when it did he found himself in the middle of a room of carved stone. It was well lit from corner to corner, which was all he could take in before he saw the sword flying at his face.

He ducked below the weapon and scrambled forward, eyes darting to the side for any assailants he could find. By the time that he turned around, he noted that there was only one foe that faced him.

A statue stood before him, its design similar to the one that Elly demonstrated before, except now it was big enough to match Helbram in size. Rather than a greatsword this one wielded a sword and shield marked by various grooves throughout their mark, and while its stance remained simple the stillness that it possessed saturated the air with a tension that made Helbram grip his hammer tighter out of impulse. Wherever the wind had taken him, Leaf and the others did not follow.

“Godsdammit, can anything go normally?” he muttered under his breath.

He stared at the statue for only a moment before it leapt at him. It moved with an unnatural quickness for its size and composition, and Helbram could only narrowly dodge the blow as he moved towards the statue’s shield bearing side.  The statue pursued, shifting from a stab to a swing that Helbram had to turn and block before it struck him in the back. He caught its sword with the haft of his hammer, the blade biting into the wood but not slicing through it entirely. The force of the blow threatened to knock him off of his feet, but he shifted his stance at the moment of impact to allow it to slide him back. He pushed back against the blade, noting that the statue did not even seem to waiver to his strength.

The statue pulled its blade from the hammer and resumed the assault, forcing Helbram to retreat as he dodged each blow. The statue may have possessed more strength than him, but its movements remained simplistic and predictable, allowing Helbram to catch onto its pattern. He fell into step with the blows, hammer at the ready.

The statue slashed at him, and Helbram jumped back from the blow to lure his opponent into a stab. As it was in mid motion Helbram twisted his body, allowing the blade to glance off of his brigandine. He swung the hammer at the statue’s knee, the force behind the blow knocking the construct off balance. The statue lost control of its momentum and staggered forward, granting Helbram another opening.

The armored man stepped forward and slammed the hammer against the head of the statue, hearing a satisfying crack as the blow landed. It staggered to the side as a dull white light leaked through the crack of its carved helmet, and he noted that a similar effect started to bleed through its damaged knee.

The construct lunged at him again. It was a simple, efficient movement, but one that he could easily predict. He dodged the blow and brought the hammerhead against its knee again, hearing the satisfying crumble of stone as its knee shattered. The statue fell to the ground, unable to support itself on one leg. Helbram followed its collapse by striking its cracked helmet with the hammer again. Stone gave way to the blow, and its head shattered into dust and debris as light wisped from its body.

He hopped back from the still construct, breathing heavier but not labored, and examined the statue for a moment longer. When it showed no signs of movement, Helbram let the hammer fall to his side and stretched his arms.

“Bloody hell… I almost wish I was facing bandits again…”

He saw a flicker at the corner of his eye, drawing his attention towards a door that sat on the opposite end of him. It was sliding open steadily, and next to it was a metal plate with words of yellow light appearing across its face. To his shock, it was written in Common.

Trail One

Begin

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Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone! Hope Everyone is having a great holiday season :)

And here we are, at the start of some dungeon delving. Its a bit a of a change of pace compared to the last arc and I'm sure you can tell that I've tried to establish a lot of lore up till now. I'm trying to only keep lore explained only through dialogue to keep all of it focused, but let me know if it bogged down the pacing of this chapter. I'm not in a rush to get to all the action, but I don't want to feel like I've wasted your time either. Let me know what you think!

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