Chapter 357: ...is another's wall

“Impossible!” Alex shot to his feet. “For you? That…that’s impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible…” Baelin said, turning the orb over again. His goat-like eyes scanned every detail. “But…for the life of me, Alex, I cannot even begin to challenge this…infernal thing.”

The young wizard’s eyebrows arched toward his hairline. “No way, I mean…I can feel it’s mana. And I can definitely feel yours. There’s no way you can’t beat this.”

“It is not a matter of power…” the goatman said. “It is a matter of…wait, perhaps I am being hasty.” He handed the orb back to Alex. “Have you had enough rest?”

“Yeah.” Alex moved closer to Baelin. “What do you need me to do?”

“Try and activate the dungeon core again,” Baelin said. “Let’s see if anything has changed. Perhaps, it metamorphosed a defence against further tampering.”

“Sure. I’ll give it another try.” Alex took the dungeon core and dove into it, finding the pathways, using the Mark as he went. It was much easier to break through its defences this time: in minutes, he reached the core and—

Rumble.

Another rock wall rose through the debris that used to be the dungeon. Alex frowned.

‘So even though the dungeon’s destroyed, it still has control over terrain. I wonder just how far this thing’s range is, and if it can establish a ‘new’ dungeon.’

But, more importantly, at least for now...

“I’m in,” Alex said.

“I see that. This is absolutely fascinating,” the chancellor’s focus was on the orb, his face tensed in concentration. “Let’s try something, we’ll both hold it while  you use your mana to activate it. Go slowly and I’ll follow what you’re doing precisely.”

“Got it.” Alex held the orb toward the ancient wizard.

As his gauntleted hands pressed against the core’s surface, Baelin’s ocean of mana unfolded, nearly dropping Alex to his knees. Together, they reached into the core, the young wizard feeling like a tiny minnow swimming beside a massive whale.

Impossibly tiny.

And the finesse.

His mana was agile, but Baelin’s was quicksilver. No effort in movement; it just simply was. The chancellor shouldn’t have a problem overwhelming and controlling the core, yet here it was, he just couldn't do it.

“Alright, so follow my mana,” Alex said, letting his power gather by the dungeon core’s ‘entranceways’. “Do you sense where I am?”

“Indeed, I feel where your mana gathers.” Baelin frowned. “What am I looking for there?”

Alex’s brow creased. “The entry points. They’re right where my mana is.”

The ancient wizard’s frown deepened. His mana searched for entryways. “I sense nothing.”

“...really?” Alex asked, confused. What was going on? “Okay, I’ll take you to them, right to where they are. Just follow my lead.”

The chancellor closed his eyes, moving his mana toward the entranceways while Alex guided him.

“Closer,” the young wizard said. “Closer. You’re getting there. Closer…closer…there! Right there! Stop!”

Baelin’s mana paused squarely above the entrances. “Here?” the goatman asked, obviously still baffled. “I sense no entrances, none at all.”

“Okay, maybe…maybe it’s done something so they’re invisible? Or…maybe it's hiding them?” Alex tried to puzzle it out. “It could be using some sort of mana-sense based illusion.”

“Hm,” the goatman mused. “Perhaps.”

“Either way, go ahead, push your mana down into the dungeon core,” Alex said. “Like I’m doing.”

He demonstrated. It was even easier now: each time he activated the orb, it used mana, so it had much less strength to fight him.

“Hmmmm.” The goatman cocked his head as though listening for something in the distance. “What in the…your mana just felt like it disappeared. As though it went off into nothingness. Let me try.”

Baelin’s mana pushed down…but nothing changed.

It was like there were no entrances so his mana was futilely pressing against a solid wall.

“What is going on…?” Alex murmured, his nerves stretching. “You’re sure you can’t do what I’m doing?”

“No…I cannot.” Baelin’s voice sounded quite bewildered. “It is…it feels like there is no mana apparatus there to interact with. Honestly, I can feel the mana within the thing, but—for all intents and purposes—I may as well be trying to find pathways to magically interact with the average rock.”

He pulled his mana back and stroked his beard-braids, lost in thought. When he opened his eyes, they were alight with intrigue. “Well, this is absolutely fascinating. It would seem that dungeon cores have apparatuses that can only be interacted with when held by certain individuals. Whatever the qualifications…it appears that I do not possess them.”

The chancellor’s voice was as calm as Alex’s spirit was frantic.

What was this? Did this really mean that not everyone could take over dungeon cores? Why? Was that done by design, or was it accidental? His thoughts were whirling.

The young wizard tried reasoning things through, thinking about both dungeon cores and golem cores and how similar they were in mana. If dungeon cores were made to be controlled…then…

“Who’s supposed to control them?” Alex wondered. “This…oh jeez this is big!”

“Indeed.” Baelin eyed the ink-black orb. “If dungeon cores have apparatuses that are only accessible to those having certain qualities, that speaks more to a purposeful design choice, rather than a random accident, or natural development, or even an evolution. It lends credence to the theory that dungeon cores—and perhaps even this Ravener creature—are constructed.”

He stroked his beard. “But we cannot know much more until we understand what criteria allows one individual to interact with these dungeon cores, and what prevents another from doing so. Hmmm…so what are the differences between you and I?”

“Well,” Alex said. “You’re miles more powerful than I am. You’re older. I’m human and you’re not. I’m Thameish and you’re not. Hmmm…I worship Uldar, and you don’t.”

Alex’s faith in Uldar had waned considerably compared to before he was Marked—these days, he prayed to the Traveller more than to Uldar—but he hadn’t stopped believing in Thameland’s god entirely.

“Indeed,” Baelin said. “I think we might rule out the idea that you can control it because you are human: after all, Ravener-spawn control dungeon cores as a daily fact of life, and no autopsy has found that they share the least bit in common with humanity. They’re not even mammals.”

“True…” Alex murmured. “And me being younger would be a strange ‘criteria’. Not impossible, but just pretty arbitrary. All things considered, I’m thinking it has something to do with me being Thameish. After all, I’m from Thameland, just like the dungeon cores.”

“Indeed,” Baelin said. “And the Ravener’s mana does infest nearly every inch of this realm, however slight it might be. The thought occurred to me that those born here perhaps absorb a bit of that mana, while those born elsewhere would have no such exposure to it. Which would be a strong hypothesis…except for one simple fact: you were born during a time when there was no Ravener present, and—according to our Thameish allies—its mana is completely absent from the land between cycles.”

“Right, and if the ability was triggered by being immersed in the Ravener’s mana,” Alex said. “Then you should be able to activate a core, just like I did last year when we were in the Cave of the Traveller: at that point, the Ravener had only been back for a short while. So, I wouldn’t have had much time to absorb its mana, yet I was able to control that core.”

“Exactly…ah, we did overlook one more difference between us.” Baelin’s eyes dropped to Alex’s right shoulder. “Your Mark…what if that is the key to all of this?”

Alex blinked. “You mean…Heroes are supposed to control dungeon cores? Or maybe just Fools?”

“It is possible. We cannot rule it out. Either way, we have discovered something of prime importance,” Baelin said. “You should experiment with it, see what can be done with it, and if you can work out how it creates monsters. That should run its energies down and weaken its mana, then it should be easier for you and others on site to handle it over the next few days.”

Alex looked at him sharply. “Uhm…I kind of agree that we should let others try to access it to see if that helps us understand who’s able to interact with this thing. But, what about those clawed things, what if they were after me because I took over that dungeon core? Suppose someone else controls one and ends up with a big target sign on their back?”

“Hmmmm indeed…though…hmmm…” Baelin gave Alex’s concerns some thought. “We will discuss what to do with it and how to experiment with a living core when we return to camp. In the meanwhile, go ahead. Run it as dry as you can.”

“Got it,” Alex said, trying to calm his spirit as he flew toward the ravine.

Hypotheses of all kinds raced through his mind while he looked at the dark orb in his hand.

Dread seeped into the pit of his stomach.

Just what in all of Uldar’s mercy had they stumbled onto?

###

The Ravener felt it.

Another core had fallen to the Usurper.

Deep within its underground chamber—floating above the dark lake and surrounded by a grim army of guardians—its ancient mind thought on what should be done.

The Usurper still lived.

And it had received no word from any of its trusted Hunters.

They had likely failed. Or were probably dead.

And the Usurper still tainted the lands, taking things further and further out of balance. But what should be done now?

The Hunters had failed to this point…should it make more?

Would that make sense?

Or should it…

It reached deep within, searching far below the place where ‘forms’ of its typical servants were ‘kept’.

There, in the deepest recesses of its being, the shrouded terrain where unique servants were concealed waited; servants it could spawn only if certain criteria were met.

…and the situation had not fractured enough to justify bringing these to bear. Not yet.

Still, it began careful preparations to spawn at least one should things deteriorate further.

If the Usurper was not stopped soon, then that dangerous set of criteria could be met sooner, rather than later.

And all must be ready.

###

“And I think it’s almost out of mana,” Alex said. “There’s a bit left, but not enough to really do anything with it right now.”

He looked down, examining the ravine floor where odd shapes rose from the debris. For the past hour, he’d been experimenting with the core, raising walls from the ruined earth, pressing holes in the ground, and shaping stone.

Rock formations were scattered far and wide, marking the ground with what could be best described as efforts ranging from rudimentary, to more complex. He’d even created a small stone building using the core’s power, and apart from missing some of the roof, it almost looked liveable.

“This…this could become addictive,” he said. “I mean it’s one thing to create things out of magic and alchemy, but this? Once you get the hang of it, you’re basically shaping the land by sheer will alone. I wonder if this is what deities feel like?”

“The ones I have spoken to have not admitted to such a thing, but I do agree that there would be a certain…addictive quality to shaping things by will and purpose alone.” Baelin thumbed his chin. “This is most fascinating. We will have to experiment with it further. From what I’ve been told, dungeon cores gain power from mortal fear. There are always a dozen little anxieties during any given day at the encampment, especially for the young. So, it should be interesting to see if by having it in camp, it will regenerate mana from the ‘little fears’ of those around it. I must say, it is looking a little pale right now.”

As Alex used its mana throughout the morning, the deep darkness it had started the day with had faded until it was now the lightest shade of grey.

“Yeah, I noticed that too,” he said. “Do we have anything else to do here?”

“Not for the present. The dungeon is destroyed and we have gained our prize. All that’s left to do is to bring it back to camp and inform the others of what we have been up to. Tonight, I will stay to aid in securing it, then brief Professor Jules when she arrives in the morning. We must set up containment procedures as well.”

His goat-like eyes twinkled. “I’m very eager to experiment with our new sample. Who knows what other discoveries it might hold? I suspect learning how it works will be an involved undertaking. So come, today has been a most productive day for us…perhaps having this living specimen in hand will soon bring us another one.”

###

Author's Note:

Hello super cool eight fools, almighty chosen, wise sages and mighty champions!

And so the theorizing begins. Just as y'all were theorizing on discord yesterday. Aaaaahhhhh I love this stuff. Alrighty, I'll catch y'all tomorrow for a new month! :D

Cya!