ã€ŠBEFORE DUSK: Darkeningã€‹


 Prologue: Anomaly

    ¡°Welcome to my tavern, weary traveler! You seem exhausted, how about you take a seat, and listen to a bored man¡¯s story. ¡­ ¡°Hm? Is it a TRUE story...? It can be as real as you want it to be. Now! How about we get started...¡±

    Power. The most important aspect of all life, or so people thought, when all else was thrown away. Power could be granted in many ways, whether it be through force, persuasion, or other means... Some power, well, can be more cryptic and sinister. This is one of those sinister powers. The Lost Sword of Dusk, a prophetic blade created by ¡°gods¡±, who lived immemorial, to ensure order in their world. The sword was said to steadily supply its wielder with extreme power, making them near immortal, removing the need for anything else in life.

    This blade, known as Dharkanboranada was sought after by many... Lost souls, broken souls, empty souls... all sought this blade''s power. Little did they know this blade had even darker secrets than what met the eye. This... is a tale of that blade''s last owner... It is a tale of love...

    A young man could be seen walking through a vast field full of ancient ruins, searching for something. He walked and walked, with tears in his eyes. Something was awry in his heart. The man looked at an old scroll that he had carried with him and then looked forwards. He located what he was searching for, an ancient pedestal, which held the sword ¡°Dharkanboranada.¡±

    He muttered to himself ¡°I¡¯ll take them, I¡¯ll take them all, just like they did to her...¡± while stepping up the small staircase, towards the pedestal. He approached the blade and said to himself ¡°This is for you, Amani, nothing will ever set us apart, no matter how far we drift.¡± He placed both arms on the sword and started to pull. An intense purple light appeared from under the sword.

    ¡°AGHH!¡± the man yelled, as he tightened his grip on the blade, while his posture grew weak. He began to be enveloped in purple flames and was soon completely engulfed. His shrieks became louder and louder until... He pulled the sword, his hair and eye colors were changed to a sinister purple, and he smiled. He proceeded to say, with growing intensity in his voice ¡°H-Here we are... soon there will be nothing left, I will erase every, last INCH of this blasted world, and nobody will stand in my way! AHAHHAHA!!¡±

    ¡°Marlon... where could he have gone off too, we had so little time together...¡±

    ------------------------------

    ¡°My name is Rei Walker, a lowly loser, living in a two-story apartment, in a boring town, with a totally normal life.¡± A young male exclaimed this as if he was narrating some kind of story, making his boredom and depression completely and utterly obvious, while pacing across the second story of his apartment. He went on with ¡°But one day, my life changed completely... What Mom!? Can''t you see that I''m roleplaying!?¡± Rei¡¯s mother called him from downstairs, urging him to check the news. ¡°Come quick!¡± Rei¡¯s mother said, as Rei ran downstairs.

    ¡°EMERGENCY BRODCAST, ANOMALOUS WEATHER PHENOMENA DETECTED, LOCK ALL DOORS AND BOARD YOURSELF INSIDE IMMEDIATLY, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.¡± A robotic voice could be heard from the emergency cut-in through the television. ¡°Get in the basement, quick!¡± Rei¡¯s mother shrieked. ¡°But it''s so far from here, and with all those other losers, no way! Can''t we just stay here and board the windows?¡± Rei said fearfully, as he ran towards the window.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°What is THAT!? Look at this mom! This is crazy!¡± Rei exclaimed while carelessly looking out the window, disregarding his fear momentarily. A purple and black swirling mass appeared outside, producing intense lightning and extreme tremors, as pelting rain fell from above at rapid speeds. ¡°Get away, quick! There''s no time! We must leave NOW!¡± Rei¡¯s mother said, running towards him and grabbing him by the hand, dragging him towards the front door.

    Halfway out the door, Rei remembered something. ¡°Our dog, what about our dog?!¡± Before he could say anything more, a small white fluffy dog ran out the door. ¡°RILA!¡± Rei¡¯s mother yelled. ¡°I¡¯ve got her!¡± Rei said, bolting out the door. ¡°Alright, let''s see what this thing is made of.¡± The visibility from Rei¡¯s eyes quickly reduced to near nothing, he could barely move forward and was constantly being pushed back. ¡°T-There she is, c''mon Rila! Let''s get out of here!¡±

    Rei spotted his dog and made one final leap towards Rila. A large multicolored strike of lightning directly hit Rei ¡°ACK!¡± Rei yelled. Rei collapsed. ¡°REI!¡± His mother yelled, trying to run towards him. At this point Rila was far gone, and Rei was on the floor gravely wounded. Rei was blown over closer to his mother by the wind. ¡°S-save yourself mom, don''t worry about me, I-it¡¯s not like my life was interesting anyway¡± Rei murmured. ¡°Please don''t die, not yet¡± Rei¡¯s mother cried to him. Before anything else could happen, Rei¡¯s body was engulfed in a purple cloud, and was whisked away, never to be seen by his dear mother again...

    ¡°Is he awake...?¡± ¡°I think he-¡± ¡°Wait he''s opening his eyes be quiet! ¡±¡°W-where am I... mom... is that you...?¡± Rei muttered, slowly opening his eyes. Two strangely dressed people could be seen before him. A male with blonde hair, and old-fashioned college attire, and a female with brown hair, a tunic, and boots. ¡°I wouldn''t call myself your mom... but if you really want too...¡± the female said to Rei. ¡°Quiet Avi, this isn''t a time to play dumb.¡± said the blonde male.

    ¡°Are you alright, here let me help you up¡± the male said. ¡°Can I help... Please!!¡± Said the female, Avi. ¡°Ugh, you can be helpful by backing away for a second!¡± said the male. ¡°Alright... whatever you say Keo... sigh.¡± Avi backed away while the male, Keo helped Rei up.

    ¡°T-thanks¡± Rei said, as he was helped up. He looked at his surroundings, noticing himself in a rundown building in a field. A medieval-like castle town could be seen in the distance. ¡°Who are you guys, and where am I...¡± Rei said quietly ¡°You''re in Avindor, silly! And my name''s Avi! Nice to meet you!¡± said Avi.

    ¡°Avindor? Am I dead, is this the afterlife?¡± said Rei, puzzled. ¡°Precisely... incorrect, you are still alive and well... and you appeared exactly as I predicted. All this studying has paid off!¡± Said Keo. Rei looked around, noticing the many features of the landscape, rolling green fields, large, green trees, and a variety of different mountains in the background. His eyes were drawn back to the ruins he awoke in.

    ¡°So, are we gonna tell him already or what?¡± Whined Avi. ¡°Yes... lets tell him (you didn''t have to rush me; I was about to tell him).¡± Keo said, reaching for a scroll in his pouch. ¡°Ok, this might be a little hard to take in, but you were brought here not by chance, but by fate, and we need your help.¡± Keo Said, showing an old scroll with ancient, cryptic writing on it. ¡°A prophecy, eh? Aren''t there like a million stories about this? There is NOTHING new about this. Rei said as he started to walk away, not catching on to Keo¡¯s story. Avi stepped in, ¡°N-No, this is completely true! We need you to stop this uh... what''s his name again?¡± ¡°Ardonous¡± Said Keo ¡°Here let''s get you into town and in a nice bed, ILL do the explaining from now on.¡± Avi said in a somewhat serious tone.

 Prologue Pt 2: Begginings

    The three crossed the green fields and made it to the castle town. They approached the gate and were stopped by a guard. ¡°Let''s see... a scholar of the royal family, a... friend of the scholar (or at least I hope) and an outsider. You two can enter but the outsider may NOT enter.¡± ¡°Um... I¡¯m going to be honest with you, he''s not from this world, but he¡¯s here to help us, and everyone else really! You see what''s really hap-¡± ¡°Silence! An interloper!? We already have our defenses up for a supposed one, could this be them!?¡± The guard drew his weapon. ¡°So, he DOES know...¡± muttered Keo, stepping back. He continued with ¡°He is here to help STOP the one you are watching out for!¡±

    ¡°Deception! You said it yourself, this outsider is an evil interloper, and only means harm! Don''t think we don''t know about what he''s done to the people in the Central Citadel! There were barely any survivors, and now this weird purple cloud thingy appeared over it!¡± I¡¯m just gonna say it once STOP killing innocent people, and STOP playing with the sky, ok?¡±  The guard gripped his weapon tightly, preparing for his supposed conflict. ¡°N-No, Look at m-me! Were here to help, we promise!¡± Avi said with a raised voice. ¡°Leave now, or the 3 of you will be arrested!¡± The guard looked behind him, checking for other guards in case he needed backup. Avi swiftly turned around and tried to walk away. ¡°Avi, watch out!¡± Keo yelled. ¡°Watch out for what?¡± Avi questioned. Her sword wasn''t fully secured on her back, and she accidentally cut the guard.

    The Guard tried to attack Avi, making sure to not use too much force. ¡°Stand down! You are under arrest! You two as well! I will let you enter this town, but only to be locked up! Rei tried to run away, while Keo drew his bow, and Avi put her hands up. A Guard cornered Rei, while two others disarmed Keo and tied Avi. ¡°Bring these three to the dungeon! Don''t worry, we¡¯ll release you in about a year, just make sure to DONT COME BACK!¡± ¡°A YEAR!?¡± yelled Rei. ¡°It seems were in a bit of a predicament, aren''t we? You don''t have to tie me, I will follow you to the dungeon, and prove to you that we are innocent...¡± The three were escorted to a dungeon, with Avi and Keo put in one cell, and Rei taken to a higher security cell. ¡°Well, this is just GREAT.¡± Whined Avi, pulling on the shackles she was attached to.

    Rei awoke on the opposite side of the dungeon. He groaned and looked around. ¡°Keo¡­ Avi? Where are you two, you¡¯ve GOT to get us out of here!¡±. ¡°Once again¡­ we definitely ARE in a predicament.¡± Keo yelled back to Rei. Avi pulled on her chains again and whined nonsense while Keo looked at her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as a master scholar of the royal family, ill surely persuade them to release us early.¡± Keo Responded. ¡°But can you persuade a little faster, and like, get us out of here in the next 5 minutes¡­ I¡¯m hungry, and this place smells bad!!¡± Avi whined, with real words this time.

    Keo started to come up with a plan and Avi dozed off to sleep out of boredom. Rei, on the other hand, noticed a flaw in his ¡°maximum security cell¡±. A large crack in the wall, covered by stone bricks, did not conceal it. Rei moved them out of the way, punched open the crack, and found a tunnel. ¡°I guess this is my way out¡± Rei whispered to himself. He began to crawl through the tunnel.

    The tunnel had many different paths, and Rei chose to stick to the right, as he did in most mazes when he was younger. The tunnel was damp, moist, and smelled of dead rodents. Rei covered his nose until he heard something¡­ ¡°The blonde one is requesting to be released, and pleading innocence, along with the girl.¡± A guard said. ¡°Blonde? You mean my SON!? You locked away my son?¡± could be heard from a deep voiced, but smart sounding man. Rei found a crack in the wall to peak through.

    Gold trimmed carpets, crystal windows, and dark bricks could be seen across the large room. (¡°This must be the king¡¯s room¡±) Rei thought to himself, as he spotted the emerald plated throne. ¡°Release them THIS INSTANT, as well as the girl!¡± Thie king yelled. ¡°But what about the interloper?¡± the guard questioned. ¡°Release him too! You can¡¯t arrest people just because they wear different attire. They were with Keo, they can only mean well!¡± The king stomped on the ground, which broke the crack in the wall. ¡°Uh oh¡± said Rei, quietly. He tried to crawl away, but he caved in. His only choice was to crawl out the opening.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Rei squeezed through the opening and walked towards the king. He was quickly confronted and blocked by two guards holding spears. ¡°He escaped; I knew he had plans!¡± The guard ordered his cohorts to attack Rei without a second thought. ¡°Stop!¡± The king ordered. The guard didn¡¯t listen. With 4 guards charging at Rei, he checked his surroundings, and noticed a broadsword hooked to the wall. He ran over to it and grabbed it. ¡°I finally get to hold one of these. Cool! Come at me!¡±. Rei egged on the guards, overly confident in his abilities. Rei ran forward and slashed his sword to the nearest guard, disarming them, and held the sword close to them, blissfully unaware of the three other guards standing behind him. ¡°Damnit.¡± The disarmed guard, stunned got back up slowly, while the other guards took the sword Rei used. ¡°I said, STOP!¡± Said the king. ¡°I order you to release him!¡± ¡°But he tried to break out, and attack us!¡± said one of the guards. ¡°You ALSO didn¡¯t pay attention to his story! Arresting one for nothing! You practically framed him! You two can use yourself by releasing Keo and the girl!¡± The king demanded. The four guards left in a hurry, grabbing the dungeon key, and went towards the dungeon.

    ¡°Greetings, young one, I am king Sholventus the fourteenth, what brings you here?¡±. The king introduced himself as Sholventus. ¡°Well, first I have to say, your guards are really dumb, but that¡¯s besides the point. I was uhh¡­ ¡°visiting¡± this town with a couple acquaintances, trying to settle down to make a plan to defeat some evil guy, and uh, make my way home. Any way you can help ¡­my king?¡± Questioned Rei. Sholventus seemed intrigued, and laughed. ¡°Ho ho! ¡°A young, stubborn-witted boy from a faraway land¡± Just as it says in the prophecy! (or, at least I think). So¡­ my son Keo, a scholar, has a lot of knowledge in this area, and has been looking for you for quite a while.¡± Said Sholventus.

    Rei looked behind him and saw Keo and Avi led into the king¡¯s room. ¡°Hiya!¡± Avi said, with a gleeful smile. ¡°We freed these two, as you requested, but PLEASE, make sure the girl doesn¡¯t keep whining, its driving us CRAZY!!¡± The Guards said, while walking away. ¡°Hey! Not nice!¡± exclaimed Avi. ¡°Just ignore them¡­ sigh, anyways, lets see what¡¯s happening over here. ¡°So please, help stop Ardonous and save this world!¡± said Sholventus. ¡°Nah¡± Rei responded. ¡°No!? that¡¯s not the answer I was expecting, allow me to ask you ag- ¡°¡°No.¡± Rei responded again. ¡°WHY!¡± You do understand that the world will be destroyed if you don¡¯t help!¡± The king pleaded.

    ¡°Can¡¯t Avi just fend him off, she seems pretty strong (and hot).¡± Rei said, looking over at Avi. Keo stepped forward and tried to convince Rei by showing him a scroll. ¡°Ah my son, please convince this young man!¡± exclaimed Sholventus. ¡°Ok, so, as you can see here, you are perfectly described right here¡± Keo said pointing at an ancient picture of figure that looked like Rei. ¡°They could have drawn the hair a little better, and maybe made my clothes more accurate, like seriously, do they expect me to be wearing rags? Oh, and¡­ no, I don¡¯t want to help.¡± Rei said, eyeing the door. ¡°W-Wait! You are our last hope! Please!¡± pleaded Sholventus. ¡°No, and that¡¯s final.¡± Rei said, walking towards the door.

    As he tried to exit, Avi stopped him. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going, mister!?¡± said Avi, confronting Rei. ¡°Uhh¡­. Home?¡± Rei responded with a puzzled face. ¡°You don¡¯t know where you¡¯re going to go, do you¡± ¡°No, I have no idea, I was just hoping it would rain or something and I could just open a portal back home. If I am the ¡°hero of prophecy¡±, then I must have some cool powers.¡± Said Rei, trying to get past Avi. ¡°Uhh, no, you don¡¯t, nobody in Avindor can control any magic¡­ not even some light elemental magic, everything is barebones around here, swords, bows, the cool stuff!¡± Avi said with a smile. ¡°No elemental powers!? Ugh, I would consider staying If I could pretend, I¡¯m inside a video game!¡± Rei looked down in slight disbelief, still trying to get passed Avi. ¡°What¡¯s a video game?¡± Avi said. Rei nearly passed Avi, but she stopped him and stepped on his foot.

    ¡°Ow!¡± He lightly tripped and fell. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave¡­¡± Avi said. Rei could see Avi standing right above him. ¡°(How didn¡¯t I catch this awesome view before!?)¡± Rei thought to himself. ¡°If you want, I¡¯ll let you sleep next to me on my comfy bed, you won¡¯t have to sleep on a rock in a low-class hotel room.¡± Avi said, trying to help Rei up. ¡°Sleep¡­ next to you¡­? Well, maybe I¡¯ll give this a try, but you¡¯ve gotta stick around. The second you leave, I¡¯m gone.¡±

 Prologue Pt 3: Mission

    Rei and Avi left the castle, with Keo following behind them. The three entered the main road, with Keo catching up to them. ¡°So... this is Avindors¡¯ Wake! Here¡­ uhm... What was it again? We, uh...¡± Avi said, pacing. ¡°Your home,¡± Said Rei. ¡°Oh, yeah! About that... I¡­ Don¡¯t have a home¡­,¡± said Avi. Rei quickly became frustrated and responded with ¡°Ok seriously, did you lie to me, or are you dumb, like dumb as in, all body no brai- wait a minute, what am I saying?¡± ¡°Hehe¡± Keo giggled nervously. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bring attention to that.¡± Keo said, trying to redirect the group¡¯s attention to the housing area, by pointing at it. ¡°Attention to what? Me? Is there something wrong with me? And no, I¡¯m not dumb, just an amnesiac! I¡­ think.¡± Avi said, puzzled. Rei shook his head and noticed Keo pointing towards the houses.

    ¡°I share a home with Avi, she gets the bedroom, and I sleep in the study. It¡¯s small, but we make do with what we have.¡± Keo walked towards his home, directing Avi and Rei to follow him. While walking, Rei noticed the bustling castle town, the civilians walking, the horse carriages, the sound of voices and trading. But one thing stood out more than others, and it wasn¡¯t part of the town. A small area of gathering darkness could be seen in the sky, with a circle of clouds surrounding it. Rei studied the object in the sky, but got his attention driven back to Avi. ¡°Hey! What are you looking at!? (At least it¡¯s not me, that was weird) ¡­ Oh. The hole in the sky, Keo will explain everything later, it¡¯s some pretty serious stuff, but nothing to worry about. Here! Follow me, were almost there!¡± Avi said, seeming like she was hiding something.

    The three made it to Keo¡¯s house. ¡°Here it is, our home. Like I said, you can share the bedroom with Avi, and I¡¯ll stay in the study, getting things ready for our adventure.¡± Keo Said, unlocking the door. ¡°Wait, adventure? That sounds fun! (Maybe I really SHOULD stick around.)¡± The three entered the house and Keo split up from Avi and Rei and went into the study, locking the door behind him. ¡°I¡¯ve got to study some scrolls, Ill see you guys tomorrow, goodnight! Or, good afternoon¡­?¡± Keo yelled from the other room. ¡°He¡¯s a college shut-in, just let him do his thing, he needs his time anyway.¡± Avi said, leading Rei to the bedroom.

    They made it to the end of the hallway; Avi opened the door. Rei looked around. The ceiling was very high, and shaped, akin to a cabin. Everything was made of wood, including the cheap pieces of furniture, which there wasn¡¯t much of. ¡°(No TV.)¡± Rei thought to himself, looking at the empty tables. Avi got into bed and laid back. ¡°Oh yeah, the bed isn¡¯t super comfortable, so just be wary on the position you sleep in, its hard as a rock.¡±

    Rei went into the bathroom, expecting a sink, and was greeted by two buckets. A small one for a sink, and a large one for a tub. ¡°Uhh, Avi, where¡¯s the plumbing?¡± Rei questioned. ¡°Plumbing? What¡¯s that?¡± Avi said, while entering the bathroom. ¡°Actually, I need to get a change of clothes, these are pretty hot, and I kinda feel like relaxing. Can you step out for a second?¡± Avi requested. Rei left the bathroom and Avi shut the door behind him. Rei got into bed and waited for Avi. Around 5 minutes later she stepped out. ¡°Hey! Get out of my spot!¡± Avi said. ¡°Oh my¡­ ok, whatever you say.¡± Rei was stunned by Avi¡¯s outfit and looks. She was wearing a tight, low cut shirt, held up by straps, with the same pair of shorts on.¡°(Well, she¡¯s not hot anymore, but she is HOT, in the other way¡­)¡±. Rei tried to hold it together as Avi made him scooch over and laid next to him.

    ¡°Ok¡­ so whatever world you¡¯re in, snap out of it, we need to talk about the adventure we have ahead of us.¡± Avi said, putting her arms behind her head. (¡°Ok Rei, you¡¯ve trained for this, look at her face, make eye contact¡­ Ah damn it! Maybe going outside really was necessary!)¡± Rei thought to himself, frustratedly. He finally was able to lock onto to Avi¡¯s face, disregarding her figure. ¡°So, where do I start¡­?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°So, as Keo already said, you were prophesied to arrive in this world, otherwise known as Avindor. The Town were in is Avindors¡¯ Wake, located in the Avnoria region. There are eight regions in Avindor (minus Avnoria), with only 6 being discovered, and 4 being explored, by the kings¡¯ royal knights.¡± Rei started to doze off in boredom. He closed his eyes, waiting for Avi to stop talking. He woke up an hour later, opening his eyes to a frustrated look on Avi¡¯s face. ¡°Yes, I stopped talking right when you closed your eyes, and now I¡¯m going to finish my story. Please listen. I¡¯m not joking around, this is extremely important.¡± Rei rolled his eyes and said ¡°Ok, whatever.¡±

    ¡°Currently, Keo has focused his studies on the closest region the Gilded Groves. Which is said to hold an Artifact of Time-Space.¡± Avi explained. Rei¡¯s eyes lit up. Artifact of what now? That sounds pretty cool, and Lemme guess, we need to find seven of these to stop the big bad ¡°lord of darkness¡± and save the world, right?¡± Rei said, smiling. ¡°How did you know!? Did you secretly study with Keo when I wasn¡¯t around!? Ah Whatever, you¡¯re nearly correct, just a little off. There are 7 artifacts of time space, and we need them all to stop Ardonous. Ardonous wields an ancient sword known as ¡°Dharkanboranada¡± which starts off weak, but will only grow stronger.

    ¡°Keo read me a passage that said something like this: ¡°When the blade of the ancient one releases the soul, it can absorb the life energy of the soon-to-be husk, growing stronger. The blade will then output intense spiritual energy into a rift in the sky, a place shattered from the fabric of reality, and will form the ¡°Storm of the End¡± The storm of the end will only grow, as the wielder of the sword claims more and more lives. And in the end, the storm will consume all of existence, leaving not even a single trace of life.¡±

    ¡°Ardonous already started his plan. He attacked the central citadel, and murdered hundreds. He has already probably started killing again, and there is nothing we can do but hope; Hope that we can find the artifacts, before he claims too many lives, and destroys Avindor. Nobody deserves to Die; This includes all living beings, no matter how tainted the heart. Everything has a meaning¡­¡±

    Rei¡¯s mouth was opened wide, stunned by Avi¡¯s speech. ¡°Ok, so this IS serious. I¡¯ll gladly help.¡± Rei said, a tear trickling from his eye. ¡°Thank you¡­ That took a lot out of me, I don¡¯t like talking about icky stuff. Well, anyways, it¡¯s getting late, should we go to sleep?¡± Avi said, blowing out a candle.  ¡°Uhh, you sure the world won¡¯t end overnight?¡± Rei said nervously, looking at the hole in sky outside the window. Avi went up to Rei and shut the window. ¡°It¡¯s way too small to hurt a single soul at the time. Millions need to die for it to reach full capacity. We have a lot of time, but not everybody else does. Let¡¯s go to bed, we have a lot of work to do¡­¡± The two got in bed, with Avi comforting Rei, holding him close. ¡°She¡¯s like a mother, well, hopefully NOT a mother because she¡¯s really hot¡­¡± Rei thought nonsense to himself while dozing off to sleep.

    Rei woke up in the morning, alone in bed, with the door to the room left open. ¡°Avi¡­ where did she go¡­?¡± Rei said to himself. Rei went through the door to find Avi and Keo mapping their first journey. ¡°Morning, Rei!¡± said Keo, with Avi smiling beside him. Keo pointed at a map depicting the Gilded Groves and said¡­ ¡°The Gilded Groves are vast fields, made up of golden grass, multicolored trees, and several hidden grottos. One of these grottos is much vaster than the others and holds the first artifact.¡± Rei pictured the location in his head and became excited.

    ¡°So¡­ this grotto isn¡¯t going to be obvious¡­ is it.¡± Said Rei. ¡°No, it won¡¯t.¡± Avi replied, shaking her head. Keo got up and walked towards the door. ¡°Well, we should get going, ill fill you guys in on the way.¡± Rei and Avi followed Keo out the door. They walked through the central street of Avindors¡¯ Wake, and out the front gate. Rei was once again greeted by rolling green fields. ¡°So, the journey begins, huh?¡±.

 Chapter 1-1: Gilded Troubles

    Keo pointed at his map and then pointed northwest. ¡°That way, the gilded groves await us.¡± He spoke. Keo began explaining the plan. ¡°So, we can¡¯t just search every grotto willy-nilly, hoping for one of them to be the ¡°Treasures Keep¡±, but I have a plan. The other day, my father, Sholventus gifted me this item, the ¡°Locatia. He told me that, if it enters 5 grottos, and finds the most valuable treasures in each one, it will reveal the way to Treasures Keep.¡± Keo explained. ¡°So, we just walk around for a bit and enter these grottos. Then we go in the big treasure grotto and snatch the artifact? Easy peasy!¡± Avi exclaimed. ¡°Hopefully, if nothing goes wrong, which I don¡¯t expect. The Gilded Groves are known to be highly peaceful, with not a single life lost in exploration, of its outer reaches.¡± Keo said.

    Rei stopped for a second and noticed a golden blade of grass. But before saying anything about it, he asked¡­ ¡°And what about the INNER reaches? Did everyone there make it out alive?¡± Rei questioned. ¡°We can¡¯t know, some knights who entered deeper into the groves, never returned, and the ones that did, couldn¡¯t remember a thing.¡± Keo answered ¡°Well, THAT¡¯S reassuring!¡± Rei said, frustratedly. ¡°Whoa, look at that!¡± Avi said, pointing at the golden fields in front of them. The fields looked like they were going on forever, with mountainous peaks visible in a great distance. Vines were hanging from many trees, the blades of grass were swaying in the cool breeze, and the sun was nestled in a blanket of clouds.

    <hr>

    ¡°And so¡­ Rei and co.¡¯s journey began. Will they be able to find all 7 artifacts in time? Or will Ardonous destroy all of existence? Only time will tell¡­¡±

    ¡°AHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!¡± The rifted storm has RIPPED AWAY at the dimensional fabric! What? What¡¯s this? I can feel something coming from the sword¡­ 3 Heroes have set out to stop me!? Nonsense! I shall dispose of them quickly with my Shaded Army. Using the excess life energy from the worthless individuals I ¡°freed¡± I can create an unimaginably powerful army! I won¡¯t even have to lay a finger on these ¡°heroes!¡± So¡­ search for these artifacts all you want, but your precious Avindor is as good as doomed! Ahahahahah¡­ AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Wow! Look at how these fields go on! We have a lot of work to do¡­¡± Avi said, trying to see as far as she could. The three began searching for the grottos together. ¡°So, how did you guys meet?¡± Rei asked. Avi began to talk but Keo cut her off. ¡°She just kinda¡­ blew into town one day, and I helped her settle in. She told me she was amnesiac and went on a looooong journey to try to remember her past.¡± Keo said. Avi put her hand on her hip. ¡°Yeah! I really don¡¯t know a thing about myself, I even came up with my own name as I couldn¡¯t remember a thing! Hopefully my old life wasn¡¯t TOO interesting, or I¡¯d be missing out on some pretty cool stuff!¡± Avi exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s crazy¡­ Hope you find out about your past soon.¡± Rei said.

    ¡°Say, do you have any way of defending yourself?¡± Keo said. Rei looked down at himself and noticed that he did not have a weapon. He was also still wearing a t-shirt, which was foreign attire in Avindor. ¡°Uhh, no?¡± Rei responded. Avi and Keo both sighed, but before deciding to turn back, Keo pulled a scroll from his pouch and looked at a map. ¡°Theres a blacksmith located in the only settlement in the gilded groves. Oh yeah, there¡¯s a settlement, I forgot to mention that, its not very developed, BUT it has shops and a place to stay, so we don¡¯t have to camp out every night.¡± Keo said. ¡°That¡¯s a relief!¡± Rei and Avi said in sync. ¡°But! We should go there and fetch a sword and some new clothes for Rei, Right!?¡± Avi asked. ¡°Yup. Now we need to go this way to reach the town. Its not too far from here¡± Keo said, pointing in a direction. The three went in that direction, and the town came into view shortly after.

    Rei, Avi, and Keo, entered the town. They were quickly greeted by an ambassador. ¡°Welcome to the Gilded Gateways! The gateway to all your Gilded Groves needs!¡± The ambassador said to them. ¡°Were looking for your blacksmith, and a clothing store.¡± Keo said. The ambassador pointed in two directions with both arms with a smile on his face. ¡°The blacksmith is that way¡­ and the clothing store is that-a-way. Happy trails!¡± The ambassador said. ¡°Lets go to the clothing store first, I need some clothes to fit in around here.¡± Rei said.

    The three entered the clothing store. With Rei and Keo entering first, and Avi following behind. ¡°Hi! Welcome! What are you two looking for?¡± The clerk said. ¡°Anything I can wear that looks normal around here.¡± Rei said. ¡°Hmm¡­ normal, normal, you aren¡¯t dressed normally. But I can fix that! Come this way!¡± The clerk lead Rei and Keo to a high-class clothing aisle, with Avi looking around for clothes for herself.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°So this¡­ is the ¡°Hero¡¯s Wit¡± a cloak of greatest desire. Ill let you take a look at it.¡± The clerk said, with a smirk on his face. The cloak was white, with a light blue trim. The inner part of the cloak was also blue. It had a triangular white collar, and also came with pants and boots. The pants were brown, and ever so slightly puffy, and the boots were a different shade of brown. Rei was impressed. ¡°Well take it!¡± He said. ¡°Great! Now that¡¯ll be 5000 Shin.¡± The clerk said, holding his hand out. ¡°F-f-five thousand what now?¡± Rei seemed puzzled, both by the high number and the strange currency. ¡°Shin, the currency of Avindor. And that¡¯s way too expensive, we only have 300 on us.¡± Keo said. ¡°Well sorry folks! Then I can¡¯t sell you this one, BUT¡­ I can sell you this!¡±

    The clerk presented a ragged, ripped cloak, that was stained with several substances. ¡°This, is the¡­ uhh¡­ ¡°Losers Wit!¡± same as the Hero¡¯s wit, just cheap! For only 250 Shin!¡± He said. Rei covered his nose, as the cloak smelled terrible. He backed way. ¡°Uhh, you sure you wanna buy that?¡± He said to Keo. The clerk butted in and said ¡°Of course you do! Its all you can afford and I¡¯m not gonna sell you high-class adventurers wear for such a low pr- oooooo LA LA¡± The clerk was wooed as Avi walked up to him. ¡°I found this cool dress that Ill probably never wear, and this swimsuit for when we inevitably go to the Starlight Tropics, how much are they together? Wait a minute, Rei! Why are you buying this!?¡± Avi questioned, surprised.

    Rei answered with. ¡°This bozo offered us this really cool attire and tried to charge us 5000 Shin.¡± Rei said. ¡°Y-you guys are t-together? Ill¡­ uh... give you the uh¡­ DEAL OF THE BEUTS!! 150 Shin! My only and final deal!¡± The clerk said, his face turning red. ¡°(S-shes just my type¡­)¡± The Clerk said under his lips. Avi approached him and bent forward. ¡°Just your type!? I¡¯m no ones girl! And how I look is no reason to drop a price! Say¡­ what are you looking at anyway? Up here, mister!¡± Avi said, as the clerk couldn¡¯t get his eyes off Avi¡¯s ches. Keo covered his eyes. ¡°(Good thing I didn¡¯t say anything about that last night, she seems kinda naughty when it comes to that stuff. And blissfully unaware.)¡± Rei thought to himself. He then reached into Keo¡¯s pouch, and took out 150 shin, without a second thought. He put the coins on the nearby till, took the high-class clothing, and left. ¡°W-wait up!¡± Keo said, stumbling behind him. They exited the store, leaving Avi behind to argue.

    ¡°Score! 5000 shin worth of clothing for just half¡­ our money. Oops.¡± Rei said. ¡°What were you thinking! You already had clothes, now we probably cant even afford a sword, and where the heck is Avi!?¡± Keo said, angrily. Rei shook his head. The two stood outside for nearly an hour, until Avi walked out the store, with an egregious amount of clothing, that she seemingly received for free. Her face was lit up red. The clerk put his head out the door and said ¡°Come back soon! I uh¡­ NEED MORE OF YOU!!!! AVI!!! MY WIIIIIIIIIFE!!!!!!¡± He yelled. Rei and Keo quickly realized what was happening, grabbed Avi, and ran away, with Avi somehow managing to carry all her new clothes.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ l-lets never go back there. Ever again.¡± Avi said nervously. ¡°Agreed¡± Keo said. Rei looked around and quickly found a sign pointing towards the blacksmith. ¡°Let¡¯s just get me a sword and be on our way¡­¡± Rei said. The three followed the sign to the blacksmith, and when they arrived Rei said ¡°Lets go in WITHOUT Avi, ok?¡± Keo responded with ¡°That seems like a good idea¡± he said, following Rei inside the building. Avi stood outside with her arms crossed in frustration.

    ¡°Need a weapon to defend yourself from the baddies!? Need to fend off the bad guys!?¡± The ¡°Blacksmith¡± said. ¡°Great, it¡¯s this guy again!¡± Rei said. ¡°Now, where is Avi, I wasn¡¯t done with her, I was about to give her even more ¡°free stuff!¡± The clerk said. ¡°Do you run every store in this town?¡± Keo asked. ¡°I am the only person left in this town; the others ran away for some stupid reason! Pfft! Losers!¡± The clerk responded. ¡°Ardonous must be behind this, but this guy still sucks here just take our shin we¡¯ll get out of your way.¡± Rei threw 100 Shin and grabbed the closest sword to him and ran out the store with Keo following behind. ¡°We need to go; it¡¯s the same guy, and he¡¯s not done with you.¡± Rei said to Avi. Avi quickly dashed without second thought and Rei and Keo followed her. They made it out of town and explained to her what was happening.

    ¡°So, the others were evacuating¡­ and that guy was just too stupid to leave?¡± Avi asked. ¡°Yup¡± Rei said. He unsheathed his new sword and examined it. ¡°Hey! This thing is rusted!¡± He said frustratingly. ¡°I was trying to tell you too look closer at what you were buying¡­ but then again, we had to get out of there. Whatever, it¡¯s a sword, it works.¡± Keo said. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we start looking for those grottos? Were all set now!¡± Avi asked. ¡°Yeah, we should, let¡¯s get moving.¡± The three started walking as Avi started thinking about where they were going to sleep at night.

    As the sun started to go down, the three continued on, in hopes of finding a grotto. ¡°Wow, this place sure is vast, you¡¯d think these things would be pretty common¡­¡± Avi said, looking around. Keo pointed at a grotto and spoke. ¡°They are common, just concealed, and your bad at looking at things closely, Avi.¡± ¡°Hey!!¡± Avi yelled back.

 Chapter 1-2: Gilded Encounters

    The three went over to the first grotto. They went down the vines into the underground and looked around. The golden vines turned green, and a peaceful, but small waterfall leading to a pond and river was nestled in the grotto. ¡°Wow, that looks incredible.¡± Rei Said. ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted guys, we¡¯re here for treasure, so the Locatia can help us find Treasures Keep, and the artifacts of course. This shouldn¡¯t be too bad, lets just take a look over by the water, this place can¡¯t be too big.¡± Keo said, as he walked over towards the pond.

    Rei and Avi followed behind. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this would be a bit harder, then, y¡¯know, just walking over to some water and reaching in? In everything I¡¯ve watched and played, the heroes always get messed up by something!¡± Rei said. Avi seemed puzzled. ¡°Watched, played? What do you mean? This really shouldn¡¯t be too bad and- ¡° Avi was cut off by Keo shrieking. ¡°Need a little help you two!¡± Keo yelled. Rei and Avi ran over to find a yellow furball that looked seemingly harmless.

    ¡°What is this, your pet? Haha!¡± Rei laughed. Keo backed away. Avi kneeled on the ground and tried to pet the creature. ¡°Do you wanna come home with me? You¡¯re so cute! Hehe!¡± Avi giggled. ¡°Back off you two, that¡¯s not pet, it¡¯s a monster.¡± Keo said, drawing his bow. ¡°Wait, you have a bow, I never noticed that, was I just blindsided by that?¡± Rei went on and on about not noticing Keo¡¯s bow while Avi explained¡­ ¡°Ok, I¡¯ve fought plenty of monsters in my life., and none of them looked like thi- WHAT THE!?¡±. Avi screamed. The ¡°monster¡± tripled in size, and grew sharp teeth, while green fuzz came out of its mouth. Rei and Avi drew their swords. ¡°Guess it¡¯s going to be my first time using a sword for real this time¡­¡± Rei said, focusing on the monster.

    ¡°If my studies are correct, that¡¯s a Tainted Furball. Yes, stupid name, I know. The guy who named it probably was lazy. This thing isn¡¯t really too powerful, just bash it with as many attacks as you can and it should go down.¡± Keo said, firing his bow. The creature was hit and flinched. Rei tried to jump forward and attack but tripped. Avi jumped towards it and pinned the creature with her sword and kicked it repeatedly. ¡°Don¡¯t wanna come home with me!? Well then ill just have to send you somewhere else!¡± The creature squealed as it shrunk back down. ¡°Ok, you should let it go now. It seems scared.¡± Keo said. Avi didn¡¯t stop kicking until she was pulled away by Rei.

    The creature gagged up a green crystal and stumbled away. ¡°Score!¡± Rei said, picking up the crystal. Avi seemed dumbfounded while Keo examined the crystal. ¡°This is the most ¡°precious¡± item in this grotto, not by a lot, its covered in slime, but its something. This place is pretty small so¡­¡± He placed the crystal in the Locatia, and the compass pointed north. ¡°Definitely the most valuable item in here, or this wouldn¡¯t be working.¡± Avi snapped out of her trance. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be get out of here, because if that ¡°thing¡± comes back, it¡¯s not gonna have a good time.¡± Avi said angrily. ¡°Yeah, lets get out of here.¡± The three walked towards the entrance to the grotto. They climbed up the vines and exited. ¡°One down, four to go¡± Rei said.

    The group had walked for about a few hours after getting the first treasure. They neared their destination. ¡°It¡¯s getting late. I¡¯m sleepy! Can we rest for the night?¡± Avi asked. Rei looked around and all he could see was a golden expanse of land. ¡°But where? Where are we going to sleep?¡± He said. ¡°Its likely better to keep moving, we can sleep in the next grotto, its probably dangerous out here at night.¡± Keo said, wearily. ¡°Is that it right there?¡± Avi said, after only taking a few steps. The three stepped forward to investigate, and indeed it was another grotto. ¡°Lets go in, snatch the treasure, and sleep for the night.¡±

    Instead of vines for an entrance, the entrance was a tunnel this time. ¡°Ugh! Rei can you move over!?¡± Avi said ¡°Why don¡¯t you move over!? The only reason we cant see anything is because of your b- uhh¡­ (What starts with a ¡°B¡± that doesn¡¯t relate to Avi¡¯s body¡­ hmmmm.)¡± Before he could finish his thought, the tunnel turned to a slope and the three slid down. With Avi falling first, and Rei falling on top of her. Keo landed on his feet nearby. ¡°Are you two, ok? That looked rough.¡± Keo asked. Avi struggled in place, trying to get up. ¡°I-If Rei gets off of me, I¡¯ll be ok!¡± She said. Rei got up to her request. ¡°Aww, the landing was quite cushioned, and it was super comfy. Welp, we should get moving.¡± Rei said, frustratingly, as he walked towards the wall. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s a dead end, and I don¡¯t see any other ways around in here.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Rei placed his hand on the wall, and it collapsed. Two tunnels were revealed. Rei was confused. ¡°Hmm, the Locatia is pointing in two different directions now, one for each tunnel. This grotto is probably going to save us some time. Lets split up. Ill go in the left tunnel, Avi will go in the right, and you¡¯ll stay behind for uhh¡­ emotional support?¡± Keo said, nearing the tunnel on the left. ¡°Me, alone in the dark?¡± Avi questioned fearfully. ¡°Who cares if you¡¯re in the dark, I¡¯m not staying behind, I¡¯m going with you!¡± Rei yelled. Before he could tell Keo he was going with Avi he was already deep in the tunnel. ¡°Let¡¯s hope he comes back with what were looking for. Cmon lets get this over with.¡± Avi said.

    As Avi and Rei walked through the tunnel, they noticed something. The tunnel was strangely lit ¡°Hey, there¡¯s no light around here anywhere, how come we can see so clearly?¡± Rei asked. The light was seemingly nonexistent, yet, everything was lit up. Avi looked at Rei. ¡°I don¡¯t really know¡­ but its helpful, so we should keep moving¡­¡± She said. Rei noticed Avi¡¯s eyes light up yellow for a split second. ¡°(Am I seeing things, or did her eyes just change color¡­? Huh, whatever, probably not important.)¡± Rei thought to himself. They reached the end of the tunnel, and the light dimmed, as the glowing vines in the open area brought back natural light. The treasure was sitting on a pedestal up ahead. Avi went and grabbed it without second thought. ¡°Hehe, its so sparkly!¡± She said, not noticing the giant, seething, monster with the watering mouth. (¡°He looks hungry, and he ALSO seems interested in Avi. We have something in common¡±). Rei thought to himself. ¡°Behind you.¡± He said to Avi. ¡°Uh oh.¡± She said. ¡°RUN!¡± The two said in sync. They ran through the tunnel and were chased by the monster. ¡°Pant, Pant, its catching up!¡± Avi yelled. The end of the tunnel was in sight, and Keo could be seen at the end, waving. Rei grabbed Avi¡¯s arm and sped up, dragging her across the floor. ¡°EEEEEEEEEK!!¡± She screamed in pain and fear. They made it out of the tunnel and Rei stopped in exhaustion as Avi dusted herself off.

    ¡°Did you get the treasure? I got mine.¡± Keo said. ¡°Not the time!¡± Avi drew her sword. Rei drew his. ¡°Be ready, its coming.¡± Rei said, drawing his rusty blade. Keo readied his bow. The monster made it through the tunnel and screeched. A green, spiky, grotesque beast with sharp teeth, stained with blood. Its body was see-through and countless bones and skulls could be seen. ¡°Oh¡­. So that¡¯s where they all went.¡± Keo said. ¡°No time for realization, lets beat this thing and get out of here!¡± Avi said. Running forwards and leaping at the monster.

    Keo fired his bow as Avi slashed at the monster, landing a couple hits. Rei stumbled forward and hit the enemy. The monster screeched with so much force, that it knocked Avi off it, who was practically glued to it, swinging her sword repeatedly into its head. She was stunned. Keo stepped in front of Avi and fired his bow at the monster, it went right into its mouth and hit a red tooth. ¡°That one isn¡¯t blood, that¡¯s our target, a weak point.¡± Rei ran forward and tossed his sword into the creatures mouth. It hit the tooth and the creature was hurt. It fell down on the ground and swallowed the sword. ¡°Why did I do that.¡± Rei shook his head frustratingly. He backed off and ran for the exit. ¡°Ill meet you guys out here, its almost dead! (I think).¡± Rei yelled. ¡°Ugh, coward! Whatever, lets finish this thing!¡± Avi dodged and weaved and repeatedly hit the red tooth in the creatures mouth. It chomped at her as she swung towards its mouth. ¡°Nuh uh! This girl is off the menu!¡± She said, teasing the monster. ¡°Avi, watch out!¡± The monster chomped forward and Avi quickly got away.

    The monster looked very weak, but its body was flashing a red color and began coughing up blood. ¡°He looks REALLY angry¡± Avi said. ¡°Keo fired several shots at the monsters red tooth. It fell to the ground, died, and disintegrated, and left behind another treasure. ¡°Phew¡­ Ok, Avi grab that, and lets get out of here. We only need one more now. This cave was a doozy. Surprisingly, my studies were wrong, there can be more than one treasure in a grotto.¡± Avi was poking at the crystal. ¡°Just pick it up!¡± Keo said. ¡°B-But, its all icky and slimy!¡± Avi said, grossed out. ¡°Pick it up, ill meet you outside.¡± Keo said, sternly. ¡°Ugh, ok!¡± Avi picked up the crystal as it slid around her hands. ¡°Icky, slimy, GROSS!¡± She said. Avi mumbled to herself in disgust as she went up the tunnel that they entered in.

 Chapter 1-3: A Shaded Encounter

    Avi handed the crystal to Keo and then quickly put her hands onto the grass and rubbed them vigorously. ¡°So we only need one more, shouldn¡¯t be too bad.¡± Rei said. Keo put the new crystals into the Locatia and waited for it to bind itself. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t. ¡°Hmm, it should be pointing to the next grotto¡­ I guess we¡¯ll just have to search for it¡­¡± Keo said. The three kept walking, and slowly but surely became sluggish. After a while, they fell asleep. Rei woke up the next morning in confusion. ¡°Wha¡­ What happened.¡±

    Rei tried to wake Avi up, but she was sleeping like a rock and wouldn¡¯t budge. He tried Keo instead. ¡°Wake up Keo. We passed out last night, we can¡¯t stay here.¡± Rei said. Keo sat up and looked at Rei. ¡°Did we seriously pass out?¡± He said, standing up onto his feet. ¡°Yeah, we did.¡± Rei answered. ¡°What are you two guys whining about...? Ugh, where are we? This isn¡¯t a bed!¡± Avi looked frustrated as she was rudely awakened. ¡°Snap out of it, Avi. We must get going.¡± Keo said. Avi stood up and looked around. The golden expanse seemed to still last forever. ¡°Are we lost?¡± She asked. ¡°I sure hope not.¡± Rei answered. ¡°We are, the Locatia is broken.¡± Keo said. ¡°WHAT!?¡± Avi and Rei responded.

    ¡°Just calm down, we¡¯ll find our way around.¡± Keo said, trying to calm down Rei and Avi. ¡°Find our way around? Were in the middle of nowhere!¡± Rei said. The two noticed Avi on the floor whimpering and ignored her. ¡°You think we should look around for a settlement?¡± Rei asked. ¡°It would be a waste, there aren¡¯t any nearby, I would kno-¡° Before Keo could finish his sentence, Avi ran up to him, grabbed the Locatia, and threw it onto the ground. ¡°Avi! What are you doing! Keo yelled. Avi didn¡¯t answer him. She proceeded to forcefully stomp on the Locatia and shattered it to pieces.

    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ The Locatia shouldn¡¯t be able to break, did someone take the real one and leave the crystals behind?¡± Keo was confused. Avi looked at the shattered compass on the ground, and picked up the crystals. ¡°Four, four¡­ FOUR!! WE NEED FIVE!!!¡± Avi seemed very aggravated. Suddenly the shards of the broken compass gravitated towards each other and merged. It rebuilt itself and grew a fifth crystal inside of it. ¡°Did I do that?¡± Avi asked. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t know it could do that¡­ So it is the real one, how did you manage to break that Avi?¡± Keo asked, as he took the Locatia from her. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know, but it seems to be pointing towards our final destination.¡± She said. ¡°Indeed it is." Keo replied. Rei looked in the direction of where the compass was pointing. A barely visible path could be seen indented into the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s get going, guys, I have a feeling this wont be easy.¡± Rei said. Keo and Avi followed Rei as they walked towards the final grotto¡­

    ¡°Well, here we are!¡± Avi said excitedly. She looked into the entrance to the grotto. ¡°Gosh¡­ that looks pretty deep¡­¡± She said. ¡°Well what did you expect? If were looking for a legendary treasure, of course it would be deep underground, at least, that¡¯s how it was usually in all that media¡­¡± Rei said. Keo grabbed a vine and began to enter the grotto. ¡°Well, no time to waste, let¡¯s get moving.¡± He said. Avi and Rei followed nervously.

    The group made it to the bottom of the tunnel. A vast expanse of golden grass foliage could be seen around them. The cave walls were sparkling with tiny brown crystals while a purple light could be seen from across a path. ¡°This place looks like it goes on for a while.¡± Rei said. ¡°Guess we should get moving, no time to waste.¡± Keo said, speeding up again. ¡°W-wait up!¡± Avi said, following behind. Rei followed nervously.

    ¡­

    ¡°Is it just me¡­ or.. is this place getting on your nerves. Weve been walking down this path for a while now and nothings jumped out at us¡­ Wait¡­ what¡¯s that!?¡± Avi said, slowing down, looking at a floating crystal on a pedestal up ahead. ¡°Whoa! Look at that sword too!¡± Rei said. A rugged sword could be seen in a stone up ahead near the artifact. He slowly walked towards it, while Avi and Keo caught up behind him.

    Rei got distracted by the sword and went to grab it. He successfully lifted the sword. ¡°Not Excalibur, huh?¡± He said to himself. Rei went on with¡­ ¡°Now all we need to do is snatch the crystal and¡­ huh!?¡± A shadowy hand with sharp nails took the crystal from the pedestal as Rei tried to grab it. ¡°Uhhh¡­ guys? He¡¯s not invited¡­ is he?¡± Rei continued. Keo stepped forward carefully. ¡°No, he¡¯s not, be on guard.¡± Avi drew her blade and stood beside Rei. (¡°Too Close!!¡±) Rei thought to himself. The shadowy figure appeared once again from the darkness of the cavern. Four smaller creatures could be seen behind it. Keo quickly looked at his scrolls. ¡°Ah! These are Shades! Manifestations of Ardonous¡¯ hatred for all life. Their main goal is to stop the heroes (us) in finding the artifacts. They also may assist him in his other ¡°missions¡±. He said.

    The main, larger shade began to speak in a sinister voice. ¡°GREETINGS. IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU THREE. I WAS INSTRUCTED BY LORD ARDONOUS TO CONSUME THIS ARTIFACT, AND USE IT TO DESTROY THE HEROES OF PROPHECY. DO NOT WORRY. I WILL MAKE THIS QUICK.¡± The shade finished its speech. It put the artifact inside its body as its light faded. The four shades behind it lined up beside the main shade. Keo readied his bow ¡°Get ready, this will be tough.¡± Avi unsheathed her sword and Rei fumbled with the sword he just pulled from the stone, getting it in the right position in his hands.

    The shade shrieked as Avi ran towards it to try to attack it. Rei and Keo jumped out of the way as the four smaller shades tried to attack them. Keo fired his arrows as the shades and noticed them going right through. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± He looked over to Rei was was running franticly. He tripped and dropped his sword onto one of the shades. It cut through the shade as it imploded into a purple light. Its excess energy was absorbed by the main shade. ¡°Wow! This thing is pretty cool!¡± Rei said. Keo noticed something. ¡°It seems that your sword may be able to hit these shades with much strength, while my bow ¡­cant.¡± He said. Avi was fending off two smaller shades as the larger, main shade watched them fight. ¡°Hey! Mine works, too! Not as much as yours but- It works!¡± Avi said, swinging her sword repeatedly, out of breath.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Rei jumped in a made quick work of the the two shades she was fighting. ¡°Gee, thanks¡­¡± Avi said frustrated. ¡°You know I was handling them, heh¡­ fine!¡± She said, out of breath. The remaining shade was distracted by Keo¡¯s arrows and Rei killed the it. All four shades energy were absorbed by the main shade. It grew in size and manifested a few tentacles. A sinister purple lightning could be seen inside of it. ¡°Its corrupting the artifact!¡± Rei yelled. Keo quickly looked at one of his scrolls. ¡°Indeed it is¡­ this must be Shardonaur, Treasures Bane. I read about this one. It is indeed one of Ardonous Shades, and it seems it has been waiting for us for quite a while. We cant let it have that artifact for too long, or it will be lost for good¡­ and you know what that means¡­¡± Keo read. Avi looked frightened ¡°The world would end, and there would be nothing we can do about it.¡± Rei became frustrated ¡°Guys! Instead of stalling, lets kill this thing!¡±.

    The three had somehow managed to fight in sync without any coordination. Keo fired his arrows, distracting Shardonaur, and then Rei and Avi attacked it. ¡°I HAVE MEMORIZED YOUR PATTERNS. QUIT IT.¡± Shardonaur said. It grabbed Keo with one of its tentacles, and Avi quickly cut it. The tentacle quickly receded into the shades body. It screeched in pain.

    ¡°Looks like we need to destroy those tentacles, and then we can attack the main body!¡± Rei said, attacking the shade. ¡°It seems that way! Alright¡­ TAKE THIS!!!¡± Avi said, as she attacked the shade. Flurries of attacks were release from both sides, with Rei¡¯s group dodging most attacks, and landing some of their hits. The successfully managed to destroy the other tentacles. ¡°It weak! Now¡¯s our chance!¡± Rei yelled. Rei and Avi ran forward and attacked until they were knocked back by a shockwave. ¡°Ugh, as expected¡­¡± Rei said, frustratedly. ¡°How did you kno-¡° Avi responded but was cut off. ¡°Three times, we did it once, so two more times.¡± Rei said. The creature grew back its tentacles. ¡°Smart thinking, and hey! My arrows work now! Now we can really work as a team! The group fought off the tentacles once again and attacked the main body. They repeated this once more. ¡°SO CLOSE!!¡± Rei yelled. The three sprinted towards the shaded beast. Avi and Rei jumped forward and pinned to creature with their swords, while Keo fired several arrows.

    ¡°EX-EXCELLENT. YOU HAVE W-WON, HEROES. THE ARTIFACT HAS SHOWN ME LIGHT. ARDONOUS CANNOT SUCCED IN HIS PLAN. S A V E T H I S W O R L D .¡± Shardonaur imploded into a large purple and yellow puff of light and smoke. Electricity noises could be heard as the shades body disintegrated. The artifact fell to the ground and make a clink sound upon hitting the ground. ¡°Phew¡­ we did it¡­¡± Avi said. The artifact was lifted into the air and started floating.

    A faint light appeared and a golden figure manifested into the grotto. ¡°Greetings. I am Avnoirna, one of the sages of light. I have waited long for your arrival. two trillion, five-hundred forty six billion, ninety million, two hundred seven thousand, one hundred eleven years.¡± The sage said. ¡°That¡¯s a long time.¡± Rei said. Avi was sitting on the floor in a relaxed posture, while Keo was taking notes on an empty scroll. Rei simply listened. ¡°We were told by the goddess that an unknown being would threaten this world, and attempt to purge it with darkness. Alas¡­ if the Goddess could sustain her power for eons, then she could easily destroy this dark figure without lifting a wing¡­ but, like everything else¡­ The goddess aged. While having an infinite lifetime, her power would slowly weaken, until she fell into a dormant state. Instead of waiting for the world to be destroyed, she created seven hollow crystals and imbued her power of Ancient Light into them. She hid them across Avindor in seven secret locations. She knew that she couldn¡¯t sustain her own power, but if she kept them in the hollow crystals¡­ it would last. She signaled to us that four a hero of prophecy would collect all seven hollow crystals, and use the Goddesses stored power to banish the blight. These crystals came to be known as the Artifacts of Time-Space by us sages. My power is fading, I must return to her¡­ as her dormancy precedes greater dangers¡­ please, take this artifact, and save this world¡­¡± The sage disappeared, and the artifact levitated in the air.

    Rei went up to grab the artifact, with Avi and Keo standing next to him. Rei held his hands out and the artifact gravitated to him. Rei held the artifact in the air in excitement. Avi held up her arm in excitement as Keo fumbled through his pouch of scrolls.

    ¡°WE GOT AN ARTIFACT OF TIME-SPACE!!¡±

    ¡°Wow! What a day that¡¯s a lot of information to take in¡­ Lets go home and take a rest, I¡¯m all sleepy now!¡± Avi said gleefully. ¡°Yes. Rest would be well appreciated right now.¡± Keo responded. Rei followed behind them as they returned to Avindors Wake.

    So, our heroes had collected the first artifact! There were still six to go, and the traps of the vile Ardonous awaited around every corner. This is just the beginning of their journey, and the group must stay vigilant. They do not have all the time in the world¡­

    ¡°WHAT!?¡± Spat Ardonous. ¡°Yes, one of our generals was defeated by the heroes. Most importantly that one in blue.¡± A powerful looking shade said. It was cloaked in dark smoke and dust. ¡°So¡­ they are the hero of the prophecy after all¡­ We are going to need a plan for this one¡­¡± Ardonous said. ¡°I will dispose of them.¡± The powerful looking shade said. ¡°No, Avshordus, your time has not come yet to fight the hero¡­ instead¡­ I will send, something new¡­¡± I have manifested a new shade that is able to turn any creature into a vicious beast. This power will make any thing that stands up to it, be destroyed in an instant.¡± Ardonous described his plan. ¡°Go! Get out of here! Keep watching this ¡°Hero¡± and his group!¡± Ardonous commanded. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Avshordus said, teleporting away. ¡°So you dare defy the prophecy¡­? Well, you best not let up, as your worlds time runs out¡­ Ahahahahaha AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

    ¡°I remember that day well. The breeze was cool, the sun was shining directly on us, yet not an ounce of heat could be felt.¡± ¡°You fell from the cliffside, are you hurt?¡± ¡°Why are you asking me? You are of the Kingdom of Darkness, correct? I can tell by your attire.¡± ¡°Yes, and you must be of the Tribe of Light.¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Why are you following me?¡± You saved my life, and you just left? Anyone that sees and injured soul and helps them must be kind!¡± ¡°Hm¡± Tell me more about yourself then, Amani.¡±

    ¡°That day¡­ that was the day our tragedy was set in motion¡­¡±

 Intermission #1: The Next Destination

    The group walked all the way back to Avindors Wake. They entered the front gate of the castle town. The sun was starting to go down, and the citizens of the town were returning to their homes. Rei looked towards the evening sky. ¡°Its getting dark¡­ we should take a rest, we have a lot of work to do¡­¡± He said. ¡°Yes, we do¡­ in fact, it may be more work than anyone else has done¡­¡± Avi responded. ¡°I will begin researching our next destination. I already have a lead on where we will probably need to go.¡± Keo said. ¡°Ok, great.¡± Rei responded. As the three walked back home through the town, the sun continued to go down.

    Rei looked up at the sky once again. ¡°Hey, is it just me¡­ or, do you feel something shaking?¡± He said. Beneath him, on the ground, as small quake had shaken the entire area. ¡°Look at that¡­¡± The hole in the sky was also shaking. Its area began expanding. Shortly after, it stopped expanding. Some clouds formed around it, with small flashes of lightning appearing inside the clouds. A quiet rumble of thunder could be heard. ¡°We also don¡¯t have all the time in the world, lets get moving¡­ the Storm has gotten larger¡­¡± Avi said.

    The three entered their home as the sun went down. ¡°I¡¯m going to start studying for the location of the next artifact immediately, I already have some leads.¡± Keo stated, going into his room and locking the door. ¡°Don¡¯t be up all night, silly!¡± Avi yelled to Keo. No response. Rei started walking over to Avi¡¯s room. ¡°Going to bed already?¡± She said. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m yawn pretty tired after all that fighting. Lets get some rest, I have a feeling we¡¯ll be back on our feet tomorrow.¡± Rei went into Avi¡¯s room, with Avi following behind him.

    Rei immediately got into bed. ¡°No sink, cant wash my hands, guess I¡¯ll just go to bed¡­¡± ¡°Night, Rei! I¡¯ll wake you up nice and early tomorrow, ok?¡± Avi stood in her bathroom, changing her clothes behind a closed door. ¡°Ugh, whatever you have planned, just let me sleep for a decent amount of time. I can¡¯t fight when I¡¯m tired.¡±

    Rei quickly fell asleep, with Avi coming to bed soon after. She also fell asleep pretty quickly. ¡°Wake up! Ugh¡­ wake up! Oh, there we go¡­ you were sleeping like a rock¡­ Keo has picked out our next destination. We should be leaving soon, lets grab something to eat, pack some supplies, and get going.¡± Avi bossed Rei out of bed. Rei walked over to the bathroom on the creaking floorboards. He went into the bathroom to and shut the door.

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    ¡°Is it just me, or is Rei taking FOREVER in there?¡± Avi questioned. Avi knocked on the bathroom door, about an hour later. No response. She knocked again. No response. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m going to open this door now¡­¡± Avi opened the bathroom door to find Rei sleeping on the floor. ¡°WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!¡± Avi yelled. Rei didn¡¯t wake up. She kicked Rei and kept yelling. ¡°Wha¡­ huh¡­ oh, hi Avi, yeah, I know, lets get going, blah blah blah¡­¡± Rei responded, crawling out of the bathroom.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, Keo has the artifact held in a safe place in his room, once we find a better location, we will relocate it.¡± Said Avi. ¡°You sure no one will steel it?¡± Asked Rei. ¡°I hope not.¡± Avi replied. Rei continued crawling and eventually stood up. ¡°Good, I guess I don¡¯t have to drag you.¡± Avi said.

    The two met Keo in the main room. ¡°The next location we are going to explore is the Cortex Marshes. There are no known settlements there, but there are many diverse flora and fauna species. There are a few things that piqued my interest about this place though¡­ One; This area HAS been explored by my fathers knights, and they all returned safely. Strangely, a majority of them came back with some minor headaches, as well as an increased rate of talking. That brings me to number two; In the name ¡°Cortex Marshes¡±, this place is very unique in the way its environment and wildlife sustain itself. The entire ecology of the area is similar to human brain function. I don¡¯t feel like this will impede us in any way, as the things I read didn¡¯t relate this to the artifact in any way, it¡¯s still something to be aware of. One more thing; there IS an artifact here, so Ardonous¡¯ henchmen might be lurking.¡±

    Keo looked at Avi, to make sure she was listening. ¡°Why me? Shouldn¡¯t you be looking at Rei?¡± She said. Rei simply gave a thumbs up and said ¡°Lets get going, Oh and, I hope my brain still functions properly after this, I value my memory.¡± Rei walked out the front door, and left it open behind him. ¡°W-wait up!¡± Avi swiftly followed Rei, with Keo grabbing his pouch and following behind. The three walked towards the exit of Avindors¡¯ Wake. ¡°So, how do we get to this place anyway?¡± Rei asked. ¡°Well, the gilded groves were directly northwest of town. If we stop about halfway in the same direction, and go east, we should find the Cortex Marshes.¡± Keo gave Rei and Avi the directions for their next location, as they exited the town.

    It was still morning, and the sun was rising high in the sky. Birds were chirping, and unfamiliar creatures were roaming the fields. Rei, Keo, and Avi looked at their surroundings as they cleared the fields. The three didn¡¯t say much to each other as they walked. Rei had a frustrating look on his face. ¡°Sleepy?¡± Avi said to him. No response. Avi put a dull look on her face. Keo looked ahead; ¡°Here we are, the Cortex Marshes. Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter 2-1: Creatures and Clues

    A large swath of orange grass and murky swampland was ahead of the group. Fish-like creatures could be seen jumping out of the water. Frog-like creatures were also seen hopping around. Some were standing on two legs and walking like humans. Some creatures had clear heads, and their brains were visible. The brains inside their heads were beating like a heart.

    ¡°Eugh¡­ why does it pulsate like that?¡± Avi was disgusted by the creatures beating brain. This one was walking on two legs. It walked up to Avi. ¡°G-get away! You thing!¡± The creature licked Avi. ¡°WHY!?!?! We just got here, and the first thing that happens is I get licked!? My luck these days¡­ well, I don¡¯t remember any older days so, uh, just today.¡± The creature then waddled away.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to her¡­¡± Keo said, trying to refocus on the already lost objective. ¡°Hey!!¡± Said Avi, angrily. ¡°We should really get moving. We have an artifact to find.¡± Said Rei. Rei walked forwards in the same general direction, with Keo following, but reading his scrolls. Avi was skipping behind them, with a gleeful smile on her face. ¡°Idiot¡­¡± Said Rei under his breath, looking back at her.

    ¡°So uh, where are we even supposed to go, this is just a big swamp, with these uh¡­ things walking around.¡± Rei questioned. All that he could see ahead of him was more and more swampland. ¡°We should look for some clues, if an artifact is here, there must be hints on where it is hidden. Leave no stone unturned.¡± Keo directed the group to look for clues.

    Avi sat down on the floor and picked up a rock. She put it down back on the ground. She had a smile on her face. ¡°What is she, 5? Look at that stupid smile¡­,¡± said Rei. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m looking for clues!!!¡± Avi yelled back to Rei. ¡°I did say leave no stone unturned, look at this.¡± Keo walked over to Rei and Avi and showed them something. ¡°I found this strangely shaped pebble under a rock.¡±

    ¡°Why you!!¡± Avi whined. ¡°Avi, cut it out, I know you¡¯re frustrated, if you need a reminder on why were here, look up at the sky.¡± Said Keo. Avi looked at the sky. ¡°Yeah¡­ uh¡­ orange! Oh¡­ the storm¡­ yeah, ok, I get it, I¡¯ll try to stay focused. Almost forgot the world was ending¡­ heh!¡± Avi shrugged, with a smile on her face.

    Keo handed the pebble he found to Rei. Rei felt the pebble. ¡°Ew¡­ its bumpy, and slimy¡­¡± He said. Rei held it up to his eye. The sun briefly shined on the pebble. Upon the sunlight shining on it, it was made visible that the pebble was actually brown. ¡°It¡¯s brown, not grey, does that mean anything Keo?¡± Rei asked. ¡°We don¡¯t know much yet, all I can say is it might be related to the ecology here, and the brain.

    The three began walking again but were soon stopped by some murky water. Several swimming creatures were going about their lives, and a large, more dangerous swimming creature, could be seen deeper in the water. Avi looked straight at its beaming yellow eyes. ¡°We have GOT to find another way around this, right?¡± She asked. Avi looked to the left. More water. She looked to the right. Even more water. Rei stepped into the water. ¡°You guys can swim right?¡± He asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± Said Keo. ¡°Mhm.¡± responded Avi. ¡°Just swim fast, so that big guy doesn¡¯t attack us.¡±

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    The three began swimming. Avi swam significantly faster than Rei and Keo. Rei tried to catch up while Keo swam slowly, but kept his eye out for the large creature. ¡°Uh¡­ guys¡­? I think it found us¡­ already.¡± Keo said. The large creature jumped out of the water, and nearly ate Avi. ¡°WHAT!!?!? WHY!?!?! I AM NOT YOUR DINNER, YOU STUPID THING!! I tried to swim away as fast as possible so you didn¡¯t try to eat me! I prooomise I don¡¯t taste good, you fiend!¡± Avi yelled nonsense while Rei dove underwater and pursued the enemy.

    ¡°(That¡¯s one big guy¡­ lets hope he¡¯s not too hungry¡­)¡± Rei thought to himself, readying his blade. He could see Keo swimming nearby. Avi could be seen floating at the top of the water, her terrified face could be barely made out through the water. Rei dived further down. He held his blade up, and attacked the fish-like creature. A small cut was made visible by this attack.

    Keo swam up close and shot some arrows at the enemy. ¡°(Are those arrows hydrodynamic¡­? Because they didn¡¯t get stopped by the water¡­ whatever¡­ we¡¯ve got a boss to fight!)¡± Rei continued attacking the enemy, cutting it several times. Keo shot arrows in the places that Rei cut, dealing significant damage.

    The creature grew angry, and knocked Keo¡¯s bow out of his hand. Keo went swimming after his bow, while the enemy went after his bow as well. Rei followed behind, jabbing the enemy. He grabbed onto the enemies¡¯ back and began riding it. He kept jabbing with his sword. It reached Keo¡¯s bow and swallowed whole. Keo was dumfounded. He swam up to the surface of the water while Rei kept fighting.

    ¡°(You two are leaving me to fight alone, huh¡­ oh well.)¡± Rei kept attacking the creature. His attacks went over the already cut areas, causing it significant pain. The enemy turned around and swallowed Rei¡¯s blade. ¡°(Crap. There goes a perfectly good sword, a good one too.)¡± Rei swam up to the top of the water, with the fish chasing him. He reached the surface and explained the situation.

    ¡°Avi¡­ you¡¯re the only one with a sword, go down there and fight that thing! HE ATE OUR WEAPONS!! WE CANT FIGHT!!¡± Rei yelled. Keo stayed afloat in disbelief. ¡°Ugh¡­ do I have to..?¡± complained Avi. ¡°Yes.¡± The other two said to her. ¡°Ok, whatever, let me show you how its done.¡± Avi dove underwater, and charged toward the enemy. Upon reaching it, it grabbed Avi in its mouth. ¡°(Do I really look that much more appetizing than the other two¡­? Ugh¡­ Let me go!!!!)¡± The injured creature flung and tossed Avi around in its mouth like a toy. She became extremely dizzy. Rei and Keo could see what was happening from above.

    ¡°That thing is going to kill her! What do we do!? She¡¯s helpless! For once¡­ Avi is helpless!!¡± Before Rei could say another word, a bright light golden light appeared underwater. The enemy exploded into guts and blood. Avi floated back up to the surface, along with Rei and Keo¡¯s weapons, which were recovered. ¡°Get her to the other side, quick!!¡± Yelled Keo. The two pushed Avi across the water, and laid her out on the grass. Rei began pumping her chest. Eventually, she coughed up a ton of murky water.

    Avi sat up and smiled. ¡°Y-you guys saved me¡­ Oh¡­ what would I ever do without you guys¡­¡± She said. ¡°No, you saved us. With that strange magic of yours.¡± Rei hugged Avi. ¡°M-Magic¡­?¡± Avi was unaware of the beaming light she created. Keo looked at the two hugging with a smile. ¡°(Looks like they warmed up to each other¡­ and it seems Rei has less of a¡­ dirty mind¡­ than he did previously.)¡±

    Rei helped Avi up and pointed in a direction of what looked like a cave. ¡°We should get going, I think we might find some clues in there.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, l-lets go!!¡± Avi responded. The three walked towards the cave.

 Chapter 2-2 Cortexial Caverns

    Avi¡¯s life was miraculously saved by some sort of mysterious power. But where did it come from? Is she hiding anything? The three, blissfully unaware of the secrets that lay within, hiked towards the cave, hoping to swiftly find the artifact.

    ¡°It looks pretty damp in there¡­¡± Rei said, looking inside the caves entrance. Old structures were visible, as well as goop dripping from the ceiling. Small ponds of orange water were flowing about the cavern. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Keo said, entering the cave. ¡°It smells in here¡­ real bad.¡± Avi could smell the environment. It did indeed smell very bad.

    The more the group walked in the cave, the more it opened, and the darker it became. ¡°Anybody have a light?¡± Rei asked. Keo pulled out a candle from his pouch and lit it. ¡°This will have to do.¡± He said. ¡°It works!¡± Avi responded. The three went deeper into the cave, with the torch guiding them.

    The inner part of the gave was extremely moist. The walls were covered in viscous goop. Keo felt the wall. ¡°Why are you touching that!?¡± Rei was confused. ¡°Hold on¡­ I can feel something behind here. You two, clean up this wall.¡± ¡°Sure, whatever¡­¡± Avi and Rei began to clean off the wall with their bare hands. Avi purposely only used her palms, as her fingerless gloves were covering them.

    ¡°So¡­ what is that anyway¡­?¡± Rei and the group finished wiping the wall. ¡°It looks like¡­ neural pathways?¡± Keo said. Several bumpy lines could be seen traveling across the newly revealed wall. ¡°Is this some kind of map?¡± Avi asked. ¡°It could be.¡± Keo said back to her.

    ¡°Well then¡­ that means this cave is shaped like the interior of a brain¡­ yuck¡­¡± Avi said. ¡°Why be grossed out about something that¡¯s inside you¡­?¡± Keo said back to her. ¡°Quiet!!¡± Avi was disgusted. Keo looked at the map on the wall, and looked at it like a maze. Most paths seemed to lead to dead-ends, while one longer path seemed to lead to ¡­something else. ¡°It¡¯s just some sort of marking¡­¡± Keo said. ¡°Still, that looks like our destination, lets go.¡± Rei said, getting a move on.

    ¡°Hey, Keo, what are you scribbling?¡± Asked Avi. Keo seemed to be copying the map that was on the wall as they traveled. ¡°I¡¯d rather not get lost here, so I¡¯m keeping track of where we came from.¡± ¡°Oh, Ok! Great!¡± Avi said to Keo. The tunnel was dark and damp and narrow. A putrid smell filled the area. ¡°O¡­oowwww My head¡­¡± Rei felt a sharp pain in his head for a couple seconds. ¡°You ok?¡± Keo asked. ¡°Yeah¡­ just keep a look out, I feel like we¡¯re not alone¡­¡±

    The corridor grew ever moister. The group kept slipping and sliding around. Luckily, the cramped walls kept them from falling. ¡°Hey, did you hear something?¡± Rei asked. What sounded like squishy footsteps could be heard from behind. Rei looked back. He saw nothing. ¡°Lets uhh¡­ go a little faster¡­¡± The group began walking quickly.

    Soon enough, the footsteps grew louder, and louder, and louder. Eventually, an unknown entity showed itself. A creature with a pill shaped body, stubby legs and feet, as well as stubby legs and hands. It¡¯s head was not transparent, but its veins were very bulgy. Blood could be seen pulsating throughout its body. It followed Rei¡¯s group, but did not attack.

    ¡°That¡­ thing¡­ is he dangerous?¡± Asked Avi. ¡°I think it lives here, and were in its way, lets just keep walking, were probably both trying to get out of here.¡± Keo said. Rei and Avi ran up ahead in fear as Keo sped up behind them. The pulsating creature kept waddling in the same direction.

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    The group reached an opening in the cave and entered it. They quickly hid to make sure they weren¡¯t seen when the creature exited the cave. ¡°Owie! My h-head!!¡± Whined Avi, in pain. Before she knew it. The creature was standing behind her, standing perfectly still. Whenever the creature pulsated, Avi felt pain in her head. The creature walked over to Rei. The same thing happened to him. Same for Keo too. All three of them all had a headache now.

    ¡°I-I think that¡¯s just a safety mechanism¡­ I¡¯m sure it means no harm!¡± Keo was confused, but still hopeful that the creature wasn¡¯t dangerous. The three kept moving. ¡°I feel like my head is 5 steps behind me! O-ow¡­¡± Rei became lightheaded. The creature could be seen stalking them. ¡°Uhh¡­ you sure this isn¡¯t how they, y¡¯know, subdue their prey, before they¡­ eat them?¡± Avi asked. ¡°You¡¯re right. All I can say is. Run.¡±

    The group ran from the creature as it opened its mouth and started shooting balls of goop. ¡°I¡¯m not your meal!!! How many things are going to try to eat me!!¡± Avi yelled. ¡°Quiet Avi! It¡¯s trying to eat us too! Just RUN!¡± Keo responded. Rei, Avi, and Keo, jumped and dodged attacks from the enemy. They could visibly see an exit from the cave, a green light could be seen from the other side. They passed through and found themselves a different kind of cavern.

    A spine like structure could be seen sticking out of the wall. Part of it collapsed it blocked the way the group entered the room. Screeching could be heard from the other side. Several eyes lit up all across the room. ¡°Uh¡­ I think we found its family¡­ and they¡¯re all hungry¡­ did we come at a bad time?¡± Rei readied his weapon. Keo drew his bow and Avi grabbed her sword. ¡°I really don¡¯t wanna have to kill these guys, as they are a part of the environment, but¡­ If we die here, the world would end¡­ Lets just try to injure them and stun them, without killing them. Ill look for a way out, you two fight. Said Keo. He ran off and started looking for a way out.

    Rei and Avi started attacking the creatures, making sure not to hit them with the sharp part of their blades. ¡°Alright!! Get these guys out of my way¡± Avi spun her sword in circles, smiling, while Rei fended off a couple enemies. As the creatures became injured, more appeared. ¡°That one¡­ looks bigger¡­,¡± said a fearful Avi. The larger creature signaled the other smaller ones to flee and charged towards Rei and Avi. ¡°AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!¡± They yelled. ¡°Over here! I found a way out!¡± Keo found a way out of the den. Rei and Avi ran towards the newly found exit, with the large enemy in pursuit.

    ¡°Ha¡­ hah¡­.. so¡­. Exhausted¡­.¡± Rei was almost out of energy. ¡°Just a little further!!¡± Avi cried. Keo went through the exit and waved his arm in his general direction. Rei followed behind him. Avi slipped and fell near the exit. ¡°N-No!¡± Avi looked back and saw the vicious, extremely hungry creature. She quickly got up a ran through the exit. ¡°GetitawayGetitaway!!!!!!¡± She yelled, kicking the wall, causing a large amount of debris to fall on the creatures head. This also blocked the exit.

    The creature could be heard falling and hitting the ground on the other side of the blockade. ¡°I think we made it¡­ and there¡¯s the exit¡­ we did it!!¡± Rei walked outside and was greeted by pink and purple grass, with an orange undertone. Keo and Avi followed behind. ¡°Uh¡­ look behind... you¡­¡± Said Avi. The blockade started to be destroyed. The group watched in anticipation, expecting the creature to emerge. Instead, a large dark ball emerged through the crack and attacked Rei. ¡°Gah! Hold this thing off!¡± Avi tried to attack it. No effect. Keo shot some arrows at it. No effect. Rei swung his sword at it, and it flew away. ¡°That seemed to do the trick. But what about the other guy.¡±

    The creature from inside the cave was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Looks like it went back inside the cavern, phew. But¡­ now we have to watch out for this¡­ ball thing.¡± Rei said. ¡°This enemy¡¯s color looks similar to that of Shardonaurs''. I had a feeling Ardonous would be trying to stop us.¡± Keo said. Rei looked ahead at the open fields and said, ¡°No time to lose, If that thing shows up, will show it who¡¯s boss.¡± The group walked through the colorful fields, hoping to find more clues. They knew they were going in the right direction.

 Chapter 2-3: Cave Face-off #1

    Rei, Avi, and Keo pondered on their next move. ¡°It seems that my sword has the ability to harm Ardonous¡¯ spawns¡­ This has been proven twice now! I hope you guys find some way to attack those guys too, I don¡¯t want to have to fight alone.¡± Rei said, referring to his sword. ¡°Say, that blade, when we found it, it was in a pedestal near the first artifact correct? If so, then that must be the Honor¡¯s Guard, a legendary blade forged by the sages to combat the blight.¡± Keo stated. ¡°Eh¡­ it doesn¡¯t look all that special, it doesn¡¯t have gems hanging from it like Avi¡¯s.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I know, my sword, the Bejeweled Protector does look pretty nice, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Your Amber Marksman looks nice too, Keo.¡± Said Avi. Keo paid no attention to the groups chitchat, as he was too focused on his previous statement. ¡°(If the Honors Guard is the only thing that can fend off the blight¡­ then how can we help¡­? It is said that Rei is the one destined to fight Ardonous¡­ but¡­ maybe It¡¯s not a good idea to tell him yet. He knows he¡¯s the hero, but does he know he has to face Ardonous head-on eventually? We don¡¯t even know how powerful he is; or will be.)¡± Keo was lost in thought.

    The sun was starting to go down. ¡°Its getting late, and we have no place to sleep.¡± Said Avi, yawning. The glistening sunlight over directly over the horizon lit up the grass, revealing a pattern of sorts. ¡°Say¡­ do you guys see that?¡± asked Keo. ¡°It looks like some kind of pattern¡­¡± responded Rei. Avi ran up ahead and took a closer look. She waved to them and yelled. ¡°Look! I think I know where were supposed to go!¡± Rei and Keo ran over to Avi, and listened to what she had to say.

    ¡°I think if we go west from here, we should find a pathway. On that pathway, which will take us north, we will find another cave, which will house the artifact.¡± Avi said, running her finger across the ground like a map. ¡°How did you figure that out so quickly¡­?¡± asked Keo. ¡°I¡¯m Smart!¡±. Avi responded, smiling. ¡°(For once¡­)¡± Rei thought to himself. The three started walking east, hoping for no troubles from Ardonous¡¯ goons.

    They soon reached the path they were looking for. ¡°That wasn¡¯t so far!¡± said Avi, looking ahead. A large pathway was stretched out in front of her, and through the fog, a cave entrance could be barely seen. ¡°We should really take a rest¡­ if we¡¯re going to need to fight, which I expect, we should be well rested.¡± Rei said, looking for a place to lay down. He laid down on a flat piece of land. ¡°It¡¯s actually not that yucky. Lets get some sleep, I have a feeling whatever¡¯s coming next wont be easy.¡± Keo and Avi laid down and fell asleep, along with Rei.

    The next morning, Keo woke Rei and Avi. ¡°Wake up guys¡­ we need to get going¡­¡± He said. ¡°Yeah¡­ lets go¡­¡± Avi said, standing up. ¡°Did you pack food, please tell me you didn¡¯t forget to pack food.¡± Rei asked. Keo reached into his pouch and pulled out some bread. ¡°It¡¯s all I brought with us, make it count.¡± He said. The three ate their bread as they walked down the path. The further they walked, the more clearly a loud stomping noise could be heard.

    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± Rei asked. The cave entrance was becoming very visible, and the footsteps started to shake the ground. The three sped up and ran towards the cave. They arrived at the cave to a surprise. It was empty. There were no monsters, nor was there an artifact. Keo was puzzled. ¡°Hey Avi, why are you on the floor?¡± Rei asked. ¡°And those, footsteps. I can still hear them¡­¡± he continued. Rei turned around to see the same creature they met in the cave, at giant proportions. Since it wasn¡¯t dark, more details could be visible. It had a distinctly frog-like appearance. It looked very angry. Black smoke was emitting from its pores. ¡°Uhh¡­ so the reason the footsteps were getting louder, is because it was following us¡­ ooohhhhh¡­. ¡­ RUN!!!!!!!!¡± The three ran into the cave in fear, with Avi stumbling behind.

    The visibility in the cave became less and less the further they ran inside of it. They had no time to light a candle, as the creature was in hot pursuit of them. It began shooting balls of goop and slime at the ground, which exploded into more goop on impact. ¡°Nonononononono¡­ STAY AWAY!!!!!¡± Avi yelled. The three kept running away, hoping to catch sight of the artifact. ¡°Maybe its hidden? If we can find it, we can just get out of here, and we won¡¯t have to worry about this guy.¡±

    A gleaming red light appeared at the end of the open cavern. ¡°Is that it¡­!?¡± Keo yelled. He sped up and ran towards it, with Avi and Rei following him. ¡°I think it is¡­!¡± Rei yelled back. Rei jumped for the artifact and snatched it. ¡°Got it!¡± The creature bent over and took the artifact with its mouth, and ate it out of Rei¡¯s hand. ¡°Great. I thought I was done with handfeeding¡­ and wait¡­ that was the artifact¡­ uh oh.¡± The creature started flashing many colors, and nearly doubled in size. It almost reached the cave ceiling. Rei readied his blade, and so did Avi. Keo drew his bow. ¡°I d-don¡¯t see how were gonna fight this thing¡­ it¡¯s huge!!¡± Avi yelled in fear.

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    The artifact-imbued creature roared at the group, and launched an attack. It shot a large amount of slime in the group¡¯s general direction. ¡°Get out the way!!¡± Rei yelled, jumping out the way. Keo jumped in the other direction, out of the range of the attack. ¡°Avi! Run!¡± Rei yelled to Avi. Avi stood still in fear, looking up at the large ball of slime headed straight for her. ¡°NonononoNONONONONONONOOOOOOOOO¡± Avi was hit and covered in green slime. ¡°Hey¡­ it doesn¡¯t really hurt that ba-¡° Avi was slammed into the wall. ¡°Owie¡­. Now I¡¯m all sticky, and I¡¯m in pain¡­ once again¡­ why me¡­. Ugh¡­¡± Avi passed out. ¡°Rei smiled for a second. (¡°She looks kinda¡­ actually I¡¯m not gonna say anything about the slime. Nope. I¡¯m keeping my mouth shut.¡±) Rei quickly regained his senses, and picked up some rocks to hide and protect Avi.

    He then returned to battle and saw Keo firing arrows off towards the monster. ¡°Rei! I-I think that ball-thing is powering up this guy! That must be why it went after the artifact. It¡¯s the work of Ardonous! He¡¯s trying to kill us right here before we even can meet him!¡± Keo yelled, firing off more arrows. Rei jumped forward and ran towards the enemy, he hit its leg, and a small amount of black smoke came out of the area that was cut. The monster seemed to be in no pain though. ¡°Uhh¡­ I don¡¯t think we can hurt this guy¡­ are we doomed?¡±

    ¡°This thing swallowed the artifact, AND knocked out Avi! It¡¯s beating us two to one! Lets score a point!¡± Rei yelled. ¡°Point¡­ what¡­?¡± Keo looked at Rei with a puzzled face. ¡°Eh, whatever, we just need to find a way to hurt this thing. Rei ran forward and kept attacking. He ran and jumped all over the place, cutting the enemy in many different areas. ¡°Rei! I think I¡¯ve got it! The monster isn¡¯t the problem, it¡¯s the dark energy inside of it! You see that smoke coming out of the cut areas!? If we can get enough of that out, it will probably leave the monster and leave it vulnerable! The monster would also probably shrink!¡± Keo yelled, firing more arrows. ¡°Great idea!¡± Rei said, continuing his attacks.

    The monster shot off many balls of goop, and tried kicking Rei and Keo many times. It also swung its arms on the ground, trying to hit them with those too. Eventually, Rei¡¯s attacks began to work. A mass of dark energy appeared externally from the monster. Rei kept up his attacks until more energy was freed from it. The monster readied an attack. It opened its gaping mouth and started charging something. A colorful ball appeared in its mouth. ¡°It¡¯s using the artifact to fight! And this attack looks like its gonna be pretty nasty!¡± Rei yelled. He jumped out of the way as the enemy shot off a massive colorful laser from its mouth. Keo also successfully dodged.

    The attack made a large hole in the ground, and also made some of the ceiling collapse, blocking off Rei from Keo, and obscuring the unconscious Avi. ¡°KEO!! You ok!!¡± Rei yelled. The monster swung its arm and Keo jumped over it. It then kicked its foot and hit Keo. He was flung into the wall. The impact made some rocks fall, blocking him off. ¡°I c-cant get out of here! You¡¯re going to have to fight alone¡­ I¡¯ll cheer from here!¡± He yelled, nearly passing out. ¡°Three to one¡­ great¡­ and now I know, Keo can get scared! Eh, this guy¡¯s almost down, I¡¯ll make this quick.¡± Rei sprinted forward and cut through the enemy. With Keo cheering in the background, Rei kept fighting.

    Eventually, the enemy was covered it small cuts. The dark mass outside of manifested fully. A colorful core could be seen inside of it, signifying the artifact. The large frog-like monster shrunk back down to its normal size. With a puzzled look on its face, it waddled away and receded into the dark.

    The newly revealed shade took form. It extended its shape from the orb and grew into a body-like structure. It grew four appendages and then was plated in heavy-duty armor. Rei gripped his sword tightly and jumped at the enemy. He was knocked back onto the floor, dealing no damage. ¡°Great¡­ how am I going to break that armor.¡± The enemy began shooting beams of colorful darkness all over the place. Rei dodged and rolled to avoid the attacks. Avi, who had just woken up, crawled over the rocks, and saw what was happening. She tried to yell, but couldn¡¯t, she was still too stunned. ¡°We have to get out of here! We can come back and finish the fight another time! Fleeing is the only option!¡± Keo said what Avi wanted to say. Keo grabbed Avi, and dragged her still slime-covered body across the ground, leaving a trail of green goop. ¡°Get up, Rei!¡± Keo yelled.

    The shade manifested a sword and swung it at Rei. ¡°ACK!!¡± he jumped up and dodged. Rei started running out of the cave, with the enemy catching up to him, firing off arrows from a newly manifested bow. ¡°Almost there¡­!¡± He yelled. Rei kept running. Keo kept dragging Avi, while her face was being run across the ground. The goop that she was covered in was protecting her face from any scratches, and she was also quite slippery.

    Rei nearly escaped the cave, with Keo trying to toss Avi out of the cave. ¡°WHY ARE YOU SO HEAVY!?¡± He yelled. Keo pushed Avi out of the cave. Avi had a dumb expression on her face as this happened. The enemy shot several dark beams, and hit the cave entrance, which caused debris to fall, and trap it. ¡°Phew¡­ lets get out of here, we need a game plan for this guy¡­¡± Rei said, catching his breath.

 Chapter 2-4 Cave Face-off #2

    Rei, Avi, and Keo walked as far away as they could from the cave. ¡°So¡­ uh¡­ how are we going to beat that thing?¡± Asked Rei. ¡°All I care about is taking a bath, I¡¯m all slimy!¡± Avi whined. Keo looked at one of his scrolls and found something interesting that he wrote down the previous night. It was yet another map of the human brain, yet this time, it had the entirety of the Cortex Marshes mapped. The entire region of the Cortex Marshes was in fact, a brain.

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy¡­¡± Rei was astounded at this information. Keo looked at his newly drawn map. ¡°Remember that cave with those little guys that gave us headaches? They channel neural power from the environment. If we can do the same, we could be looking at an immense power boost. Albeit, only for when we¡¯re in the marshes. Still, this could allow us to be able to stand up to the shade, and claim the artifact.¡± Keo then pulled out another scroll, which had another map he seemingly made out of thin air.

    ¡°If we go west from here, we should find a pedestal, with a strange object on it. With this object, we can augment it into our brains, and channel power from the environment.¡± Keo said. ¡°How did you figure that out so quickly!?¡± Asked Rei. ¡°I didn¡¯t, I¡¯ve known about it for a while, but chose not to say anything unless we really needed it.¡± Keo responded.

    Avi was busy attempting to clean herself. She was trying to use the swamp water to wash the goop off. It only made her more of a mess. ¡°Before we do ANYTHING¡­ do you guys have any way I can clean myself?¡± she asked. ¡°Here, you can have water from my canteen, feel free to use it all, but we would then be on a time limit. No water means no survival.¡± Keo said. Avi put a dull expression on her face. ¡°So, me doing covered in slime is limiting our survival chances? Eh, hand it over.¡± Avi snatched Keo¡¯s canteen and dumped herself with every last drop of water. The slime was washed off of her. ¡°Glad we got that over with¡­ now lets get moving¡­ and don¡¯t say anything about being thirsty¡­¡± Rei said.

    The three began walking west, and after not walking too far, they found a small structure. It was made of grey stone, with orange moss coating it. The moss was grown in the pattern of a neural system. Housed in the structure was a pedestal, which held an item. Rei picked it up and looked at it. ¡°Is this the thing that will let us augment our brainpower? That was surprisingly easy to find¡­ nothing is here to stop us!¡± A flying swamp-like archaic creature descended from above the structure. ¡°Spoke to soon¡­ Welp, lets test this out.¡± Rei tossed the item in the air, spun around, and caught it. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this thing can do! Brain augment¡­ ACTIVATE!!¡± He yelled. His voice echoed loudly and caused the creature to flinch. ¡°Way to boost your ego¡­ you didn¡¯t have to be so extreme about it¡­¡± Keo said.

    ¡°Eh, just take some of the power, lets test this augment out!¡± Rei channeled some more power, and directed it to Avi and Keo. The two were powered up. ¡°Why do I feel¡­ so¡­ smart¡­?¡± Avi said. ¡°The power is enhancing your brainpower, personally, I don¡¯t feel much different, but it makes sense on why you feel smarter¡­¡± Keo said. ¡°Hey!!¡± Avi stomped her foot on the ground. A shockwave appeared around her, causing the enemy creature to once again flinch. ¡°Alright, lets take care of this guy...!¡± Rei cut through the creature, while Keo shot arrows at it. Avi also slashed through the enemy. Their power was amplified, and the creature was swiftly defeated. ¡°That was pretty cool¡­! I think we have an advantage now¡­ lets go destroy that shade!¡± Rei said, holding up his sword.

    The group made their way back to the cave where the shade was location. Rei channeled some more energy and used his sword to slice open the rocks blocking the way. They entered the cave. It was extremely dark, almost as if the Shade had darkened the environment. ¡°Where is it¡­? Oh, there it is.¡± Rei said, as a giant sword was swung towards him. He jumped and dodged and attacked back. The armor on the Shade became slightly chipped, and the impact echoed the environment.

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    The three entered battle. ¡°So! I think we need to break that armor, and then the Shade will be fully vulnerable!¡± Rei yelled. He began chipping away at the enemy¡¯s armor. Avi deflected several arrows with her sword while Keo fired arrows at the areas where the enemy¡¯s armor was chipped. The enemy launched several colorful and dark attacks at Rei¡¯s group. Balls, beams, strikes, sword swipes, arrow volleys, name it all. With the combined brainpower in the environment, dodging was quite easy. ¡°Ow!! Wait¡­ that didn¡¯t hurt so bad¡­¡± Avi said. Even upon being struck, damage was not super intense.

    Rei managed to break the armor covering one of the Shade¡¯s arm-like appendages. Rei jumped for the vulnerable area and tried to strike it. Right before his blade reached, the vulnerable area receded and hid inside the rest of the armor. ¡°Guess we need to break ALL the armor, and then it should be easy from there¡­!¡± Rei yelled. The three continued their attacks. Avi broke the armor covering the legs, while Keo broke the armor covering the head, and Rei broke the armor covering the other arm. Every time a piece of armor was destroyed, the enemy would shrink. Once all the armor was destroyed, The enemy returned to its ball shape that it previously had. It started shooting colorful beams in every direction at a relatively quick pace. ¡°It¡¯s in its desperation phase, now¡¯s our chance!¡± Rei yelled, running towards the Shade. ¡°Desperation phase, what is he going on about¡­¡± Avi was confused. She proceeded to run forward and attack the Shade. Keo fired arrows from behind.

    The beam fire slowed down as the Shade was weakened. Rei landed the final blow, and the Shade began pulsating. It doubled in size, and then exploded, leaving a thin mist of darkness. A quiet ¡°clink!¡± could be heard. Rei ran towards the location of the sound, following the colorful light that was also visible, and picked up the newly revealed artifact. The dark mist receded.

    Rei once again looked up in excitement, while Avi smiled, and Keo checked off something on one of his scrolls. ¡°And that¡¯s another artifact for us! 2 down¡­ 5 to go!¡± Avi said gleefully. ¡°No fanfare¡­ huh¡­ no sages here to greet us¡­?¡± Rei was expecting a sage to congratulate him on his accomplishment, but a rich natural environment, was home to no sage. The artifact was hidden in this location and left for a very long time.

    How did Ardonous manage to locate it¡­ and what does he have planned next¡­? Rei and co. began their long journey back to Avindors¡¯ Wake¡­

    <hr>

    ¡°My lord¡­ I must ask that you send me to confront these fools on their next journey¡­¡± Avshordus entered Ardonous¡¯ lair. ¡°Why so¡­ Those ¡°heroes¡± are already dead¡­ aren¡¯t they? My power wouldn¡¯t fail me at time like this, would it¡­?¡± Ardonous said, smiling. He gripped his sword and outputted some energy from it, releasing it into the air. A tremor could be felt. ¡°Well¡­ you¡¯re wrong¡­ the heroes managed to defeat your creation. They used the environment of the Cortex Marshes to¡­ achieve victory¡­ and claim the second artifact¡­ Please¡­ let me plan your next move, all this killing must be making you tired¡­¡± Avshordus asked, channeling some energy. A sinister grin appeared on Ardonous face. Ahahaha¡­. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get your chance¡­ in fact, how about we both go confront them at their next destination, the Scorchsand Dunes.

    I am sending you to the artifact¡¯s location, which I have been supplied intel on. I ask you to guard it and dispatch the heroes when they inevitably arrive.¡± Ardonous said. Avshordus was confused. ¡°But¡­ why not strike them in celebration, or when they are on the way to the next artifact¡­ why wait¡­?¡± He said. ¡°Do not worry, Avshordus, all of this will work out, I have something in mind, that will bring these pitiful humans to their lowest point¡­ Begone, Avshordus! Do not fail me!¡± Ardonous sent Avshordus off. ¡°Fools¡­ these FOOLS think they can stop me¡­ nothing can stop me, nor can they ease the raging storm in the sky!¡± Ardonous vanished.

    ¡°Just as no one can ease the tempest that rages in my suffering heart¡­¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Marlon¡­ you¡¯re late, did something happen¡­?¡± My father caught me sneaking out of the castle, it wasn¡¯t so easy getting to you after that.¡± ¡°I was afraid you wouldn¡¯t arrive. After all, I just met you¡­¡± ¡°That is strange¡­ you know what I am, where I am from, and the capabilities I have, yet you still pursue me¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what you are¡­ I just wanted to see you¡­ Is that¡­ so wrong?¡± ¡°No. No of course not. After all, I wouldn¡¯t have tried to sneak out if I wanted to see you too.¡± ¡°Marlon, do you mind If I sit next to you?¡± ¡°Please do, Amani, let us return to our conversation, I must know more about you¡­¡±

 Intermission #2: Mapping it Out

    After making it back to Avindors¡¯ Wake, the group went to bed for the night. The next morning¡­ ¡°So¡­ Keo! What¡¯s our next destination!¡± asked an excited Avi. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know¡­¡± Responded Keo. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Rei walked into the room. Both Rei and Avi looked at Keo in disbelief. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, its not as bad as it seems¡­ we can ask my father for assistance!¡± Keo said, going for the door. ¡°But don¡¯t you know EVERYTHING?¡± asked Rei. Keo paid no attention to Rei¡¯s tomfoolery and left the building. Rei and Avi followed behind.

    The three headed for the castle. Avindors¡¯ Wake was quite busy at this time. People were going in and out of buildings, filling the cobbled streets... ¡°So, I get to see that King again, I do have to thank him for not keeping me and Avi locked up. If he didn¡¯t let us out, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten a chance to get along with you two!¡± Rei smiled as they were nearing the castle. The drawbridge opened at Keo¡¯s signal, and the three entered. They went down the main corridor, and up the stairs. They were once again greeted by King Sholventus.

    ¡°Oh Ho! The heroes return! How are you, my son?¡± asked the King, emerging from his throne. ¡°We¡¯re in a bit of a pickle, Dad, we don¡¯t know where to go next... to find the next artifact.¡± Keo responded. Avi stepped forward and bowed. ¡°Um... my... King... sir...¡± ¡°No need to bow to me ma¡¯am! Just call me Sholvy!¡± Said the king to Avi. ¡°Oh... uh... OK!¡± Avi responded. ¡°We need to know our third location... I am aware that your knights have explored 4 different regions... is it possible that it is one of those? I mean, Avindor isn¡¯t huge, so it would make sense for there to be one artifact in every region...¡± Sholventus stepped down the stairs leading to his throne. He walked over to Keo.

    The King put his hand on Keo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°My son...¡± Keo looked up at his father... with the sun glistening directly on them like a spotlight. ¡°One thing I purposely didn¡¯t tell you, is that each artifact has to be collected in perfect order. Meaning, that if you were to collect one that was not meant to be collected... serious injury, or possibly even death would occur. I apologize for not telling you, my son, I put you three in grave danger, and simply expected you to figure it out?¡± A tear fell from his eye. ¡°Dad... it¡¯s really not that bad... look. Were fine, and now that you told us, you can show us where to go next!¡± Keo responded to his father

    ¡°Come back to my castle, with both artifacts you have collected, and I will show you the correct path.¡± Rei¡¯s group went back home, fetched the artifacts, and returned to the castle. On the way back, a tremor occurred. ¡°Oh... that doesn¡¯t look good...¡± Avi said. The Storm of the End had expanded. It was nearly triple the size it was in originally. Anomalous Thunderstorms were seen forming around the storm, emitting purple and white lightning. ¡°Let¡¯s not pay attention to that Avi, lets just focus on brining these artifacts to the castle, everything will be fine.¡± Keo said. Rei and Keo walked towards the castle. Avi stood still and stared up at the sky. ¡°Ardonous... It seems like it¡¯s not too late to change your mind... please... I beg of you... Give us a second chance...¡± Avi said quietly. She turned her back to the storm and followed Rei and Keo to the castle.

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    ¡°So, here they are father, what do you think we should do with them?¡± Keo handed his father the two artifacts they had collected. ¡°Excellent! Come with me, I need to show you something...¡± Rei and co. followed the King into a back chamber. There was a pillar with an opening for the first artifact. The king placed the artifact inside of it. It started glowing, and then pulsating, and some colors and magic manifested, and created a vision of the Cortex Marshes. ¡°We¡¯ve already been there, actually, we just got back from there.¡± Rei said. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you do the honors with the second artifact? Here, take this key, and enter the gate behind the castle. There, you will find the outskirts of Avindors Wake. Another pillar should be located in there somewhere. Place the artifact in the pillar, and your next destination will be revealed to you. Now, off you go!¡± The King shoved Rei and his group off the go place the artifact in a pillar in the town outskirts.

    The group walked behind the castle and was stopped by a gate. Rei unlocked it with the key he was given. ¡°Wow! This place is so cool! I¡¯ve never been back here before!¡± Avi said, excitedly. ¡°None of us have, Avi. This is new to all of us.¡± Keo replied to Avi. There were several paths leading to different locations, all with signs that were obscured by some sort of magic. The one sign that was legible had a symbol of a brain on it. ¡°This looks like where we need to go.¡± Rei and the others went down the path, which went on for quite a while. The path eventually reached into an open area, with no walls, and a far stretch down. ¡°Keep your feet steady.¡± Rei said.

    They made it to the other side. A couple furballs, similar to the ones found in the Gilded Groves, were roaming the area. They noticed Avi and tried to attack her. ¡°Not today, cuties!¡± She said, taking them out. The three walked ahead and found the pillar. Rei placed the crystal on the pillar. It glowed and manifested into a visual of a lava filled desert. ¡°That looks like the Scorchsand Dunes... I didn¡¯t expect we¡¯d have to go there so soon.¡± Keo said. ¡°It looks REALLY hot there!¡± Avi said. Rei took a closer look at the visual. A path could be seen leading up to it from the southwest. ¡°Looks like we need to go southwest from here, and we¡¯ll reach the dunes. Let¡¯s go, the storm in the sky isn¡¯t going to stop growing, and we¡¯re not going to stop searching.¡± Rei said, leading the group out of the tunnel.

 Chapter 3-1: Blockades and Mummies

    As the group made their way to the dunes, the air became warmer. Some dusty sand was scattered across the earth, slowly transitioning from the green grass. ¡°It¡¯s getting pretty hot...¡± Said Avi, looking at the large expanse ahead. A foggy silhouette of volcanoes could be seen in the distance. The group kept moving, inching closer to the dunes.

    ¡°Ok, now its REALLY hot!¡± Avi said. Keo looked ahead at the distant volcanoes. ¡°It¡¯s only going to get hotter, anyways, lets get moving...¡± Keo replied. The three began their journey through the dunes. Cliffs could be seen all around, as well as palm trees, and a town up ahead. ¡°We should go there, ask around, maybe they will have some knowledge on where the artifact will be.¡± Rei said, pointing at the town.

    The town was still a relatively far distance away from the group¡¯s location. ¡°Let¡¯s hope there¡¯s no blockades in our path...¡± Keo said, hoping to not be blocked off by a cliff or chasm. Low and behold, the group was stopped by a gaping chasm. ¡°GREAT... were just got here and we¡¯ve been stopped already...¡± Rei became frustrated, kicking some sand. ¡°Uh... do you think we should check that house over there? Maybe he can help us?¡± Said Avi, who located a small house nearby. ¡°It¡¯s our only option, lets go.¡± Said Rei, walking towards the house.

    As the group approached the house, it was very noticeable that the building was abandoned. The door seemed to have been left open, and sand was sifting out of the windows. ¡°Hold your weapons tightly, just in case...¡± Rei said, entering the house, gripping his blade. The group was greeted by an empty room with a singular red carpet. Cracked sandstone made up the walls and floor. ¡°There¡¯s... not here.¡± Said Avi. She sat down on the carpet and put a smile on her face. ¡°Although, this carpet IS kinda comfy... so it wasn¡¯t a total waste!¡± Avi said.

    Rei rubbed the walls of the room, noticing that sand fell as he rubbed it. He located a button that blended in with the room. ¡°Guys, I found something!¡± Rei said, hitting the button without second thought. ¡°Whoa-!¡± Avi suddenly fell through the floor along with the carpet. ¡°So... I guess we found the way inside?¡± Keo asked. Rei and Keo looked down into the hole.

    ¡°Hello!! Guys!!! The landing was cushioned! You guys can jump down! Also, there¡¯s some interesting stuff down here! I see a long path that looks like it could get us across the chasm!¡± Avi yelled from inside the hole. ¡°No time to lose...¡± Rei said, jumping down. ¡°Why so serious all of a sudden...?¡± Keo said, following behind.

    ¡°Ok, Avi. You didn¡¯t tell us it was going to be dark in here...¡± Rei said to Avi, trying to see his way around. ¡°Eh... its not that bad we¡¯ll find a way ou-¡°Avi leaned back on the wall, and hit a lever. The path she originally found was lit up with torches. ¡°Hey, thanks Avi! Now we can see!¡± Keo said. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t mean too...¡± Avi replied. The group made their way down the tunnel.

    Rei grabbed the first torch he came across and held it. ¡°We should take this, just for good measure.¡± The group began their long trek down the path. There was not much going on around them. An extremely long, straight line of torches, with no sign of ending. ¡°Guys... I think we already passed the chasm, and there¡¯s no way up... should we turn back and find another way?¡± Avi asked. ¡°I feel as if there is no other way, besides, this could be a great shortcut.¡± Keo replied, looking ahead. Up ahead some light could be seen. Avi began running towards it, with Rei and Keo following behind.

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    ¡°Avi! Stop!¡± Yelled Rei and Keo. ¡°Wha-!¡± Avi held her back to the wall as she found herself on a tiny cliffside. A gaping hole was seen under her, and chasm and some sunlight could be seen above her. ¡°G-guess we only just reached the chasm... It looks like this i-is the only w-way, lets go...¡± Avi was concerned. The fall under her did not look pleasant, or survivable. ¡°Ugh... here we go...¡± Rei followed Avi, holding himself up behind her. Keo followed as well.

    ¡°Keo... stop bumping into me! Hey!¡± Rei dropped his torch off the edge. ¡°Good thing there¡¯s sunlight, or we would be doomed...¡± Rei said, as his torch fell into the near-bottomless abyss. The group kept inching their way across the chasm until they reached the other side.

    The group found themselves in a room with walls of blue sandstone. Pink torches lit up around them, and an altar that was just noticed by Avi also lit up. ¡°Uh... I think we made something angry...¡± She said. Floating bandages appeared over the pedestal. A glowing blue hand broke free through the pedestal, and grabbed the bandages. It absorbed them, and wrapped itself in them. A large mummy-like creature emerged. It had a glowing red eye. ¡°Yeah... we made it angry...¡± Avi said, readying her weapon. ¡°Well, guess we have to make the undead... dead again...!¡± Rei gripped his blade as well, and Keo drew his bow.

    The mummy attacked first. Blue flames were thrown onto the ground and ran towards the group. They jumped over the flames. Keo fired some arrows, causing some bandages to fall off. Rei and Avi slashed through the mummy with their swords. Many bandages fell off. Rei and Avi jumped back. ¡°I think our attacks are working! This guys¡¯ pretty weak!¡± Yelled Rei.

    The mummy then did a small ritualistic dance and absorbed the bandages off the floor. It regenerated its health. ¡°Great... so I was wrong...¡± Rei said. ¡°It¡¯s invincible?¡± Avi was concerned. ¡°Focus, you two, do you see that eye, I think that¡¯s a weak point. Ill fire at it, you guys just keep me clear from any attacks.¡± Keo said. Eyeing the enemy with his bow. ¡°Got it!¡± Avi yelled. Rei and Avi began directing and taunting the mummy to attack them.

    ¡°Over here, you big idiot!¡± Rei yelled to the mummy. ¡°No, over here! Attack me! I¡¯m always a great target!¡± Avi yelled to the mummy. Rei put a dull look on his face. ¡°Yeah, she is a great target.¡± Rei said quietly. ¡°AAAAHHHHHH!¡± Avi yelled as the mummy charged towards her, throwing flames at her. ¡°Rei deflected the flames with his sword, but the mummy charged its attack again, and it looked stronger this time. ¡°Hurry up, Keo! It doesn¡¯t take that long to fire an arrow!¡± Rei hurried Keo to fire his bow, looking up at the mummy.

    ¡°Booyah!¡± The mummy was shot in the eye, and fell backward, it shrunk in size, but then started running around quickly. ¡°Great, the more we hurt it, the faster it gets... its like a multi-phase boss fight...¡± Rei said. Avi and Keo were confused. The mummy started chasing Keo, but Avi jumped in front and knocked the mummy back with her sword. Rei ran up from behind and pinned the mummy. ¡°Now!¡±

    Keo landed another arrow in the mummy¡¯s eye. It shed some bandages and shrunk even more. ¡°It seems to be losing its magic! We¡¯re almost there!¡± Keo yelled. The mummy¡¯s¡¯ eye grew dim, as it failed to conjure flames. It began running around helplessly. ¡°Not so fast!¡± Avi and Rei ran after the mummy, stopping it at every corner. Keo fired several arrows, missing every time. Eventually, Rei and Avi got the enemy in perfect sights. Keo fired his arrow, and hit the mummy¡¯s eye. The mummy made a small explosion of blue flames, and dropped some bandages on the ground.

    ¡°Well, that was easy!¡± Avi said. ¡°No... it wasn¡¯t...¡± Keo responded. ¡°Eh... it¡¯s good to be cheerful! That guy was nothing compared to the shades we fought previously! And look! A way up, I see sunlight!¡± Avi said, noticing a newly revealed staircase leading up. The three went up the staircase. ¡°This better get us out of here...¡± Rei said.

 Chapter 3-2: Pathway to the Key

    Upon exiting the tunnel at the end of the staircase, the group was greeted by a small town across a small dune of sand. The air was significantly hotter than it was before. ¡°Ugh... it¡¯s getting even hotter... but hey, we made it across the chasm!¡± Avi said. The group had crossed the chasm by going underground.

    The group began walking towards the nearby town. ¡°So... what was that mummy thing? It didn¡¯t seem like anything commanded by Ardonous, but more of something that feels like an undead monster...?¡± Rei asked. Keo read an excerpt from one of his scrolls out loud. ¡°Upon ye pre-chasm, ye will face a foe most swift... then, ye will reach a town, where ye will enter thy smallest building in the center of thy town, and go underground. There, ye will obtain a map, that will lead ye towards thy artifact.¡± ¡°Whoever wrote that must really suck at making things sound ancient, what, was he new at writing texts...? Eh, its and old text, so let¡¯s be on our way...¡± Rei said, walking towards the town.

    ¡°So... that¡¯s cool and all, well, warm actually, but what about the volcanoes? This place isn¡¯t called the Scorchsand Dunes for nothing! The artifact must be in the... even hotter area.¡± Avi was concerned about the heat. ¡°We don¡¯t know where we are going to be heading until we get that map, lets find the way underground once again.¡±

    As the group entered the town, they were greeted by abstract buildings made of sandstone. Carpets were displaying entrances to several buildings, as well as hanging off rooves. Sand pathways led in several directions, leading to shops, and living areas. ¡°How are we supposed to know where to go?¡± Rei asked. ¡°We should ask around, someone must know that way around.¡± Keo responded.

    Avi asked the nearest person she could find. ¡°Hey! Do you know how to get to the center of the town? We need to enter a supposed ¡°small building¡± ...¡± Avi asked. The person replied to her. ¡°Just go down the middle path, it should take you straight there, but you most definitely won¡¯t be able to enter the building. It is locked, and all the walls are blocked off by magical force. The only way in is through the door, and like I said, it¡¯s locked.¡± ¡°Great, so where can we find the key to unlock it then...?¡± Rei asked.

    The person pointed towards a smaller group of volcanoes to the west, opposed to the large group of volcanoes to the north. ¡°Head west to the volcanoes, and enter the cavern at the highest peak in the area, there you must brave a perilous dungeon, and at the end the key will be waiting to be in your possession.¡± Avi already started on her way towards the volcanoes. ¡°Avi, where are going... wait up!¡± Keo yelled. ¡°Yeah, I thought you didn¡¯t want to be in the heat, stay behind if you want, actually don¡¯t, we need your skills...¡± Rei said. Avi looked back at Rei and Keo. ¡°Lets just get this over with...¡± She said.

    Rei and Keo followed Avi, and eventually caught up to her. They walked for quite a while. Passing by several dunes, ruins, and monuments. ¡°Do you think these places have anything of use for us?¡± Asked Avi. ¡°I doubt it... lets just head to the volcanoes.¡± Keo responded. The three kept walking.

    As the volcanoes in the distance grew ever closer, they looked a lot bigger than they were from a distance. The air also became much warmer, and the sky started to turn a dark orange hue. ¡°If this is this bad... than I can only imagine how bad its going to be at the other volcanoes... lets hope the artifact isn¡¯t there...¡± Avi said. The three walked under some rocks, and found themselves at the foot of a tall volcano. Several other large volcanoes were seen around them. They arrived at their destination faster than expected.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going... we need to find a way down... Ugh... its so hot...¡± Avi whined. The three began moving. They climbed over rocks of solid magma and broke through blockades. The group was stopped by a river of lava. It seemed that the path ahead was across it. ¡°Now how are we supposed to get across that...? Looks pretty... y¡¯know, deadly.¡± Rei said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s a way around either...¡± Keo responded. Large rocks and mountain bases were all around. ¡°We could try climbing the walls and going around?¡± Avi asked. ¡°The cliffs are way too steep, and you never know where there could be a lava pocket... you value your hands, don¡¯t you?¡± Keo said to Avi. ¡°Yes!! Yes, I do!¡± Avi smiled.

    There seemed to be no way across the river. ¡°Hey, can I see that canteen of water, Keo?¡± Rei asked, pointing to Keo¡¯s pouch. Keo handed Rei the canteen of water. ¡°I don¡¯t see what your going to do with th-¡° Rei poured the water over the river of magma. The lava hardened and turned to rock. Rei quickly ran across before the rocks broke. ¡°I¡¯m going to sound really stupid for saying this... but... video game logic!¡± Rei said. Keo walked across the rock path and looked at Rei puzzled. ¡°Whatever that means...¡± He said. Avi was still on the other side of the lava river.

    ¡°D-Do I have to...?¡± Avi asked nervously. ¡°Yes... just walk across, its safe.¡± Rei said to Avi. Avi began tiptoeing across the rocks. She moved very slowly. Suddenly... the rocks behind her started to fall. ¡°AAAHHH!¡± Avi screamed, running across to the other side of the river. ¡°See? Not so bad!¡± Rei said to her. ¡°Yeah... whatever, I was almost well-done there!!¡± Avi whined angrily.

    ¡°Hey... is that the way down already? That was pretty quick!¡± Rei said, pointing towards a cavern entrance. The three walked to it and looked inside. There was a large, old, rugged spiral staircase heading downward. Keo took the lead, with Rei and Avi following behind. Keo took the lead, with Rei and Avi following behind. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark... again... and its really hot...¡± Avi said, wiping off sweat. ¡°Avi... just deal with it... we¡¯ll get out of here soon enough.¡± Keo said to Avi. ¡°Whatever.¡± Avi responded. The staircase went on for a very long time.

    The further the group went down, the darker the stairway got. The light from the surface lava had diminished. The group kept moving. Eventually, some light appeared from below. Avi quickly ran towards it. ¡°I would to that Avi!¡± said Rei. Avi already ran ahead. The two followed her. Avi found herself in a large hallway, made of rock and sandstone, with small lava rivers on each side of the room. Decorative pillars were scattered about, and torches lined the walls. ¡°See, Safe!¡± Avi said to Rei and Keo, who made their way down. The group started walking through the hall.

    They were eventually stopped by a large rock wall. Two openings could be seen to the left and right. One had a picture of a sword and bow over it, and the other had a tile-like symbol over it. Keo looked at one of his scrolls. ¡°Keo, before you look at those scrolls of yours, this is pretty self-explanatory. The path to the left is for a test in combat, and the one on the right is a puzzle... Make your choice.¡± He said. Keo shook his head.

    Avi was in the corner twiddling her fingers. A drop of lava from nearby splashed near Avi. ¡°Ah!¡± She yelled. Avi ran into the combat domain, without looking where she was going. She could be heard screaming from the other side of the entrance. Rei and Keo tried to follow her but were blocked off by a blockade that fell at the worst possible time. Avi¡¯s screams echoed and grew quieter and quieter. ¡°She¡¯s on her own... she can handle herself, She strong, just naive.¡± Keo said to Rei.

    Rei headed towards the puzzle room and entered it. Keo followed behind. ¡°Hopefully Avi will turn up in here, if not, lets hope this place loops around.¡± Rei said. Rei and Keo walked through the puzzle room, hoping for an easy way out. It was pitch black. Eventually, Rei stepped on a panel, and a torch lit up. ¡°Here we go... puzzle time... GREAT... I HATE puzzles...!¡±