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Chapter 25: Wither
🕑 Added 2022-12-27 20:55:04 +0000 UTCAt some point the high priest returned, quickly snatched Golden Robes, and left the mine leaving Dan and the miners stranded at the bottom of the elevator shaft.
Golden Robe’s experimentation left a poor taste other than blood in Dan’s mouth. At some point during the agonizing effects of the core regenerating potion, he bit and gnawed his lip. What remained was a crimson mess of spit and diluted saliva. He had long ago healed the self-inflicted wound, but chose to keep a portion of the pain.
The mine was a loveless brutal place, anything to keep his mind from drifting while his core regenerated was useful. Although, thinking about Sully was distraction enough.
The empty cauldron sat like a lead weight in Dan’s mind. Where did the torso man go? Did someone take him? Did he claw his way out?
Looking through his core, Dan guessed he had enough power to get himself up and out of the shaft, but he had more than himself to worry about. The miners were all stable, but none were in well enough condition that he thought he could leave. Especially after the high priest returned from the sacrifice room covered in blood.
It was only for a mere moment, but Dan saw the camp’s leader drenched in bone chilling blood. He shuddered with every step, favoring a single leg while the other laid lame. A green liquid trailed behind the man, his good grain staff leaking from its splintered base. He took Golden Robes, the only cultist healer, which solidified the story in Dan’s mind.
There was something in the caves powerful enough to injure the high priest. Dan knew, more than most, that the high priest was a capable man. The threat was probably eliminated, but could he really make that choice? After all the pain it took to heal the miners?
Hours went by until Dan decided it was time to leave. A ladder was all he could muster. It glowed in shiny gold, flat rungs connected by two parallel poles. Creating light constructs were nothing new to him, but maintaining the rigidity of the structure proved to be a great exercise. While it was no spiraling staircase, Dan felt proud of himself after the last of the miners reached the top.
Slumping against the stone near the open shaft, Dan nursed a headache with deep breaths and peered into his core.
Light: Deliverance 4.24
Light: Manipulate 4.97
Light: Preservation 5.40
Light: Strife 3.98
Light: Intensity 6.78
Somewhat surprised, Dan frowned at the low increase to Light: Strife. He had fought through two life or death battles in the last few days, and he was only just now reaching four presents of an evolution? Frankly the low progression due to the seal was getting old, although Light: Intensity’s values kept him from becoming so depressed.
It must have been the ladder, Dan realized. It was a feat of strength as far as he was concerned, of course it would do wonders for his magical development.
Looking for Sully with a depleted core seemed foolish to Dan, so he meditated. As he did so, he pushed at the seal around his light core with his blood. The effect was no less painful as it was therapeutic. Bundling pain within himself, feeling his light core gently push against its restraints, knowing that he was one step closer to escaping.
With Golden Robes now an issue, Dan knew he had to be careful experimenting to increase his potential. One small slip and all of his progress could be reset. Still, if there were more vials and potions available, then the seal would be chipped away faster and faster. It was a gamble, he knew, but one he was forced to accept.
Golden Robes was still his captor.
Feeling a presence in the cave, Dan opened his eyes not long after starting to meditate. A duo of fresh miners walked down the stone hallway, fearful looks along their faces.
They nodded to Dan as they walked over the perfect cut out the high priest made to remove the collapse. Quickly they helped one of the hurt miners stand, walking her out of the cave. A moment later they returned for another, then the last. They returned for Dan, but he waved them off after a stomach turning thank you.
Falling back into meditation, Dan peeled at the seal until his light core fully regenerated. At that point, he was alone and sitting within a nest of madness… which was not affecting him.
Hmm, he thought, getting to his feet.
As he did, the madness took to his internal feelings and resounded the thought that Sully was dead or dying alone. While Dan did think about his friend possibly being dead, he knew the madness was reaching. Sully wouldn’t be dead, not like this at least.
The cauldron and robe were still as desolate and disregarded as he last saw them. Only a small layer of chalky dust sat within, no elder, no note, no blood. Dan sighed, strapping the contraption to his back and moving towards the entrance.
Walking out of the mine was uneventful until he heard a far off whisper. The sound screeched in his mind, only the nausea inducing greed-red light to be his witness. Following the noise, Dan walked down branching path after branching path.
Doorways hidden under shadow were illuminated and open, freshly carved intersections led further into the mountain. Dan shuddered as even the madness slowed to a crawl. A nag flared to life in the back of his mind, it was slow and delicate, but it told him to proceed with caution. He did, clutching his core and pooling light in his palm.
The soft golden glow helped keep the fear at bay, along with the shadows and thoughtless whispers.
Wind and dust kicked up after the gray stone turned to clay and took on a red sheen. As he passed the threshold, the madness stopped following. The tendrils waited at the barrier like lost puppies waiting for their master. They moaned desolate whimpers, low and in the hundreds.
The whispers turned into words, murmurs into syllables. Dan stained his ears for full words and context, only finding mumbled statements about seemingly unimportant conversation. Flowers, dinner, wine, fresh fruit, sunlight, green grass.
To Dan, it was obvious the speaker was reminiscing about a past life… until the mention of the rig.
He froze, his throat swollen mid breath. With as much calm as he could muster, he swallowed and took another step. The shadows formed from his magical lamp elongated, turning his guiding star into a master of nightmares. The darkness moved and laughed, rushing around his tortured body like sharks surrounding their prey.
“It was three, yes all from the rig. Three. Three. Well, two. But three in reality. Three. Three. Three.”
The words screeched through the cave, riveting into the clay walls. Dust clouded around Dan as he inched closer to the source, his light deepening and growing in luminosity. With his head low and his core singing, he passed through the last of the intersections.
A white glow caught his attention, pulling his mind from the yelling in his ears. The intersection opened into a large dead end. The room was abandoned and oddly smooth, like a polished concrete floor. Wind forced him to squint, his eyes tearing up from the dust and debris. Reaching out his hand, Dan grabbed hold of the dull glow.
The dust, the wind, the offset yelling about rigs and numbers all came to a halt. Freshwater met his eye and disappeared far into the distance. Within, however, was the source of the glow.
Sully, standing on his knuckles, bathed in the miniature pond. His eyes were distant and dead, his frail body showing textures of ribs and thick bone. The water came up to his chin, logging his beard into a clumped mess of grey hair.
He was crying, although his face showed neither joy nor sorrow.
“Sully?” Dan asked, grabbing the man and pulling him closer to shore. “Where did you go? Where is this?”
The elder’s eyes went wide, his iris’s mimicking the sentiment. “I- Are we dead?”
The silent pond seemed to be an ocean in a hurricane at that moment. The question, ridiculous as it was, dragged at Dan. Were they? Was this hell?
“I don’t think so,” Dan said, his tone relinquished.
“Oh. Good.”
Seeing his mentor broken was rough. Dan sputtered a reply, too many thoughts trying to come out at once. He ended up staying silent.
The light around Sully’s scorned body flickered for a heartbeat. With the protective layer removed, blood escaped into the water, turning the surrounding area red and sickly. He grunted in pain, emotion finally flooding his whipped mind.
“Who are you?” Sully finally asked.
“My name is Dan, we are friends. Do you not remember?”
The old man grew in age in that moment. His shriveled alien body failing with every passing breath. “Yes, Dan, I do remember. Why am I so cold?”
The way Sully repeated his name made Dan think he was lying. A tear streamed down his cheek as he spoke, “You are soaked and the weather is getting colder. We better dry you off before you get sick.”
Sully swivel at that, locking eyes with the human. “Dan, we both know I’m already sick.” With the statement finished, his eyes reduced to a tired stare.
“Still,” Dan choked out. “Being wet is uncomfortable.”
“Indeed that is true… Where are the others?”
“The others?”
“George and Bob,” Sully stated plainly.
Dan sat a bit straighter. “They both died, a long time ago. Do you… do you remember me telling you about them?”
Sully raised an eyebrow. “I think I would remember the people I worked with. George the government worker, Bob the military protection.”
Another streak of liquid fell from Dan’s eyes. “That’s right, Sully. That’s right. They were good people, I wish I knew them more.”
“You’ll get a chance one day.”
“I’m sure I will.”
Sully looked to the ground, his eyes darkening, his gaze hollowing. Slowly, he looked up, locking eyes with the human. “Why do you cry in your sleep?”
Dan took a deep breath, “Because of all the pain.”
“We can help you with that.”
“We?”
A whisper fluttered across the pond, trailing through the dead end and wrapping back through the exit. Sully blinked a few times, his eyes dilating, life reforming. He looked at his mentee strangely, with the water dripping from his corpse-like body.
“Um, Dan? What is happening here?”
Dan let a few more tears fall before answering. “I found you here. You went missing.”
“What about the collapse? That’s more important than me.”
“The high priest cleared the way. Only three survivors. That was hours ago. Do you remember how you got here?”
Sully wrung the water from his beard. “No… I… I’m not sure.”
Dan slowly nodded, unslinging the cauldron from his back. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll talk more when we get out of this godforsaken cave.”
The walk out of the mine was uneventful and simple. One room, they were just one room from the exit. There was no clay or dust, only hard gray stone with occasional support beams. As they stepped through the boundary into the next room, the doorway sealed, removing the small pond.
Dan shivered at the odd showing, remembering back to his exit of the red double doors.
Not wanting to stick around any and investigate, Dan put his mind to other things. Three guards were waiting just beyond the nearest equipment closet. They were talking amongst themselves, eyeing the newcomers distantly but not interfering with the escape.
More movement shone through the darkness, miners and the like speed walking around the area. Some were gathering tools, others wood, some were cutting new supports, others taking measurements. The collapse, while bad, was not the end for the mine. A new elevator would desperately be needed, but the output could never be halted. Not with the fear of beatings circling.
Keeping his head down, Dan moved through the active outdoor workshop to the miners’ housing. Sully, in the meantime, kept shifting expressions. From confusion to happiness, understanding to fear, the man shifted inside his cauldron like a child having to pee.
“We are almost there,” Dan said, his voice low and abrupt.
The sparse trees lined a majority of the short cliff drops, trailing down the mountain path all the way to the base camp. The lack of covering green-red light put the area into horrible silence, the threat of ambushes making the shadows all the more real. Were there others waiting for him? Were there people looking for revenge?
Keeping his core activated with a glowing orb, they eventually reached the house. Finding the recently injured miners was simple enough. They were within the closest rooms to the door, a few others tending to their needs.
Dan's presence turned heads, and not all looked happy to see him.
“What happened in there!?” one miner demanded, puffing out his chest.
Not taking any chances, Dan pulled his orb close and adopted a defensive position. “Mine collapsed,” he said simply.
The miner scoffed, “We all saw you chasing another slave into the mine! Don’t think we are stupid, I assure you we are not.” His words were punctuated with him growing a few inches in size and stepping forward.
Dan’s spine whimpered wanting to contract but he forced it to remain strong. “He ambushed and tried to kill me. He thought he could hide in the mines. Trust me, no one can hide in the mines… Then they all started attacking each other.”
The miner looked between Dan and his injured friends. “They started attacking each other?”
“The cave’s madness caused it. It was a blood bath. Go down there, you’ll see. Now please, let me finish healing them.”
The miner stepped aside but stayed near, watching the odd human and his cauldron backpack. Light came to life and graced the injured, searching internally for ruptured or bruised organs.
Dan muttered his findings to Sully, who, for the most part, agreed with his treatments. The old man, for what it was worth, perked up in the face of the injured miners. His eyes held a cool and collected stare, his thoughts made sense in the context. The moment Dan stepped away, however, Sully fell back into distant and lost actions.
Dan tried to hide his feelings about his mentor, not wanting to show the miners any weakness, but internally he screamed at himself. It all went back to the absolute failure of trying to murder the high priest. First Sully’s body was taken away, now his mind was slipping.
A dull thud sounded against the stone of Sully’s cell as Dan put down the cauldron. They met eyes for a moment, confusion clashed with guilt. Tears formed in Dan’s eyes as his body ached.
Swallowing deeply and lying Sully on his back Dan spoke, “Get some rest, I’ll be back in the morning.”
The old man didn’t respond in words but rather sideways mumbles about strange things.
“I’m so sorry,” Dan said with a labored voice.
Sully rapidly blinked a few times, his pupils dilating against the low light. “I know, Dan, I know. It is alright. Nothing is your fault.”
The human nodded, said goodbye again and left the cell. As he did, Sully traced his movements through the hard walls and out of the prison. Madness seeped from his pores and spread against the rocky ground. His appearance flickered to a younger version of himself then back.
Deep below the camp, the walls of a stomach like cavern shook in laughter.
________________________________________
Striking pain pulsed in Dan’s finger with every heartbeat. The taste of iron met his lips, his teeth dyed red. He cursed, calling down his golden lamp and healing his nervous gesture. All of his nails were gnawed deep, something magic couldn’t heal. Maybe there was an application of blood magic that could grow nails and hair. But he doubted it, let alone saw a reason to even find out.
I’m just stalling, he thought, watching the skin around his nail regrow.
Breathing out, Dan took the last sip from his makeshift canteen and spat out the resultant nasty water. The blood eating grass took to the food source, moving to lap up delicious nectar. Within the dead field behind the majority of the camp, he had found that the grass acted a bit aggressively when blood was involved.
It was the perfect training bed.
Blood, his own blood specifically, was something he could control, at least somewhat. Out of his body, the magic was horribly painful, although inside was only a step better. But blood was destructive and possibly his greatest tool for the future. The memory of Lambert and the blood beasts stuck out in his mind, blood was a weapon.
Pain was something Dan was used to, as were the healing properties of light. It would be difficult, but the dance of pain and life were something he was doing on a daily basis. Putting magic into the equation seemed like the next logical step.
There were many poor outcomes to improving his blood magic, Golden Robe’s experiments were the top of the list. But that was a risk he knew he had to take one day. Seeing Sully’s rapid deterioration and all the hidden threats within the camp only added to the situation.
Sooner or later someone with actual combat experience would come for him. Be it cultist, guard, or another slave, the camp was much more dangerous than before the Void. Was it the change of the season? Was the madness the cause of the miners’ suffering? Or were the cultists getting tired of waiting.
Truthfully, Dan would not be surprised to learn that the high priest noticed the stone around the elevator change to flesh. The blood bath the miners created was a dead giveaway. At least, the lack of a proper blood bath. There should have been more blood but the stone sucked it up like a sponge.
Surely the high priest had seen enough massacres to estimate blood levels.
Dan shook his head, pushing away the thought and refocusing on the blood grass. He gently stirred his secondary core, touching upon the vile magic he felt within himself. He was his blood, his blood was him. He controlled and created light, he could do the same with blood.
The grass drinking the wad of spit froze stiff. Its low screaks were cut off. Its aggressive nature soothed. Slowly, the plant’s wide surface area congregated towards the roots before conjoining and growing towards the sky.
Dan imagined the grass as a toothpaste tube and squeezed the base. Two drops of pure blood expunged out and floated eye level with its master. Fresh blood dripped from his nose and froze midair, his core pumped fast just like his heart. He imagined his nose clotting, he imagined his blood rerouting away from the opening.
His breaths became labored through his nose, only the smell of iron permeated the blocked channels. Dan smiled at this, the basis of a headache forming despite his accomplishments. He released his grasp, letting his magic drain from his soon to be greatest weapon.
The next three months passed with routine and without mishap. Dan stayed with Sully as much as possible, but chose to leave the elder when Golden Robes called. He healed those who asked, something more and more of the main camp took part in. The miners worked diligently on fixing the elevator but never slowed their bone crystal production.
The camp continued to change with the season, something Dan desperately fought against even though he knew his work was without gain. The guards took notice as well, killing anyone who showed signs of aggression. Many died over the months but somehow that number never rose past the amount who died on a single cold night.
The day started out like any other, at least until the high priest ordered Dan to assist in a ritual.
