Chương 13: Oswin.

I did not know Talvik chirped. She giggled to herself. Nythera shot up in alarm and then collapsed back when she realized it was Leo.

"Come back in ten minutes, just wait ten more minutes please" Nythera grumbled. Leo is going to get cannon-blasted one of these days if he keeps doing this shit. She soon ate and departed. They were on roads Nythera recognized, heading for the outskirts of Grandport. Rather than continue down the road to Halsbury, Leo took a side road and headed for one of the farm houses. More like a dirt path than a road. She looked over the fields of abundant Geldgrain.

They walked right up to a group of people culling the grain, there were several such groups spread around the field. Lance was front and center, calling orders and directions while periodically culling the grain himself.

"Hey Meral can you get some more water, Arthur, head over to group three, they need your grain culling skill." Lance barked.

"Hello Lance, I brought Miss Witch, we are here now, we are here Lance, please pay attention Lance!" Leo shouted. Lance came over to meet them.

"Good morning Nyth, I heard you found a place to stay, that's good. Also heard you got a proposal for me to hear. Before that, I should tell you we worked you into the dungeon schedule, you'll be going once every week on Dunday" Lance said. She held up her hand in affirmation.

"Yeah well, but listen to this…" Nythera read out her entire idea, including staggered implementation starting in Halsbury by the dungeon and the possible expansion all the way to the Quartz golem dungeon, although there was no settlement there yet. She handed Lance the parchment plan she had thrown together last night.

"Hmmm this has real merit, especially if we can shuffle delvers between the villages, but only Halsbury actually has a dungeon and it is already opened to commonfolk, we have no nobility, but what you're proposing would make it far safer. Not to mention that the dungeon tax could easily turn it into net revenue, I like it, I'll suggest it to Ollie" Lance said, stroking his chin in thought.

"Also take this, a little gift for your… troubles in the dungeon before". Lance said quietly, shuffling a package wrapped in brown cloth into her hands.

"Thanks Lance" She said. I can't believe it. it might actually be accepted. Also what the fuck is this? Oh well, I'll deal with it later, don't think he wanted other people seeing it. Nythera noticed several villagers sneaking glances at her as they culled the grain. She put the small box into one of her cloak pockets. At least my idea will be accepted, me however? probably not any time soon. She turned around and walked back.

"Oh, where you going miss witch, I'll take you back to Edwin's, cant have you getting lost now can we, we got daylight hours burning lets go!" Leo shot out in a single breath.

"Actually Leo, I'd like to go to the plaza first if thats alright with you" Nythera said. Time to take a look at that supply depot.

"Sure thing miss witchy, lets go to the plaza, I'll be back in a jiffy Lance, just give me 5 minutes" Leo said, bolting for the plaza, Nythera in tow. They arrived there after greeting only six other people.

"Myrraval Supply Depot #3" She stood before the familiar perfectly-smooth black ovaloid rock. The town center had a bustle of people coming and going, but it was too early for major traffic beyond the occasional wagon. She could clearly see the handmark on the top now that she knew what to look for. But opening it here? In a crowded place? That would be stupid.

"Leo, do you know of any other rocks like these, or places with writing like this?" She asked.

"I'm not sure miss, there's the one building up by the Mirrorwake and the Fortress, but no one can go near the fortress. You'd be better off asking Oswin, Oswin Vandet. He's an actual archaeo-whats-it-called, he spends all his time with those rocks and stuff, but his house is a bit far out." Leo said.

"Oh and he's Edwin's older brother." he added. Edwin has a brother? And he's an archaeologist? Why didn't he say so before.

"If you've got nothing else to do here, I'll take you back to Edwin's, I've got a busy busy schedule here, can't waste no time" Leo said, tapping his foot.

"Alright alright Leo, lets go then" Nythera said. Does this kid ever stop doing… anything? Does he sleep? Is he human? I heard there were some different races within The Crevasse, maybe he's some kind of Hyper-Energy Being. Before long, they arrived at the familiar alchemist's den.

"Oh you're back already, how did it go?" Shelly asked, greeting them at the door.

"Lance said he liked the idea, he's going to suggest it to Ollie. Can I talk to Edwin?" Nythera said.

"Oh that's wonderful. Yeah Edwin is in the cellar right now" Shelly said. Nythera turned back to thank Leo, but he was already gone. She stood before the cellar entrance and shouted "Edwin we need to talk, do you have a moment?". Edwin popped out of the door not ten seconds later.

"Yes Nythera, no need to shout, I am right here. What do you need" he said, taking a sip of tea.

"I heard something from Leo, apparently you have a brother, called Oswin who is an archaeologist. Could you introduce me". She asked. The cellar door had already shut.

"No I cannot" came out muffled through the wood. That does not scream healthy sibling relationship. She gave up.

"You should probably avoid talking about Oswin with Edwin, I can direct you to his house" Shelly said sympathetically. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"What happened? He didn't even say why." Nythera asked.

"I have no idea and I don't ask. I met Oswin on one of the rare times he dropped by, but they refused to talk to each other, something about an experiment gone wrong. Why do you want to meet Oswin?" Shelly said.

"Well, I heard he might know about more of those ruins, I've taken an interest in them." Nythera said. Shelly tapped her chin, humming.

"Fine, I guess I gotta go anyways." she placed her hands on Nythera's shoulders.

"Very well, guess this could be a good way to get more data for my maps, I'll be ready in an hour, meet me at the door." Shelly said, leaving to play with her maps. Nythera went back to her room and pulled out the small box Lance had given her. Cracking open the lid revealed a small silver ring, studded with a scattering of tiny orange gemstones. It's kinda ugly, this is the stuff old widows wear. She pulled out the note tucked behind it and read it.

"For your dungeon troubles. It's a shard tier ring, grants a +2 increase in Constitution. Hopefully it'll keep you alive" Nythera grinned. Thanks Lance, this is exactly what I am going to need if assassins and fluxspawn keep coming after me. Putting it on, her hands felt… oddly cold. A faint chill traveled through her body. She cleaned up her room and went down to meet Shellia at the door, the new ring glinting off her right hand's pointer finger.

Shelly and Nythera departed, heading straight through Grandport, to the road to Halsbury where she had been earlier that day. Except halfway to Halsbury they took a fork in the road that headed up towards the mountains.

"Why does Oswin live in the middle of nowhere? I thought we would be going to Halsbury." Nythera asked, the mountains slowly looming over them.

"He is obsessed with the ruins and it's easier to study them when you live next to a bunch." Shelly said. It took nearly four hours of walking to reach the base of Oswin's mountain. This is a trail? Nythera stood, flabbergasted at the sight of what was supposedly the path to his house, covered in arching fronds, vines and a wall of greenery. As they battled their way up the mountain, fighting a wall of endless green among the cacophony of birdsong, Nythera grew weary.

The sun is already setting, how long have we been at this? Shelly took another swing with the machete at the dastardly green foes.

"We are about there, you owe me for this though, going to get Oswin from his stupid mountain bungalow is never fun." Shelly said, another swipe of the machete sending now-dead foliage flying. As the slope flattened, she found herself standing on a wide raised-dirt terrace on the side of the mountain. Ahead was a small stone house with a tower sticking out of the wall, it went up above the canopy around them. To the right, against the mountain was a huge stone facility, grey stone carved with numerous runes.

Unlike the structure she had seen before, this one had flat walls with carved lines trailing down the sides. The roof was triangular and the doors were flat. It looks… far more functional? Than the last one. Like they were purely focused on purpose, not design. Nythera had to fight the urge to walk up and yank open the doors on the spot. Best not to tip my hand so blatantly, besides I have no idea what kind of facility it is.

They walked up to the stone fortress of archeology, finding windows open and someone singing in the kitchen.

"Hum hum hum do do do da da da deeeeeee" A voice called out from the window. Great, he is insane, if Edwin is anything to go by, Oswin should also have some… strange interests. Shelly shouted back crassly "Hey Oswin open the door, you got uninvited guests." *CLANG, CRASH, CLACK Nythera grimaced. That sounds like several broken dishes.

"Who is it? Is that you Shelly? I wasn't expecting any guests and the pasta I was making is now ant food I'm afraid" Oswin said, half-whimpering like a puppy.

"Yeah it's me, when was the last time you came down from this hovel? Oswin you know what we talked about before, you need to talk to people, don't make me drag you down from here myself." she threatened Is this… really Shelly? Sweet little Shelly?

"Yes ma'am, one moment. I'll get the door, suns setting so you best stay the night" Oswin said. A gruff face greeted them as the door opened, burly beard and messy hair making Oswin look homeless. He's…. Completely different from Edwin. No matter where Nythera looked she could find none of the refinement that Edwin carried in Oswin. Or the explosive inclinations. Wonder if that is related to the experiment gone wrong…?

"Come in already then" He mumbled. Oswin's home was a gigantic mess, notes, various bricks and maps strewn at seemingly random. The house smelled of paper and wet dirt. There was a massive pile of pasta strewn across the floor of the kitchen. Can I go back to Edwin's place already? They ate from the rations Shelly carried up, stale biscuits.

"Want some coffee?" Oswin asked, pouring a cup. The room, she now noticed, was full of empty coffee cups sitting in various places, desks, shelves, even on some chairs.

"How do you even have coffee? Is it naturally occurring here?" Nythera asked. She remembered seeing coffee in Ramalia, it was a common drink there, but Greymere had none.

"I'm not really sure, it's been here since I can remember, they grow it in Amplewoods. So why'd you two bother hiking all the way up here?" He asked.

"Nythera here, was hoping you could tell her about any ruins you have found. She's very interested in studying them." Shelly said. Oswin was staring at Talvik, seemingly transfixed.

"That's a weird bird you got yourself". He mumbled, then turned to face her.

"Oh, fancy yourself a little archaeologist then? Well ain't that something. What do you think that big building outside is then?" Oswin said, a grin painting his face.

"I haven't had a chance to go up and examine it… but compared to the Mirrorwake facility, it seems much more… functional and fortified? If I had to guess." Nythera said.

"There we go, fortified is a good way to describe it. Let me pull this map over to the table and you take a look at what the full complex used to be." Oswin said, pulling a roll of parchment off a shelf and rolling it out onto the table. The complex map showed the building embedded in the mountain in the center, walls protruding out of the mountain side forming a half-circle around it, with several towers built into the walls.

The gate had three separate lock points and there were a series of independent, unconnected towers scattered beyond the walls. This looks very well defended, too well defended to be something small. But I didn't see a single standing tower from this map when we arrived.

"Is it military?" She asked.

"The little miss is a smarty. Yes I reckon it is a military facility, I've been trying to decipher the runes to no avail, but everything here indicates defense. Do you spot the weird thing about this place?" Oswin asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"The towers and gates, you seem to have indicated that they were built for containing rather than repelling. The mountainside in this has been walled up and theres walkways on it, why would they need defenses on the inside?" Nythera said.

"Shes got a knack for this. Yes little lady, as far as I can tell, they were more trying to keep something in, rather than something out. Why, I have no fucking idea." Oswin admitted, pushing another parchment roll on the table.

"This here is my map of ruin sightings. Of course, can't approach the interior, way too many fluxspawn, possibly multiple overloading dungeons somewhere out there I reckon. Shelly here made me this map." Oswin said. There were over a dozen scattered ones, including the lakeside facility, the Grandport supply depot, and several more depots scattered in the woods and coast. Several larger facilities were marked, including the monolithic structure on the mountain. This is perfect…

there are so many places I have to go, Aw but why are so many deep in fluxspawn territory. This is gonna be difficult. She pouted. Anyways, let's get you two to bed, I've got some cushions you can use, we'll take a look at the facility tomorrow morning, it ain't going anywhere." Oswin said. The group headed off to bed. Nythera found the creaking of trees and the whispers of wind to be oddly disconcerting, as if the forest was closing in on her.