Chapter 240 - The Relentless Toil of Endeavour

Ado built up a fire outside the Temple of Moss and gave Hump the task of plucking the feathers from the rainbow hawk. The shaman gutted it with a long, fine tipped knife, then skewered it. He whispered something melodic softly under his breath, too quiet for Hump to understand, as if the words were carried off on the wind before they reached his ears. Two green saplings unfurled on either side of the fire, each growing upward in a few seconds and dividing into two forks. Ado placed the skewer over the top between them creating a makeshift rotisserie.

“Are you not concerned the smell might draw in monsters?” Hump asked. This was the Fallen Lands after all, a place where even a sixth circle Chosen like Ado should feel some caution.

“Not here,” Ado said. “Not with the essence well for support and Drakalyn so close.”

Hump nodded in acknowledgement. He asked more about the local flora and fauna, not surprised by just how different it was. It changed much throughout the region, twisted and corrupted by dungeons of all different kinds. Where dungeons spawned too close to Drakalyn, they would send out raiding parties to harvest the core. It was interesting to hear that they often saw them as a boon rather than a burden, utilising them almost like farms, keeping them from growing too large but harvesting heartstones and other magical materials from them. Lately, things had been different, however. The threat of the lich had reduced their capacity to face other threats, so they’d had to close the dungeons. They couldn’t run the risk of her taking control of them.

“Speaking of which, you’ll be alone inside today,” Ado said, handing Hump a drumstick, and then removing the bone from the thigh and giving it to Nisha.

She tucked in happily, small grumbling noises escaping her.

“Is that allowed?” Hump asked. He took a bite. The meat was richly flavoured and thick with fat like a waterbird.

“I am who decided what is allowed or is not, and I allow it.”

Hump nodded, secretly pleased they weren’t starting with soul duels again today. “What will you do?”

“Listen to the trees,” Ado said, as if that explained everything. “There’s a strangeness to the forest today. I intend to find out what it is.”

“You can speak with trees?” Hump asked genuinely, wondering if this was some element of nature magic he’d never heard of.

He laughed, shaking his head. “No. Trees do not speak as such. But everything casts a shadow of some kind. In the forest, it is the trees that sense it first.”

“Is that to do with the new dungeon that opened?” Hump asked.

“You know about that?”

“Celaine’s uncle has arranged a hunt tomorrow for its guardian in celebration of her return. Well, I’m guessing that Finnian fellow arranged it.”

Ado snorted. “Finn may be getting ahead of himself. We shall see. For now, work on yourself. I suspect you’ll find significant benefits from the environment inside the temple, and it’s not like you need me to show you what to do.”

Ado left shortly after they’d eaten. And he was right. The temple was perfect for him. He decided to focus on his usual training to begin with, but also to designate some time to the Winds of Essence like Ado had shown him yesterday. While he still wasn’t entirely convinced he would reap benefits from it, there was no doubting Ado’s strength. Not just that, but he seemed like a person worthy of his respect and treated Hump that way too. Still, he had to admit that he was pleased they weren’t repeating an afternoon of Soul Manifestation like the day before.

Hump entered the Temple of Moss with Nisha, who scurried on ahead of him, hopping around on the mossy floor as it squelched beneath her paws. The air was cool and damp inside, filled with an ancient, earthy scent. Whether it was the moss or presence of the essence well, he found it refreshing. An aura of calmness pervaded the room. He suddenly wondered how old the temple was and had the urge to learn more about it.

The rocks were barely visible beneath the shining green moss growing over the top of them, but what he could make out below was cracked. He approached one, running his hand along a thin stretch of grey stone below. The cracks weren’t from wear but from design—thin gaps carved out to give the moss something to cling onto. Symbols were carved into the stonework around them, too worn and faded to properly make out, but from what he could see they were mostly of plants and animals.

He marvelled at the craftsmanship of the doors, and the small draining channels in the tiles of the floor. While very possible to create such things with much, to Hump, these appeared hand crafted, lacking symmetry and evenness. Eventually, he returned to the basin at the centre of the room—the essence well, and the reason for this temple’s existence. There were more small symbols within, but most notable was the dragon staring back at him, its eyes glimmering with sapphire, its mouth open where the water rose from within.

Nisha tried to put her paws up onto the basin for a better look. Hump picked her up, making an exaggerated grunt at her weight and holding her over for a look inside.

“What do you think, Nisha? Is that a true dragon?”

She tilted her head inquisitively, curiosity flourishing in their bond. It seemed possible. Celaine had told him it wasn’t just lesser species like wolf dragon’s that migrated through Drakalyn, though those were the ones they bonded with.

“We’ll need to ask Ado about the history of this place,” Hump continued. “It’s ancient, that’s for sure. First time I’ve heard of an essence well. I wonder where it comes from.”

That was the aspect he was most interested in. He could sense its power so clearly. It crossed his mind that perhaps Owayln was not the first to settle here, or maybe the essence well was the reason she decided to establish herself here.

He opened his potion pouch. This time he’d brought it with him, along with two empty vials, filling both and corking the tops. It was liquid gold, and as he cupped his hands and drank from it, he could sense it rush through him in a cool wave. Slowly, he began to circulate it through his channels, incorporating it into the Spirit Well in his core. He still hadn’t quite figured out how the new technique functioned. It was an additional reservoir of energy in his core with the capacity to expand and tied closed to his River and Waves. He couldn’t tell how long it could continue to grow, or what would happen once it reached its limit, but he assumed it had something to do with crossing the bridge to Rank 7. That was what his master had told him in his note—this was the key.

And having access to the Temple of Moss was speeding up his progress.

As he cycled his essence, he felt himself recovering from the morning’s enchanting attempt. It had been about an hour before he couldn’t go on. Just a few sips of the water and the environment of the temple had saved him hours of effort. Next, he attempted Ado’s technique to expand his spirit, sensing the winds of essence that surrounded him. He manifested his soul and watched the flow of power through the room, wondering exactly how he could incorporate it. Bending essence to one’s will was a relatively simple matter, but seeing its flow and gently ushering it to do as he wished… he didn’t understand how it worked. If he only nudged its intent, how could it be used for magic?

The essence of the world was clearer to him as he practiced. He thought he sensed something, just beyond the periphery of his vision, a presence that no matter how hard he reached for, it only seemed to be pushed further away. By the time Ado returned, Hump already had a murderous headache and cold pervaded his soul.

“Any luck?” Hump asked.

Ado shook his head. “It is not the new dungeon.”

“So the hunt will go ahead?”

“I won’t be stopping it.”

“If not the dungeon, what’s wrong with the forest then?” Hump asked. “Another dungeon?”

“Perhaps, though if there is, I could not find one.” Ado stepped further into the room. “I’m certain it will reveal itself with time, however. This is hardly the first time I have sensed such forces around Drakalyn, and it will certainly not be the last.”

Ado asked how his training had gone that day, and after another bout of soul duelling, Hump returned to Vamir’s. He made a meagre attempt at enchanting that evening, replacing the destroyed rune on his left boot from the morning and giving him a foundation to work from the next day. He gave up on continuing once Celaine returned from the training hunt Vamir had requested her on.

She was alone and still in her hunting gear. Nisha ran up to her, circling her legs and nudging into her. Celaine knelt down and petted her, and Nisha’s deep rumbling filled the room.

“How did it go?” Hump asked.

“You know what children are like,” Celaine said. “Easily distracted, lots of questions, and not very good at anything.”

Hump laughed. “Wouldn’t be much point in a training hunt if that wasn’t the case.”

She glowered at him. “You know what I mean.”

Hump smiled. “Were they interested in your time in Alveron?”

“Of course. They’re children.”

Hump snorted. “And how was Eva? You seemed close.”

“We both trained under Vamir,” Celaine said.

“So you were part of Vamir’s dragon blooded in the past too?”

Celaine nodded, then narrowed her eyes. “Why are you smiling?”

“It’s just fun to imagine. You must have been adorable running around with your little bow.”

“It wasn’t that little. And I could still have shot an apple off your head.”

“I saw Ado shoot today so I’m hardly impressed. He mentioned you’d need another few decades to be as good a shot as him.”

She laughed at that. “If ever. You know the bow of Owalyn that Myra gave me?”

“Yes.”

“Ado was the one that made that. He’s a master bowyer, and he’s got a shot that matches his skill.”

Hump was taken aback. “I should have realised sooner!” He leant forward. “He’s a sixth circle Chosen. Of course he isn’t just an ordinary bowyer.”

“How are you getting along with him?” Celaine asked.

“Well actually. He’s good. I like him.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Hump asked.

“I was just expecting the two of you to clash.”

Hump shrugged. “Today, for the most part he just left me to do my thing. He was looking for something in the forest. Said there was a strange presence.”

“The dungeon?” Celaine stood as Nisha ran back into the room. She closed the door to Vamir’s behind her and stepped inside.

“I asked the same thing,” Hump said. “Apparently it wasn’t that.”

“So the hunts still going ahead.”

Hump let out a sigh. “Seems so. Hunting for a dungeon guardian in the Fallen Lands is going to be a great story. Bit nervous without the others around though. I need my burly knight to hide behind.”

Celaine smiled. “It would be nice to have them but you don’t need to worry. My people are good at what they do. The best even.”

“Yeah, but they don’t like me,” Hump said. “Wouldn’t put it past your boyfriend to give me a helpful push into the mouth of some beast.”

“What? Finn? He wouldn’t do that.”

Now it was Hump that raised his brow. “He did suggest you have me killed when we first met, so forgive me if I don’t quite believe you.”

“I don’t know why he’s like that,” she said. “He’s not normally an arsehole.”

“I know exactly why he’s like it,” Hump said.

“Yeah, well…” Celaine trailed off. “He’s acting weird. Anyway, I came back to tell you we’re having a gathering in Whitefall Grove—it’s Vamir’s dragon blooded that are invited. Old and new. I thought you might want to join us and meet some of the people we’ll be hunting with the day after tomorrow.”

“Sure. I don’t think I’ll get any further with this anyway.” Hump put down the boots he’d been working on.

He’d repaired the rune he’d destroyed that morning so would have a good foundation to work from for the following day. Besides, it would be more benefitial to know who he was partying with anyway.