Chapter 88 - Gateways

Dylan revealed nothing on the way to Hestia’s Temple, no matter how hard Hump pressed. Instead, he asked them to wait until after their business with Priestess Elowen was complete to discuss the essence stones with Vivienne. It was frustrating, but Hump reluctantly agreed. He’d known Vivienne long enough to give her the benefit of the doubt, however he couldn’t help but feel nervous. He’d been fooled before and didn’t intend to let it happen again. Besides, the situation with the church was already difficult. Admitting to using the dark forces of another world might just be the final push to sever any chance of working together. At least for now, it seemed Elowen was on their side, and that Randall and his party had come around.

It was cold inside the temple sanctuary, and the scent of candle smoke filled the room. Even at this late hour, clergy and a few members of the town were gathered inside, praying together and lighting candles against the evil forces of the night. They drew a few glances, but it seemed nobody dared to look at them for long. Hump supposed they couldn’t be too happy that their High Priest was now locked up because of them.

Dylan led the way through a side passage, following a set of steps that led underground. There wasn’t much space, which made Hump all the more surprised when they reached a small library. Dozens of shelves full of books were crammed inside. Most of them were caked in dust and dark with age. It was well beyond anything he expected from a small town like Fishers Lake, and from the look of it, it had hardly seen use in years.

There was a large table at the back of the room where Vivienne and Elowen stood opposite each other, books sprawled across the surface before them. Twin orbs of light floated over each end, illuminating dozens of open pages. They were looking for something, which made Hump at least a little hopeful.

Vivienne glanced up when she heard them approach. “Good, you’re here. Why don’t you all sit down? There’s much to discuss, and even more we’re still trying to figure out.”

Hump was in no mood for pleasantries, so he cut to the chase. “What have you got?”

Vivienne narrowed her eyes, scrutinising him dubiously. “Very well. Elowen, why don’t you begin.”

Elowen nodded, turning to face them. She was pale faced with dark bags under her eyes. “I’m afraid it’s not good news. Your first assumption was partially correct. The formation you found in the cave is certainly similar to that of a summoning circle, however its complexity led me to look for other possibilities. What I found is… it’s best you see for yourselves.”

She sifted through the books on the table, pulling out a particularly large and leatherbound piece. She carefully turned the pages, still from age, until she found the one she was looking for and held it out for him. “Here.”

Hump walked over and took it, the others huddling around him. The paper was of thick parchment and dry enough that he feared the slightest movement might tear it. This book was old. Again he wondered why a place like this would possess such an item, but he pushed that from his mind and focused on what was before him.

The chapter was titled, Gateways to Other Realms. There was a violent ink sketch on the top half of the left page. Bodies lay dead on the ground, their chests torn open by vicious wounds, blood pooling on the ground around them. It trickled to the centre of them, where nonsensical runes outlined a formation just like the one they’d found in the cave.

His stomach sank. He skimmed the content quickly. Much of the information was useless, tainted by Pantheon rhetoric. As with most of the Pantheon’s records on magic, there were hardly any explanations as to how the spell actually functioned, instead, it focused on signs of other realm activity and the many signs to watch out for. Mostly obvious things: missing people, strange smells, madness infesting the streets, but a few were more specific. It mentioned a dense essence environment and ‘corrupted essence stones’.

Hump frowned down at the page. “It seems to match. I don’t get it thought. This sounds like a complicated way of describing a summoning spell. What’s so different about gateways?”

“They’re similar,” Vivienne explained. “Summoning spells work by forming a connection with a being or group of beings and bringing them to our realm through that link. That connection provides the creature power and a way to stay here, in exchange granting the summoner some level of command over it. A gateway, however, forms a connection between two places.”

Hump’s mouth dropped open. “Oh.”

“Oh what?” Bud asked.

“There’s nothing to control whatever comes through,” Hump said. His frown deepened. “Or how much comes through. Gods, no wonder there have been so many spirits. They must be swarming through the moment the gateway opens.”

Vivienne nodded. “It’s likely. Fortunately, spirits are within our capacity to handle. I believe the fact that your encounter at the cave was the first time we’ve seen other creatures was no coincidence either. Gateways require a huge amount of power to maintain and a strong connection. They’re not easy to open, and they certainly can’t just be opened anywhere.”

“You think they were using the essence in Fishers Lake as a power source?” Hump asked.

“It’s possible. The only way for such a powerful ritual to go unnoticed is to keep it out of sight.”

“We’ve explored the islands,” Dylan said. “I can’t believe we’d have missed this.”

“You wouldn’t have,” Hump said. “That cave was so thick with essence, there’s not a chance Vivi would have missed it.”

“So it’s underwater,” Celaine said. “That’s the hardest place to find anything. It would be completely hidden, and almost impossible to find.”

“How could they perform a ritual underwater?” Bud asked. “They’d need to form complicated runes, and somehow bring a sacrifice with them.”

“I believe we’re looking for a cave,” Vivienne said. “Likely only accessible using water magic. The spirits can fly out, while other monsters would be trapped inside.”

“How do you explain the gateway we found in the cave?” Celaine asked. “If they require as much power as you say, it doesn’t sound possible.” 

“A brief opening,” Vivienne said. “Just enough for a person to step through to the other side and for monsters to come into ours. It would explain why there were so few monsters in the cave. As for the spirits being so dormant, I expect that has more to do with the lunar cycle.”

“A ritual like this doesn’t just pop out of nowhere,” Hump argued. “This is about as black market as it gets. I don’t see how some iron ranked adventurer could get their hands on it.”

“Maybe they’re not iron rank,” Celaine said.

Hump shrugged. “Then this is a very roundabout way to get what they want. Four months summoning spirits that are hardly a threat doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”

“You can say the same thing about cultists,” Vivienne said. “We’ve discussed this enough. Our answer lies in finding the gateway, and our best chance of doing that is following the spirits back to wherever it is they come from.”

“At least that limits the locations the gateway can be opened,” Bud said.

“Unless a certain priest has a—how did you put it—remarkable storage device,” Celaine said. They all looked at her and she shrugged. “Seems obvious, no? Can’t be a coincidence that Priest Albry just happened to miracle up a storage device, and we discover a spell that requires a lot of power.”

“Gods, if a gateway opened up in town, there’d be no way for us to save it,” Bud said. “Those creatures in the cave could have a direct path.”

Elowen shook her head quickly. “No. You’re not suggesting what I think you are. It’s not possible. No amount of madness would drive Priest Albry to such lengths. Nothing would. He is a high priest of the pantheon!”

“What if he truly did believe he was speaking to Hestia?” Hump said. “He named it Hestia’s Star. Perhaps he believes what he’s been telling us, that he’s protecting the town.”

“Not this again,” Bud scowled. “There’s no way Hestia would allow one of her High Priests to be possessed or taken over.”

Hump gave his friend an impatient look. “When have the gods ever intervened?”

“Kelisia gave me her blessing when we needed it,” Bud said.

“Technically, it was after we needed it,” Hump corrected. “And outside of blessings, when do the gods ever do anything?”

“Hump, not now,” Celaine said, nodding toward Priestess Elowen who stared at him aghast.

“My apologies,” Hump said. “I’m just trying to see this from as many angles as I can.” He frowned. “That does raise another question though,” Hump said. “If Fishers Lake is providing power to the ritual, where’s the essence in the lake coming from? Doesn’t this go against your theory that the two are connected?”

“Yes,” Vivienne said. “Do you have a better idea?”

Hump scratched his chin, forcing his mind to think despite his tiredness. “What if the caster is in the other realm.”

“That doesn’t work,” Dylan said. “We found the formation in the cave.”

“We found a formation,” Hump said. “We didn’t find what’s been causing the attacks every month. The spirit waves are growing larger, which we can assume means that the power required to cast the ritual is increasing or the connection is becoming easier to maintain. It still means someone needs to be maintaining a powerful gateway with only the lake as a source. What if instead, the source of essence is on the other side, and the reason Fishers Lake is gaining essence is because power is pouring through during the attacks.”

“It’s been happening for years,” Vivienne said.

Hump nodded. “I don’t know about you, but I would expect it to take years for something to break into our realm. Do we have any idea which realm we’re dealing with?”

Elowen lit up in a flash. “Ah! Yes.” She scrambled in search of a book, picking up one with a handful of bookmarks marking the pages inside. Celaine took it and began flicking through. “While there’s much we don’t know, there’s one connecting factor behind each of the spirit appearances. It always happens on nights of the new moon. Now that could still mean dozens of possible realms, so what I’ve done is narrowed it down to the few that are closest to us. Each of these realms share the veil with us, think of them as neighbours. They would be the easiest to create any sort of connection to.”

She gestured for them to look at the books. “Not a huge amount is known about these worlds, but if we can identify what realm we’re dealing with, we may be able to…”

Celaine held up the book. “Do these look like the monsters from the cave to you?”

Inked onto the page was the unmistakable drawing of the monsters they’d encountered before.

“Flesh Prowlers of the Remnant Realm,” Celaine read. “These ferocious demons are feared for their ferocious appetites and cannibalistic nature.”

“That’s them alright,” Hump said.

“There’s information here about the spirits too,” Celaine said. “They’re called Shades. While possessing little intelligence, in numbers, shades can pose a threat. Be cautious of their kiss, for it will siphon the very soul of life.”

“How much more do you know of this realm?” Bud asked.

“Not much I’m afraid,” Elowen said. “That’s an exorcist’s codex, containing the most common summons from the realms closest to us. The library in Sheercliff City is far more extensive compared to what we have here. They may be able to dig up more information. Shall I send a letter?”

Vivienne didn’t answer immediately. Hump thought he noticed something on her face. Her eyes shone, almost as if she were excitement. The second she caught him looking, it was gone from her face, and she was once again overcome with seriousness.

“Wizard Vivienne?” Elowen probed.

“Yes, send a letter,” she said.

“I suggest you try and get Randall to attach his seal,” Bud said. “It might add some urgency to their reply.”

Elowen told them the little she knew of the Remnant Realm after that. It was a world devoid of life, where few survived and the creatures that did could only do so through violence. It was getting on for midnight when they finally left. Hump had managed to keep his mouth shut the entire time, but now he needed answers.

Stepping back out onto the streets, Celaine asked Bud, “Are you sure that was a good idea? Do we want Randall to know all this?”

“We agreed to keep them informed,” Bud said. “As far as I see it, a party of Chosen on our side can only benefit us.”

Hump paid them no mind, instead focusing on Vivienne’s back. She walked ahead of them, talking quietly with Dylan at her side, barely containing the bounce to her step.

“You know something,” Hump said suddenly. It wasn’t a question, more an accusation. Vivienne turned to look at him with a hesitant face which only made Hump angrier. He clenched his fist around his staff. “Vivi, I know you’ve been hiding something from us.”

“Is that so?” Vivienne said.

“Those essence stones didn’t hold ordinary essence,” Hump said. “I felt it. I channelled it, and I know the power within. What I don’t understand is why you’d lie about it. What is going on?”

Vivienne frowned, seemingly mulling over her options. Then she let out a reluctant sigh. “It’s about why I’m here. It’s not just to study Fishers Lake. For years I’ve been searching for artifacts of ancient eras, and they led me here. To a temple buried beneath the lake, undiscovered for centuries. And now I know it’s here.”

“What do you mean?” Hump said. “How do you know it’s here?”

“There are legends of wizards that would use gateways to travel vast distances, using the varying time flow of other realms to go from one end of the country to the other in a matter of hours. The Remnant Realm isn’t just the closest to our world, it’s the realm that wizards once walked, and it’s the realm the gods destroyed in the War of the Firmament.”