Karnevale
patreon
Chapter 88 - Beyond the Fog
🕑 Added 2025-09-18 02:54:49 +0000 UTCThe unchanging grey sky of the dungeon did not reflect the true state of the sky beyond its borders. Nighttime was beginning in the real world.
“How much further?” Jean asked.
Although the group was becoming more and more accustomed to fighting every group of Telchines that they saw, exhaustion was beginning to set in. Sapphire was fighting back a yawn, and even the usually indefatiguable Gio was beginning to get tired of reviewing his assignment over and over.
“I… don’t know. My grandfather didn’t leave notes for whatever comes next.” Gio replied.
Gio looked up from an annotated version of [Conjure Mirror] that he planned to submit to Baphelus. He looked past Jean, off into the distance.
“I feel like we are approaching… something big. Any moment now, I think.” Chandrika said.
“I hope it’s flat ground. My legs could use a stretch.” Hatra replied.
“Oh spirits, yes, please.” Sapphire added.
As if summoned, a massive white stone wall parted the fog. Streams of glowing water flowed upward from the surface below to fill channels carved in the shape of swooping lines that traveled high above, into and beyond the ever-present cloud cover.
“Good timing. ” Gio said.
Jean whistled. “It’s big. My only gripe is that I don’t see a way through.”
“Not through,” Chandrika said. “Inside. Whatever this is… is the center. I can feel it.”
As the boat drifted closer and closer to the wall, the fog receded, and the immense size of the megalithic barrier left them craning their necks to look up at it as it pierced through the low-hanging clouds.
“It’s… brighter here.” Gio said.
“If it wasn’t late in the evening… I’d almost think that the sun would be hiding just behind that wall.” Sapphire noted.
Chandrika was searching along the wall with her eyes, scanning for something.
“I feel like… we should be right here. There should be an opening.” She said.
Gio turned his gaze downward, tracing over the sprawling lines until he met the waterline. He noticed that several of the glowing lines seemed to draw closer together the further down they went.
“Uhhh… I have a theory.” Gio said.
“Do I want to know?” Hatra asked.
Gio responded by quickly doffing his shirt and leaving his belongings in the boat. He dove down into the water, bracing as the cool water splashed against his face.
He forced his eyes open, righting himself to look toward the wall. He traced the glowing lines into the darkness, many of them coming to an end in a circular radius around empty space. Gio summoned a glowing halo with [Prismatic Shape], pointing his makeshift spell light to reveal a perfectly carved hole in the rock. Gio looked into the yawning hole, noting a slight current of cooler water emitting toward him now that he was paying attention to it.
Thought so.
Gio swam up, accepting a helping hand from Jean and Hatra as he began to towel himself off and circulate fire mana to evaporate some of the water.
“So, good news, I found the entrance.” Gio said.
“Is the bad news that it’s underwater?” Hatra replied.
“It sure is.” Gio answered.
A round of groans erupted from the group.
“Okay… so let’s brainstorm here. What are the chances that someone has some sort of super convenient air bubble spell?” Jean asked.
“Not me.” Gio flatly stated.
“Same,” Hatra replied. “I’ve got a respirator, but it’s not designed to work underwater.”
“No dice.” Sapphire added.
“I think my spatial bag is waterproof, but that’s all I’ve got.” Chandrika said.
“Great.” Jean huffed.
“I don’t mean to be the token poor one… but have we considered like… holding our breath?” Gio asked.
Everyone looked at him with varying degrees of incredulity. Hatra laughed.
“You know? That’s kind of hysterical. How quickly I forgot how to think without consulting my class or skills first… I guess my only question is, how far does it go? If it’s only for a few seconds, then that would be one thing…” Hatra said.
“I can check. Hold on.” Gio said.
Gio summoned a small pane of mirror, diving into it with [Mirror Jaunt]. He dove down into the Between, looking up at the underside of the boat, a chunky space of nothingness where the wall blocked light, and then a corridor of water directly on the other side. He emerged from the mirror right away.
“I think that it’s just on the other side of the wall. I can go first.” Gio said.
“Here,” Chandrika said, handing him a slender rod with a bit of fine golden thread wrapped around it. She held onto the end. “Just in case something goes wrong. Tug twice if it’s safe for us to come… and a lot of times if it’s not. I guess we’ll get ready to abandon the boat.”
Nodding, Gio dove over the side of the boat and back through the water. Within seconds, he was swimming through the hidden entrance with his light. It was a short tunnel, and he was already beginning to see a bright light on the other side. Gio swam to the surface and gasped as he shielded his eyes with his hand. Before he could fully take in the sight, he tugged the string twice, swimming down to help illuminate the tunnel as his group swam through.
One by one, they emerged from the water, dragging themselves up onto a pathway lined with unblemished ceramic tiles in blue and white floral designs. They each stared up at the bright sky, revealing a midday sun suspended perpetually over a staircase of cascading waterfalls. At the apex of the cascade, peaking over a final high wall was a polished metal pagoda that shined under the sunlight, emitting a lazy stream of blue motes into the sky around it.
“We’re here. That has got to be the spiritspring up there. I can feel the water mana all around us.” Gio said, enraptured.
“It’s… really pretty.” Sapphire cooed.
“It is. It is a shame that there is probably something up there waiting to kill us.” Hatra sighed.
“Details, details…” Sapphire joked.
“Do you want your stuff back?” Chandrika asked Gio, “Or should I hold onto it for a little while longer?”
Gio thought about it for a moment, grimacing as he realized that he would absolutely be slowed down if he kept his massive backpack on his person.
One day… I swear, I’ll have the biggest spatial bag possible, and it will be completely weightless. And stylish.
“If it’s not too big of a burden, then please hold onto it. Assuming that we’ll be fighting… I’d rather not be carrying it.” Gio answered.
Jean looked up the staircase in front of them. “What’s that?”
Gio followed his line of sight, looking at the path ahead. Bisecting the waterfalls on either side, a neatly carved staircase with wide and deep steps trailed all the way to the top. Large stone planters were overflowing with brightly glowing [Freshwater Ashphodels] at the water’s edge. Up ahead, a dark shape was propped up against one of the planters. They inched toward it carefully.
“It looks like an adventurer’s pack… the kind that the guild issues.” Jean said.
“It’s probably my grandfather’s.” Gio said.
The group quietly approached, allowing Gio to take the lead.
Untouched by rot in a place devoid of mundane pestilence, the pack was remarkably well preserved for something that had been left to the elements for nearly 40 years. The leather was sun-bleached and cracked, and the brass clasps had a coating of patina so intense that they were rough to the touch.
Gio opened the satchel gingerly, and one of the straps crumbled away despite his delicate touch. Inside was a notebook, a small gold ring, and a broken compass covered in crystalline growths. At Gio’s touch, the compass sparked.
<ERROR: SUITABLE SKILL NOT FOUND>
“Can someone identify this?” Gio asked.
Hatra stepped forward, recoiling when the compass sparked against her hand.
[Pathfinder’s Guiding Compass(Corrupted) - The legacy of a man who failed to protect that which he held dear. On use, breaks the [Pathfinder’s Guidance] skill into a degraded form that will seek out a way to fulfill the user’s desire, usually at a great or poetic cost.]
“Oh, yuck.” Sapphire said.
“Well, that explains a few things.” Chandrika said.
“Without touching it, could you please use that binding spell on this?” Gio asked. Chandrika deftly covered the compass in a shroud of golden spell silk.
“If we want to take a breather… I’d like to review my grandfather’s final notes.” Gio said, forlorn but trying not to show it.
Jean nodded and began rifling through his bag. “I should have some protein bars left.”
As everyone sat down for a moment, Gio propped himself up against the planter next to Francisco’s bag. The significance of the pack being left here was not lost on him. He looked up the staircase, finding a dramatic curtain of water in the distance separating the boundary to whatever lay at the culmination of this dungeon. He opened the notebook.
“I think I’ve known for some time now. The compass still points here, because I know what I want. I’ve been deluding myself that I could still find it and give it to him… that maybe I could make up for my absence…
I truly wish that the compass pointed somewhere else. Perhaps the cruelest part of the blasted thing is that I can no longer lie to myself. No more delusions. I don’t want to make it up to him. I wish I did, or at least… some part of me does.
Every time I look into those bright green eyes, I see hers. It’s been three years, as of today. Maxwell is fifteen, and he’s just like his mother. Kind. Wise beyond his years… Patient to a fault. He’s been so brave… holding down the house while I run off to waste my time here… scared of the end. I’ve spent the last of the meager funds from the Carniola job taking out a policy that should see him through school.”
There were pages and pages of drawings. Flowers, mostly, and detailed copies of the artwork inlaid in the tiles underfoot. Little scribbles here and there of numbers, probably financial in nature.
He must have spent a good deal of time here. Wait… how long did he know about this sanctuary?
Gio reclined, propping the journal against his bent knees as he lay back against the decaying pack. The scent of ruined leather filled his nose, almost masking the floral scent of the Asphodels and the aquatic breeze of the rushing waterfalls. He turned the page.
“To my Max,
I pray to the ancestors that you do not find this letter. That the spirit of adventure is not hereditary, and that you will do as I asked, and submit the paperwork on my dresser to the guild to claim the insurance money.
Today, I will finally challenge the guardian of this place. Some part of me wishes that I would emerge victorious, a changed man with a restored class. I would claim the prize at the core, and return to my son… be a good father to you… and know peace. It is unfortunate, then, that I am no fool. My chances of success are slim, and there is another part of me… that wishes for the end. I want to see her again. My Dolores… Your mother.
When she passed… we had words. I wonder if you will ever forgive me for the things I said. I don’t deserve your forgiveness… and maybe that is why I never asked for it. Would your life be easier if you hated me? No… I don’t think you could.
You should know that I always intended to put her first. She would have stopped me, I think, if she knew what I was truly looking for. I lied to her… and you… and to the guild. I know exactly what it is that I seek, or rather… sought. In truth… I found the entrance to this quiet place a few months after she died.”
Gio furrowed his brows.
“What?” Gio whispered to himself. Hatra approached, and Gio motioned for her to sit next to him. She began reading over his shoulder, leaning her head against his arm.
“I am despicable. I sit here day after day staring at the water, waiting for myself to change. The compass has broken, or perhaps I have. Now that it’s over… I can admit to myself that she’d have never allowed me to put the necklace on her. Was I always doomed to fail?”
“His handwriting is getting worse. And what necklace?” Gio said.
“I… yeesh. You doing okay?” Hatra asked, looking up at her cousin.
“Yeah. Not a fun read, but I wanted to see for myself what he had to say. I don’t think that… I don’t know that I should let my dad read this.” Gio said.
“No?” Hatra asked.
“My dad is a good man… and he’s had a long time to process the death of his father. I don’t know that reading this would do much good for him.” Gio said.
“Well… maybe. But is that your call to make?” Hatra asked.
Gio didn’t have a good answer for her. He flipped the page and continued reading.
“To my boy… I am sorry.”
Discolored marks and smeared ink betrayed the signs of teardrops long since dried.
“Even now, I am failing you. Were it that I could ask the sickness to take me instead, I’d have done so in a heartbeat. She’d have fought harder for you than I could. I am sorry that I am not stronger.
To Dolores,
Wait for me. You are my everything.
If another pathfinder finds this message, My name was Francisco Benicio Cromwell. Do not, under any circumstances, use the godforsaken compass. Return it to the Pathfinder’s guild so that they may dispose of it properly. The primary treasure that fuels the heart of this spiritspring is a cursed treasure that poses a national security threat as defined by guild guidelines. I imagine that Lefty has raided it by now, but if not, my lockbox at the guild has the rest of the codex. Godspeed ”
Gio groaned. “Grandpa… what do you mean, National security threat?!”
Comments
Lukke Sweet
It’s good! Very enjoyable and really nice way to tie things together while also setting hooks of excitement for quite a few things to come!
Jacob Mariorenzi
Took a while on this one. Still not sure I'm 100% happy with it.
