Chapter 026 - The Glitched Tomb

The notification window fizzled out of existence before she could even have a chance to really take it all in. The only thing that stuck with her was the clear condition. Leave. Well that’s not ominous at all, she grumbled and took in her surroundings. She was standing in the middle of a sheer valley of black stone rising up on either side and parted by about a hundred feet. The craggy cliffs jutted up into the cloudy gray sky at wicked angles, creating a jagged effect as it stretched on down towards the horizon. 

The ground beneath her feet was a smooth surface of glass-like water that rippled only a little each time she took a step. She looked down and saw the eerie faceguard of her helmet looking back at her from beneath her hood. She huffed out a breath and looked down at her clawed gauntlets. Huh, I do look pretty spooky, don’t I? She thought absently before shrugging it off and looking over her shoulder. Only a flat wall waited for her. No door, looks like I can’t just ‘leave leave leave’ system.

She turned back and started walking, her eyes wandering along the cliff faces and looking for anything that stood out. She was about to assume this place had nothing interesting to offer until a boulder passed through the wall to her right, out into the air, flickered and then fell straight down into her path. It trembled again and then vanished through the floor. Anna stared at the spot, dumbfounded, “What the f-”

<System Alert!>

You are currently in a region that is outside of system observation. Please return to your previous location. A penalty will be- [ERROR] [ACCESS DENIED] [PENALTY FORBIDDEN] [CLOSING-]

The window shut and she blinked. “Did it just try to punish me for being here?” She cocked her head to the right and a smile spread across her face. “Oh now I gotta know what’s in here.”

She rested her hands behind her head and she kept walking, musing to herself. If it can’t punish me and there’s no other details for the quest, I guess I have as much time as I need. Who knows how big this place is; the forest was huge.

It took over an hour to finally see some signs of change in her surroundings. On either side of the linear valley she found buildings carved into the walls. Black, just like the rest of the stone and set in a relief so that it looked like it was made out of columns and genuine architecture. A single opening in each of the buildings yawned about ten feet high and only darkness waited for her on the other side. A bit melodramatic for my taste, but I respect committing to the bit, I guess.

She walked over to the one on the right and pulled out a glowstone, holding it out. She half expected it to be some kind of magical darkness but the shadows parted for her and she found the interior to be utterly unremarkable at first glance. Just a few long stone display cases that were carved of the same black rock. It looked like there had been glass encasing them at one time but it had long since been destroyed.

Her boots crunched on dirt, glass, and debris as she pressed further in, scanning the gloom for anything useful. Most of the displays were empty but a few had objects laying on them. She spotted a rotted book and tapped her finger lightly against it.

Unknown Prayerbook - (Mundane) - Junk
An ancient prayerbook that may had once held power within it. It has since lost all value and the words within are faded beyond recognition.

A tomb with a prayerbook on display, hm, yup, that’s got good vibes right there, she thought sarcastically and moved to the next item. It was a small band of beads made out of some kind of metal that she couldn’t identify. A symbol hanging from one side of what she assumed was a bracelet appeared to be that of a star with a shield superimposed on it. 

Unknown Prayerbeads - (Mundane) - Junk
This set of prayer beads were crafted from high grade essence stones. Over the millenia, they lost all of the energy stored within, becoming inert.

Her eyes narrowed, Millenia? How old is this place? She set the beads down and went to the third and final intact object in the place. It was a single piece of parchment that was in surprisingly good condition given the state of everything else. A red inky stamp in one corner bore the same star and shield symbol on it. The text was utterly unintelligible but it was written in a very clear and precise hand, from what she could tell at least.

Writ of Excommunication - (Unknown-Unknown) - Expended
This writ once contained tremendous power, enough to strip a high ranking member of clergy of their rank and essence. It must be delivered by an individual of equal station to the excommunicated. It has been used and persists only as a reminder of its target's crimes.

Anna pulled her hand away from the document and rubbed her fingers as if they’d been burned. “Holy fucking shit what the hell is this place?” she demanded. The notification said it was a tomb. Her eyes narrowed, Ten bucks as to who’s, goody. She looked up to the ceiling, “Is this what you really wanted me to find, old man? I’m half tempted just to find a way out and be done with it.”

When no response came she turned and marched out of the building, there was nothing in there she actually wanted and based on the description of the Writ even if she one day in the future figured out how it worked, she had no intention of being a high ranking member of anybody’s church. The idea made her sick. I don’t work for anybody, she grumbled as she stepped into mirthless ambiance of the valley.

She froze.

Before her was a small platoon of men in armor, all of them shining even in the terrible lighting. Each held a sword in their hand, presented and pointed upwards to the sky. They were marching behind an old man in white robes. His face was grim and he held a document clutched in his hand. He said something that she couldn’t hear and he started walking down the length of the valley. She just watched them go until they flickered and vanished.

Anna lifted her helmet and rubbed her eyes, “I saw that, right? Was that real? Oh I really, really, hate this place.”

She turned to the other building and made her way across to the other doorway with her glowstone at the ready. Light flickered in her face and she swore as another system message popped up.

<System Alert!>

Attempting to issue penalty for failure to comply to- [ERROR] [ACCESS DENIED] [AUTHORITY BOUNDARY IDENTIFIED] [BREACHING] [ERROR! ERROR!] [FAILURE]

Your current location does not exist within system parameters and may contain dangerous elements. Evacuate immediately. Do not proceed. Leave Leave Leave Leave Leave-

Anna watched the notification vanish and her lip twitched, “Oh man, it really doesn’t want me here. Is it panicking?” She laughed, “I take it back. I love this place.” She raised her finger to where the notification had been, “Screw off jackass. Maybe you should have actually tried to help me out instead of screwing with me the whole way here. I’m gonna do what I want.”

She passed into the second structure, “And the first thing I’m gonna do is take anything of use from this place.”

There was nothing in the building she could take.

Unlike the previous building that had bare drab stone walls, this chamber was entirely covered in mosaic murals depicting all sorts of things. There were battles between great armies of all kinds of creatures. There were scenes of people in rags being marched towards a fire. Images of a man in black being hung from a gallows. There was even a scene of a man in white robes doubled over with a knife in his back. The one thing all the images had in common was that the central figure was completely carved out. Tiles lay scattered on the floor here and there with no way of knowing how to piece them back together.

“Woah, intense,” she murmured and turned in a circle, spotting another mural on the wall adjacent to the door. There were several symbols depicted in it, all of them appeared to be attacking the spot where the focal character should be. She narrowed her eyes, I think they’re attacking them. It’s the impression I’m getting anyway. Why am I getting an abstract vibe from a static image? Is this some kind of magic?

She walked closer and examined the symbols. One was ove the star and shield, the other was of a world clutched in a fist, an eye was depicted on the back of the fist’s hand. Huh, that symbol is pretty important to the guys that ran this dungeon. Some kinda god maybe? The other one is obviously a god since that’s the symbol from the writ.

She shook her head and walked back out and into another eerie scene.

The water was gone. So were the black walls. It was just a vast field of grass with the occasional reddish boulder jutting out of the ground here and there. The sky was blue and the air was humid, she could even pick up the distant smell of a nearby swamp. Two figures ran through the tall grass. One, a girl with dark skin and black hair and the other a large boy-she could tell he was a boy by the youthfulness of his face-with blonde hair and icy blue eyes. The two were laughing together as they ran. 

The pair flickered and reappeared atop one of the stones, the girl was talking to the boy and he was nodding along looking thoughtful. They flickered again and they were arguing. Another flicker and they were laughing again and back to where they’d been running. They vanished into the grass and the world changed back to the reflective water and dark walls.

Okay, what?

She scowled and walked back to the water, hands on her hips. “The fuck do you want from me? Just get to the point!” she shouted. Nothing happened, as always, but she felt better after yelling at whatever unseen force was orchestrating this shit show. She didn’t care about some losers backstory from millenia ago. They were long dead, obviously, it was a tomb. She snorted and turned and slammed into a door freestanding in the middle of the water. She stumbled back and held her head, thankful she was wearing her helmet. “Motherfucker! Ow! Who put this here?”

She sighed and grabbed onto the handle, “Fine,” she grunted and pulled it open.

On the other side was an open space that looked eerily like a dorm room. A single bed was laid out alongside a desk lit only by a brass lamp affixed with a gemstone covered in odd carvings. Sitting beneath the lamp was who she assumed was the same girl, she wore elaborate robes of a blue hue and was pouring over what had to be textbooks. Anna stepped inside and she caught the scent of ink, paper, the ozone bite of mana, grease, sweat, and the faintest hint of cinnamon. She spotted a wooden candle just to the left of the girl.

Anna rolled her eyes and walked over, stopping alongside the girl and peering over her shoulder. The texts were beyond complicated at first glance but she began to catch a few things that popped into her brain as she examined the odd circular diagrams. “Magic?” Anna muttered aloud, “A mage? I figured you were a priest or something.”

The girl looked her way.

Anna felt her heart drop into her gut.

She’s got no face. What the fu-

Anna’s head was flooded with sensory information. Images, places, people, names, thoughts, feelings, all an incomprehensible jumble. None of the language presented made sense but she could feel things. A return trip home after a long semester. A happy reunion with a dear friend. Fire. Death. Chaos. Lives lost in the mayhem, family destroyed. Financial ruin. Nothing left. A perilous return and rejection at the doors of learning. A turn to salvation. Hope that turned into fervor and then into zealotry through years and years of service and battle. Vengeance.

She gasped and found herself back in the valley, her stomach churned and she dropped to her knees, tearing her helmet off and tossing it hurriedly to the ground. She heaved out onto the glassy water and gagged, everything spinning as the images and details became more and more indistinct. When she was done she could only look at herself in the reflective water, eyes sunken from tireless fighting and bloodshed. The bags under her eyes were so dark they may as well be black and the skin on her face had turned deathly pale.

She scowled at her reflection and swatted at it, staggering to her feet and grabbing her helmet, pulling it back over her face. The fuck do I care what I look like? As long as I survive. She felt her gut twist a little and she snarled, marching forward. Cry me a river with your fucking sob story, I don’t know what your angle is but you’re not getting to me.

Her forced march took another two hours before she finally saw something new. Another building carved into rock ahead of her rather than on either side. The valley appeared to have ended. However, there’s no fucking door! What the hell?

As if in response to her protests, the air shimmered and two figures stepped out into view. Both of them silvery and rippling like the water beneath her feet. Each of them wore a suit of armor like the knights that had marched with the old man. They were holding swords too and readying them as they looked at her

UNKNOWN - Level ERROR

Oh that’s real nice, Anna grumbled, shifting her jaw left and right and scowling at the pair as they took slow steps to her flanks. “I know you guys are probably not real, but I’m in a really, really bad mood. So I’m going to make it your problem. I’m not apologizing. Blame whatever made you,” she growled and pulled her club out of her inventory. She blasted out her presence at max volume and let them feel her irritation before she charged the one on the right. 

It swung its sword up to meet her overhand blow and she snapped out a kick to its midsection. It staggered backwards and she clubbed it up on the side of the head before following through with a strike to its wrist. The sword fell into the water and vanished as she blasted it with a firebat and the vaporous knight burst into mist. She rounded on the other and tilted her chin up.

“Come on, make this fun at least.” 

It rippled once before its body turned to mist and it fell into the water as if it had never existed. Her nose wrinkled and she turned away.

“Coward.”