Chương 6: A Fluxspawn for you, A Fluxspawn for Me.

Nythera looked up to see the white goliath crashing through the forest, smashing through saplings to get to its next meal. She swiveled her legs into the hole until they found purchase in the ladder rungs carved into the tube and descended into the depths. Out of the murderous forest, into the dark pit. Lovely. Nythera relied on the repetition of the rungs to carry her through the darkness. Above, the entrance slid shut, casting her into pitch darkness.

She climbed down for several minutes until her feet touched stone. Letting go of the ladder, Nythera carefully pivoted around… and came face to face with more darkness. Heh, I bet I could make it real bright with some cannon fire… Let's shelve that cannon-in-enclosed-spaces idea for now. Nythera felt her way along the cold walls, water condensing onto her hand. The path forward was open but the corridor was narrow, no wider than the ladder had been.

She advanced from her only reference point in the dark until she hit another wall. Huh, what's this? A dead end? Nythera searched the wall for any indentations, engravings, or a keyhole. Her hands ran over the perfectly smooth surface finding no purchase. The flux was static and wasn't helping her orient herself. Nythera found a small hole in the center of the wall and stuck her finger in it on impulse"fucking OW!" she shouted, clutching her hand.

She ripped her hand away from the wall, blood trickling down her finger, the wall slid up and light poured in. I am getting real sick of these ruins, what sicko made these places? I'll be sure to give them a bombard to the face when I find them. Red light cast by a single circular light flush with the ceiling in the center of the room gave the room an uncomfortable feeling. The room was ovaloid in shape, curving up to a rounded ceiling and extending nearly 10 meters at its longest.

There were no signs of any brick or stone work, just perfectly smooth walls and flooring, as if it was all one gigantic piece. Aurendorians sure had interesting tastes… red lights? Why? There were curved shelves coming up from the ground on both sides, perfectly following the curve of the wall and capping out at about two meters in height. A huge table matching the shape of the room that consumed all of the space in the center; it appeared to be perfectly offset from each wall.

The ambient flux lay still, not so much as a hint of flow. Wonder if they got something to eat. Nythera walked up to some shelves and pulled on them, but they wouldn't budge. Curiously, they seemed to have a set of fingerprints engraved into their surface. Oh, no no no, not this again. She shook her head, backing away from the walls. I am going to bleed the fuck out trying to open these. Nythera sighed, raised her right arm dejectedly and placed her fingers on the markings.

Like clockwork, her thumb felt a sharp pinch and then the shelf popped open a bit. Can I go get someone's dead body to do this for me? Nythera wiped the blood onto her cloak and pulled out the container, putting it on the table. Marbles… lots of marbles Twenty sand-colored marbles were aligned perfectly snug within the box. Nythera picked one up, rolling it around between her thumb and forefinger. The surface was smooth like a river-worn stone. She popped it in her mouth and crunched down on it. Mmm tastes like…

salted sand. Her face scrunched up. Nythera pulled down shelf after shelf, the vast majority of which were the sandy rations. But there were a few exceptions. A metal sheet with indentations and two small locked black boxes. Nythera began with the box, it seemed simple enough. There was a mark, which she presumed was for her poor, bloody thumb. She pressed it against the indentation, the familiar pinch greeting her.

Blood coursed along the thin, angular lines that decorated the exterior of the box, moving rapidly across its surface. Click Nythera opened the box, peering into it with unabashed greed. Huh, it's empty. Not a thing sat within the black confines of the box. It's not just empty…. It's extra empty Nythera took a moment, looked at the table next to the box, back into the box, back to the table, lifted the box up, and looked again. Its… ITS SPATIAL! A SPATIAL ARTIFACT!

She jumped up and down and spinning with the box like it was a newborn baby. Her knee slammed into the table. OW OW OW.

"Kronan, damn it." she said, clutching her bruised knee and hopping up and down. Her new favorite box was about ten inches wide and five inches long, but the interior space was many times that, expanding past the box walls much deeper than it, gaining width and length as it went, making a pyramid-shaped structure on the inside. Nythera turned to the remaining items with renewed enthusiasm. Her thumb clicked into place on the next box. As the lid opened, Nythera hovered over it with completely-uncontained glee.

My life as a rich person has begun! Inside the box were three, shiny, round tokens, they sung out to her with voices of pure greed. I AM FILTHY RICH HAHAHA. She danced across the depot floor, swirling and hopping with giddy energy. Her leg slammed into a cabinet behind her. OW OW OW. She clutched her bruised appendage. Nythera turned the tokens over in her hand, the system-forged metal catching the red light as if it knew its own worth. Upgrade tokens, a whole three of them.

Slot one into a skill and it would sharpen, strengthen, become More than it was before … Or I could just sell one and go buy a city block somewhere. Nythera gleefully pulled up to the remaining artifact, the tablet with indentations. The center was completely flat, she could see her distorted reflection on the black surface, tinged red from the strange light above. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The edges had many indentations, if she squinted and held the tablet at odd angles she could make out Aurendorian runes in the poor lighting.

"Communication Array" was inscribed along the top along with a bunch of instructions on the left side, "Connect", "Disconnect", "Array #", and several she couldn't read. There was a clear "On" and "Off" switch on the back, but pressing it did nothing, no matter how many times nor how vigorously nor any combination of the two worked to turn on the array. The only other thing of note was an empty slot on the backside. She tossed it into the box. I'm going to need a better name for this box.

She sat in quiet contemplation. Ten seconds later she had her answer. Alright, Boxy, because it's a box. She squinted. There were strange etchings on the inside lid of her favorite box. She brought the lid right up to her face, squinting to try to make out the runes. [1 paper note] [1 communication array] Oh now that's something, it keeps an inventory list of everything inside? You're better than a butler!

She pushed her finger into the [1 communication array] runes and the tablet popped right up out of the box, slamming into her jaw. OW, gonna have to be careful with this. She rubbed her poor jaw and dropped the tablet back in. Wait, what is this note? She clicked on the [paper note] runes, this time with her face out of harm's way. A small folded note shot out of the box, Nythera caught it. The note was completely full of inked text. Each line, a different language.

As she scanned through it she found two she could read, one in Aurendorian, and another in Mereian, the language used throughout the Eastern Kingdoms. Both read the same.

"Come find me at The Mythral Palace" Someone else can open these depots! Her eyes widened. But where is "The Mythral Palace"? Is an Aurendorian still living? She took a deep breath. Could I finally get real answers? Nythera put the note back into the box. Deal with this shit later, when I'm not trying to escape with a domain core. What does all of this really mean? Father said we were of the true blood of Aurendor, but why the access to these ruins? The heritage skill? And this language too… Who am I really?

This could be connected to why those inquisitors hunted us across half of Vathrial… or not. She ate some sand marbles, according to Boxy she had [43 ration packs] left, which should last her awhile. She did one last inventory check on her newly acquired goods, yawned and settled down for the night, the floor leeching heat from her body. At day break, whenever that was, she would make for the mountains in the distance and away from all of her problems. … Nythera awoke to a strange feeling on her cloak.

Her mind was still groggy while she slowly pushed herself up. As she searched for the cause of the commotion her eyes landed on a silvery sheet of layered metal, shifting before her eyes. The animate metal turned to face her, two green eyes staring back. A sharp, pointed dark-metallic beak and silvery feathers decorated the metal thing. A… bird? It looks kinda like a falcon.

It flew up in a sudden burst of feathers and landed right on her shoulder, sharp claws digging into her cloak"Well Hello, whatever you are, you strange bird, you aren't gonna peck my eyes out are you?" It could be a fluxspawn, but how the Hel did it get in here? Was it in one of the boxes?

"Greetings Human, Child of Fire and Steel, I have no inclination to consume human flesh." A voice echoed around her. Nythera shot to her feet and looked around, searching for the source. The bird clung tightly to her shoulder.

"Move not with haste, Child, greetings are due." The same voice, clear as rain, echoed around her. Nythera turned her head to face the falcon again, it flexed its wings.

"What do you seek, Child?" the voice returned.

"What are you?" Nythera asked, voice thick with caution.

"I am known as Talvik the Keeper. I would have your designator, Child of Fire and Steel.", the emotionless voice responded.

"I am Nythera, Nythera Vel Aurendor, What is this Child of Fire and Steel stuff you're talking about?" Nythera said.

"It is of little importance Child, I am here to assist and observe you, I can guide you through these woods." He said.

"Why should I trust you? You've already shown you're keeping secrets and we literally just met, I could just leave you in this pit in the ground and go." Nythera said.

"You are alone, in a forest you do not know, on an island you arrived on two days ago, in a sea whose location you do not comprehend." Talvik retorted. This thing knows wayyyyyyyy too much information, has it been stalking me? She didn't want to trust it, but she was left with little choice. Her eyes narrowed. I swear I've seen this silver shade somewhere before. Nythera conceded "Ok well, I suppose you have a point, you wouldn't happen to know the way to anything helpful would you?" She asked.

"I can guide you to a flux convergence point, only half a day of travel from here." The bird strutted. Is it…. Smug?

"A flux convergence point, very useful, let's go there… and just so we are on the same page, not because I don't already know, a flux convergence point is, in simpler terms, what exactly?" Nythera said.

"A flux convergence point is commonly referred to as a "dungeon" by the colonizers present in the settlement known as Grandport." Talvik replied flatly.

"Yes I was aware, but thank you for the clarification." Nythera said and prepared her newly-claimed possessions for transport, tucking most into Boxy. A dungeon is just what I need, with the stats I've gained, I can raid it for food, titles, and artifacts. Until I am strong enough to flee the island. She hummed a tune to herself. As she proceeded up the ladder tube, the bird chirped a note and the door slid open. She scanned the woods for the bear or any other fluxspawn.

There were several snapped trees and huge gouges on many of the surrounding large trees. Seems the bear was upset with me. Oh well, go find another meal stupid fluxspawn. Nythera marched through the lonely woods, the stone entrance of the depot sliding shut as she left. Talvik was not one for small talk and ended most attempts at conversation with concise, factual replies. Except for his directions.

"It is that way, please listen to my direction little one."

"No, halt your advance, turn thirty degrees to the left, and then proceed. A minor error, nothing more."

"Wait, stop. Please turn one hundred and fifty degrees to the right, then proceed for five hundred paces. Yes, this should be the correct route, go forth Child." So help me god, I am going to throttle this bird by the neck. Does he taste better than those marble rations? Mountains that were once distant now loomed right before them, covered in dense untapped forests. The only thing consistent was increasing flux levels which were already considerably denser than the river had been.

As they proceeded into the mountain valley, the flux around thickened, she could make out swirling currents and rivers of brown and white flux heading to one point ahead, different channels often converging. Clusters of Lizigeons croaked above her, as if waiting for her to become carrion. A rocky, smaller river roared nearby, the sound of water crashing through rapids dulled out most of the forest sounds.

By the time the sun rested at the zenith, Nythera found herself standing in a clearing next to a sheer cliff wall of grey stone. The flux, turbulent above and around her, like a raging river smashing into the mountain side. Where flux met rock, there was a gaping, crude, stone door.

"This is the flux convergence point, please proceed with caution Child, you are yet unclassed" Talvik said. Nythera had figured out, rather disturbingly, that Talvik's replies didn't produce any sound, but were actually projected into her mind. Didn't Will say this was a common trait among sapient creatures? I don't quite remember all the details of that class. Nythera shivered. Doesn't make it any less disturbing.

"Yeah yeah, I'll be cautious, I'm just here for some resources and experience, might have to rig up a place to sleep though" Nythera replied, scanning the clearing for suitable spots as she proceeded up to the entrance. This seems pretty heavy. She tugged on the two-meter high stone door. Just what strata was this dungeon supposed to be again? Oh yeah I forgot to ask.

"Hey Talvik…" CRACKKKK Nythera pivoted around. And came face to face with a familiar white bear, visibly enraged. It barreled forward towards her. She was trapped, between a cliff and a furious fluxspawn. I got to go, NOW! She positioned one leg against the rock wall and yanked with all her strength, the door lurched open. Static coursed through the air, the fluxspawn letting off a heavy discharge as it closed the gap.

Nythera slipped behind the door and was thrown forward as the multi-ton force of the bear slammed into it. Take that! Dumbass! She snickered. She found herself staring into a grey cavern, lit dimly with quartz crystals and covered in scattered boulders of brown and grey hues. This doesn't seem so ba- One of the boulders twitched.