Chapter 327: 327. Beneath the Veil

Travelling across the real sea was very different from the trip Dallion had gone through on the one above. Speed was not a priority. If anything, Lux moved the boat deliberately slowly so as not to attract attention. Gleam had managed—after considerable effort—to cover the entire boat with illusion glitter, making it appear like a creature of sorts. That, combined with Nox’s presence, let the boat float through shoals and patches of cracklings undisturbed.

This is one time I prefer being in here and not out there, Gen said with within Dallion’s real. Unlike the kid.

Huh? Dallion blinked. I didn’t get the impression he’s that reckless.

He’s not. He’s just worried about Gleam.

Dallion suppressed his comment. Out of everyone involved, the shardfly had the greatest chance of survival. Listening to her, it was clear that she was but a pale imitation of her former self, but even so Gleam had the ability to disguise her appearance pretty well. Dallion had a strong suspicion that if he wasn’t from another world, he wouldn’t even have noticed the creature’s real nature; and even then he knew there were times in which her illusions continued fooling him. For one thing, travelling on what looked like a crackling manta ray made him feel nervous, despite being fully aware it was a boat.

What had lasted hours before now lasted days. On a few occasions Dallion had to stop and rely on Lux and Nox for food from the starting areas of the realm. Gleam had offered to go as well, making a good point that she could catch animals much easier. Dallion, however, preferred to have her nearby in case more illusions were necessary.

Initially, hunting took the familiars a couple of hours. Lux would fly the crackling to the area in question, where Nox could proceed with the hunt. The experience made the creature quite happy. After all, Nox was a hunter by nature and now that he had grown sharpening his claws on more than books—to Nil’s great annoyance—was very welcome.

Having a catch brought to the ship didn’t constitute finding food, though thanks to the realm, the “cooking” process was easy enough. Strictly speaking, Dallion had to follow the same processes like in the real world, or even Earth, but thanks to Lux, there was no chance of getting food poisoning. The taste left a lot to be desired, but it was good enough to help Dallion keep his strength.

Close to a week since the start of the sea journey, Dallion finally approached land. The shardfly was the first to notice, catching a glimpse half a day before Dallion could. By evening, everyone could get a good look at the coastline. The sign made Dallion feel insignificant.

So, this is what Agnii meant, Dallion thought.

The land was filled with rust and cracklings. It wasn’t just packs of beasts roaming between crimson vegetation, entire cities were visible. These were not mere villages, either. Stone walls rose, shielding massive castles, forges releasing black smoke into the air, as well as scores of ordinary everyday buildings. As far as Dallion could see, there were three distinct cities on the coast, some larger than others.

What are the walls for? Dallion asked. I thought that cracklings stick together.

It is believed that they do, Nil replied. Which some consider proof that humans, or any of the six races, can’t be cracklings since there are frequent internal conflicts. To answer your question, the thing they are guarding themselves against is the same that is keeping the realm together. Take a look at what’s behind the castle city.

Dallion looked. On a hill, a considerable distance behind the largest of the cities, he could see there was an entire area covered in grass and trees. That was the only patch of green in the blackness. From this distance Dallion couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like the patch formed a circle’ if so, there was no doubt what was in the middle of it.

They’re fighting the guardian, Dallion thought.

Like in any other items, the cracklings’ overall goal was to gain enough strength to defeat the guardian, even if that would result in the destruction of the realm itself. Considering the time passed, they probably had been at it for thousands of years, and despite that, the guardians had held strong, to the point that the cracklings had become scared of them.

“Gleam, any chance we can get there?” Dallion pointed at the green area.

“That will be pushing it,” the shardling replied. “Maybe if we go between the cities, but even then, I can’t guarantee. The cracklings appear much smarter inland. If they rely on more than instincts you’ll be caught.”

“We all have to take risks.”

“Your choice. Why do you want to get there anyway? The guardian must be pretty strong to hold out against such a horde. There’s no chance you’ll defeat him.”

“I don’t want to defeat him. I just want to have a word.”

“And you think he’ll listen?” The shardfly laughed.

“Yeah. I have a feeling he will.”

By morning Lux had navigated the boat to a relatively calm spot between two cities. Walking to the hill was going to be longer from there, but the chances of attracting attention were smaller, according to the shardfly. The soil was hard and crumbly, causing Dallion to leave nearly perfect footprint impressions as he walked. Clearly, the realm was in pretty bad shape even with the guardian still alive. It was a miracle that the sword hadn’t snapped in two. That was probably why March had made a point to clear all nasties before dealing with the guardians. If she hadn’t the first part of the realm would have probably gotten as bad as things were here. It was ironic that the parts of the realm beneath a veil of illusion had ended up worse off.

Gleam, any idea when the veil was created? Dallion asked.

You must be joking, the shardfly replied. When Moons are involved, there’s no way to tell.

So, you’re certain this is the Moons’ doing?

Them, or the dryads that worship them. The result is the same. The Moons can do whatever they want. Rules don’t apply to them.

As Dallion continued, he saw a number of tracks remaining on the ground. A large part belonged to beasts; some were clearly humanoid—probably gremlin, based on his past experience with cracklings. One set of tracks, though, clearly was that of a wagon wheel. That indicated that the cracklings had developed to the point to transport goods, although Dallion couldn’t determine the design of the wagon, nor did he have any idea what it was used for. From what he knew, cracklings exploited the realm for what they needed, thus growing in number and strength. Could it be that Nil was wrong and they actually started turning on each other once there were no more resources to share? It was a distinct possibility, even if it had never happened before.

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You need to pick up the pace, the shardfly said. You don’t want to be caught here after dark.

How much worse can it get?

Very.

Isn’t the night supposed to be the Moons’ time? Dallion asked as he began walking faster. Things are supposed to get better, then.

Better for the realm, not the cracklings. And I don’t want to be caught in the middle when both sides fight.

Suddenly, a loud noise came a short distance away. A cluster of rust trees fell to the ground, releasing several fox-like creatures. No sooner had these appeared, when a pair of dyads appeared out of nowhere. Both seemed far younger than any dryad Dallion had seen so far, as if they were teenagers. Despite that, their skills were lethal. Their movements were so fast that from Dallion’s perspective, it seemed as if they were standing still while the rusties around them popped out of existence.

The sound of horns filled the air, starting from the nearest crackling city, then spreading to the next.

“That’s why I told you to hurry,” Gleam grumbled.

“But it’s nowhere close to evening!”

“Look at the sky.”

Strictly speaking, Dallion was correct. It was mid-afternoon, hours before sunset. And still, one moon was visible in the sky, as if to rival the sun… the Green Moon.

Instinct took over, making Dallion split into five instances. He knew well enough that fighting here was pointless, but even so, he wanted to have escape options ready.

A flock of cracklings filled the sky. Like crows they flocked, flying towards the dryads. That didn’t seem to bother them in the least. Fighting individually, the duo continued destroying trees with such ease it looked as if they were toppling card towers.

You’re not at the level to see their movements, dear boy, Nil said. You’ll need another ten perceptions, at least.

Dallion thought back, trying to remember any achievements for perception. Sadly, he couldn’t remember any. Even if he could, though, it was unlikely that there were any that would help him in the current situation.

The gates of one of the crackling cities opened, releasing a host of gremlin knights. These weren’t the scruffy creatures Dallion had encountered before, they were significantly larger, clad in full plate armor. A genuine crackling army poured in the direction of the intruders, and Dallion instantly understood what the shardfly had feared.

“We’re going back,” Dallion turned around. No matter who won this encounter, they would prove stronger than Dallion could handle. He had found a way to the remaining temples and gotten to see first-hand what the situation was there. The best thing to do now was to flee and—

“Stay.” A dryad appeared in front of him. Like the fighting duo, this one was young, wearing simple linen clothes. Off the battlefield he would seem more at home as a bard or scribe’s apprentice. Here, he was the biggest threat there was. “The guardian wants to talk to you.”

“You’re an echo,” Dallion noted.

“And you’re from another world,” the dryad replied. “You can fly to the temple, if you want. The guardian already knows you can do that.”

“I prefer to look at the battle a bit,” Dallion lied, adding confidence to his words. “How did you see through my illusion?”

“There used to be shardflies in this realm,” the echo replied, reaching out towards Gleam. The familiar fluttered half a foot away. “Not anymore.” The dryad lowered his hand. “It’s not safe for you here. We’re bound to lose soon.”

“Then I’ll stay until it’s safe.”

The battle continued. The dryads’ actions had managed to create a patch of fertile land among the decay. Cleared of rust vegetation, it almost looked like a picnic garden. As the crackling troops arrived, though, that quickly changed. A new battle began, this one far fiercer than before. Initially, the echoes had the advantage, but as the gremlin army stacked up, the tides began to turn. After losing a few members, the crackling squads merged together increasing tenfold. With speed rivaling that of the dryads, these new armored soldiers continued their attacks. With each hit, their size shrank, but that didn’t seem to matter, since a constant wave or reinforcements quickly restored them back to what they were before. At one point, one of the soldiers managed to pierce a dryad by piercing through a comrade and striking the echo from its blind-spot. One hit proved to be enough. With as little as a poof, the echo vanished, leaving the other alone.

“You should fly now,” the dryad next to Dallion said.

“Don’t you have reinforcements?”

“No, just the three of us.”

“How do you expect to defeat several cities with just three echoes?”

“We didn’t come here to defeat armies,” came the reply. “We came for you. This should be a good enough distraction for you to reach the temple. Don’t waste it. It would be tedious to send a second batch just for this.”

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