Chương 35: Shady figures

They stepped out of the guildmaster's quarters and into the main corridor, where Alice seemed to be waiting. She stood a few paces down the hall, pacing in short, tight movements. In her hands was a leather-bound book. Ethan and Leah moved forward to meet her.

"Find something?" he asked. Alice's jaw tightened.

"I have. And it's not good."

"Is any of this considered good?" Leah questioned.

"What is it?" Ethan asked at the same time. The woman looked agitated.

"This is stuff I need to get back to the guild. I'm not sure if I should be telling anyone." Leah shifted under Ethan's arm.

"He did kind of save us," she said lightly. Alice's gaze flicked to Leah, then back to Ethan.

"I know. Shit, this is just really bad." The book was still in her hand. Ethan decided to take a wild guess.

"What? That's a list of how many people he's killed? How many of your guild members never actually made it to the second level?" Alice looked at him sideways.

"Where did that come from? No." She paused.

"Ah, fine. This is a Farscribe book. And it's got a lot of important information in it."

"What's that?" Leah asked. Alice exhaled sharply and stopped pacing.

"It's something that allows long-distance communication."

"So what does it say?" Ethan pressed.

"This is bigger than this settlement," she said quietly.

"Much bigger."

"What do you mean?" She held up the book.

"This wasn't random. The necromancer wasn't acting alone. He was being instructed."

"Instructed to do what?" Leah asked.

"To create tension between guilds," Alice said.

"To engineer conflict between the Broken Dawns and the Valkyries."

"A guild war," Ethan said. Alice nodded once.

"Yes."

"How do you know?" Ethan asked. She looked down at the book in her hand.

"Because it describes killing each of us and staging it as though it were the opposite guild. And not just here. Over the entire level. I think this place was more like the workshop for that necromancer. I don't know. There's a lot of fucked-up shit stated in this book." She finished and waved the book for emphasis.

"Whoever holds the other book," Alice continued, "was giving him instructions, coordinating targets, and requesting to know how his work was going. I think he was trying to discover something, but he needed test subjects." Ethan extended his hand slightly.

"Let me see it." Alice pulled it back immediately.

"No." Ethan squinted.

"This involves more than just your guild. I might be able to shed some light on some information."

"But it does involve my guild, a lot of information in here covers secrets about the guild. There's no way I can share it with someone unaffiliated." she shot back.

"And besides, are you even with the Valkyries or Broken Dawns?" He paused and chose not to answer. Instead he tried to take a step forward. His weight almost made him buckle and he sucked in a sharp breath. Leah shifted beside him. Holding him up.

"Alice—""We need to move," Alice cut in.

"If someone is pulling strings from the shadows, they're not going to stop because this settlement fell. This was just the instrument, not the mind behind it." Ethan withdrew his hand slowly. He would figure out who was behind it. And he would get his hands on that book one way or another. Just not right now. First he would need to heal. Then hopefully he could just take the book quietly. If not, then he would resort to force.

"Fine," he said evenly, while eyeing the book. Inside, his thoughts were racing. He had always assumed one of the guilds had done something wrong. But maybe this had always been orchestrated. Maybe last time they had just gotten away with it. But who would do such a thing? Who would be willing to have thousands of people die when humanity was already fighting for its right to live? Ethan needed to find out. This just became to most important priority on his list.

He wasn't so stupid that he thought he knew every single little detail. But this was something far too large to ignore. And Ethan needed to know. Alice turned toward the exit corridor.

"We should get out of here." Ethan nodded. While he did need to stop these wars before they happened, he also had other priorities. Like getting Leah up to a decent level so he could get her through the Mirage before this level turned mad. He also had to get his body cultivation going to strengthen his soul and fill up some more skill slots. He had already added mana into a movement. Now it was time to build on it and hopefully have the system recognize him for his efforts.

Or worst case, he would have to just buy a mana-enhanced skill at level thirty. Luckily for everyone, the map in the guildmaster's room had shown the tunnel layout, so he already knew where the settlement's exit was. And with the ward disabled now, there would be nothing masking it. So they moved back to the settlement monolith, where the ex-prisoners were getting ready. After rallying the five survivors, the group began their descent.

Ethan had found a wooden chair that he promptly destroyed and turned the leg into a walking stick, abandoning Leah's offered support. It worked as well as could be expected, but the pain wrecking his body quite frankly sucked. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. But he bore it, and if anyone was upset at the slow pace, they didn't complain. Not even Alice, though she did glance in his direction multiple times.

However any rising complaint was quickly quelled when he led them to the remaining undead. Then, finally they stepped out of the settlement entrance and into the gorge below. The walls of the gorge rose high on either side, jagged and uneven, cutting off most of the sky. Ethan adjusted the strap of his bag and let his eyes sweep the terrain automatically. He really would need a storage item soon. Between his journal and the ward, he was carrying things far too valuable to be stolen or destroyed so easily.

Ethan looked around. Now, with the ward down, Ethan could see the settlement clearly as he peered up. Stone columns lined the side of the cliffs, shaved in perfect symmetry. He knew inside those openings the settlement rested. Now they were left with the decision of where to go. Arrowtown was obviously the closest choice. But it also seemed extremely stupid. The fake Broken Dawns had tried to capture him there. The prisoners had all been taken from there. By all rights, it was in on this whole situation.

But if he left it behind now, they would likely discover the necromancer was gone and begin to cover their tracks or just disappear. Ethan had seven others with him. Most of them were injured; some were even starved. They couldn't really put up a fight. Hell, they would all be lucky if they made it back to Mountford. Not to mention the unspoken tension between them hadn't vanished just because they'd left the settlement. Alice walked a few paces ahead.

She was obviously in a rush to get back to her guild, which kind of aligned with Ethan. Mountford did seem the best option, even if it meant he couldn't find out who was involved in Arrowtown. He was just too injured to fight and it would give him more time to get his hands on that book. But then there were the former prisoners, who lingered further back. Ethan had denied them their revenge. They weren't hostile with him, but they didn't seem too happy with him either. He couldn't really blame them.

None of them wore Valkyrie gear or Broken Dawn gear, so he assumed they were just unfortunate souls in the wrong place. But he had made his oath, so he wouldn't watch them throw their lives away now, even if he had to drag them away from Arrowtown. As they moved out of the gorge, he found himself weighing options. He was trying to figure out how to broach the topic—how to suggest direction without sounding like he was issuing orders—when movement ahead made him slow.

At first, it was just shapes rounding a bend in the gorge. But as light shone on them, Ethan could make out figures. His hand drifted toward his sword. His senses sharpened. For half a heartbeat, he thought it might be backup from Arrowtown. Reinforcements sent to recover the necromancer's work. They were outnumbered and injured. But then the group came closer. White and cream fabric caught the light. The distinctive lines of Valkyrie armor became clear. Alice exhaled in front of him.

"Thank God." The Valkyries moved toward them quickly. At their front strode a male with curly dark hair. Ethan couldn't see a weapon on him, but as he focused, he could sense he had awakened his core. That alone made him unable to relax. An awakened core meant he was someone Ethan would have to take seriously, especially in his state. The Valkyries closed the remaining distance quickly. Ethan did a quick count. There were at least twenty of them. He took a slow step back. He would do better to listen first.

Alice moved forward to meet them. The man at the front slowed and stopped a few paces away. Ethan activated [Keen Sense]. The world sharpened at the edges until he could keenly hear even his own heartbeat. He filtered everything else out until only their voices remained.

"Alice, is that you?" the Valkyrie leader asked. Alice nodded.

"Desmond, you don't know how glad I am to see they sent you!"

"What happened? Where's Chris?"

"We were captured at Arrowtown. Just like the people behind me. We were brought to a settlement here. Me and Leah—we managed to break free and were attempting to reach the outer passage when we were cornered. Chris… he didn't make it. There was a necromancer." Ethan saw the man tense visibly. His jaw tightened before he let out a breath.

"Tell me everything. But first, is it safe here?"

"As safe as can be. When we escaped, we had to fight our way out. I think everyone back there is dead."

"Okay." He turned to his group.

"Set up a quick camp. It looks like we have injured back there, and we will need to prepare to search this settlement." The other members moved promptly at his orders. A temporary camp was established along a widened bend in the gorge, sheltered from direct view above. They didn't actually set any tents up, just put their gear down, pulled out food and water, and began to move between everyone. Ethan did notice that two people split off, each taking a direction of the gorge and disappearing.

Three Valkyries started offering healing. They moved through everyone while Ethan tried to listen in on the conversation Alice and Desmond were having. She told him of how they were ambushed, how Arrowtown was involved, and that the necromancer got away. A healer had arrived before him, but he pushed Leah forward first. Leah glanced at him once but didn't argue. He continued to listen. Desmond had looked his way as Alice finished her recount of what happened.

Finally, their conversation was finished, and a healer was ready for him.

"If you'd sit for me, please," the healer said gently. Ethan didn't protest. In fact, he wondered why he hadn't already done that. He was to on edge. The moment he lowered himself onto the sand, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. His thigh still felt strained where he had forced mana through it. There were shallow cuts across his chest. His forearm was nicked. And his rib was definitely cracked. The healer knelt in front of him and placed both hands lightly against his sternum.

Warmth spread immediately beneath her palms. And just as always, Ethan found it completely unnatural to have someone else's mana coursing through his body.

"You've definitely been through the wars," the healer muttered.

"Why didn't you step forward? The others were mainly dehydrated."

"I thought they needed it more," he replied. The young woman looked up and smiled.

"Isn't that nice of you." Ethan could feel his body slowly being mended. The muscle in his legs eased, their spasms finally coming to an end. His cuts slowly scabbed over, and his breath loosened. By the time she withdrew her hands, the worst of the damage was gone. He still felt tired, but at least now he could walk.

"Thank you," he said quietly. The healer inclined her head and stepped aside, revealing Desmond behind her. Ethan wasn't surprised. He had been tracking the man the entire time. But up close, Ethan could see the fine scar that cut through his left eyebrow and disappeared into his hairline. He looked like he was in his thirties. If Ethan read through his journal, perhaps the man would have a brief description. After all, it wasn't often someone awakened their core on the first level.

"I'm Desmond," he spoke.

"Vice Guild Leader of the Valkyries." Ethan nodded. He would definitely have something in his journal about the man then, even if he couldn't remember him personally.

"Ethan."

"I know."

"I've been tasked with finding out whatever the hell has been going on around here," Desmond continued.

"So if you'd fill me in from your own perspective, that would be great." Ethan inclined his head.

"I'm fine with that. So where do I start…" Ethan relayed his story, not omitting anything. He had no real reason to lie, so instead he just told it how it was. When he was finished, Desmond studied him for a moment before speaking.

"So you defeated the necromancer."

"Yes."

"You had him."

"Yes."

"And you chose not to kill him."

"I like to say I chose to keep everyone alive." He nodded.

"It does sound that way. Though it's troubling he got away." Desmond stood.

"Anyway, for what it's worth, thanks for saving members of my guild. Even if one's your sister."

"It's all good. Like you said, it was going to happen either way. So what are your plans now?" Desmond looked around the little camp spot.

"We will have to investigate the settlement. By all accounts, there shouldn't be one here. Then we will go to Arrowtown. I'll have to request reinforcements. Hopefully by the time I'm finished going over this settlement, they will have arrived." He paused.

"What will you do?" Ethan considered it. He had lots of things he needed to do. But what was most important? Getting that farscribe book.

"I need to think on it."