He immediately went to Atlas, who was no longer surrounded by the bluish aura. The construct chirped at his approach, a welcome sound after yesterday’s ordeal.
“All better, I hope,” Justin said, kneeling beside his mechanical companion.
He accessed Atlas’s interface, finding him at 160/400 ether units—less than half capacity. Not ideal.
Justin retrieved Emberlyn’s crystal, carefully placing it against Atlas’s energy core. The crystal flared, its stored energy draining into the construct. The light faded as the crystal was extinguished, leaving Atlas almost—but not quite—fully charged.
“Not the best,” Justin said with a sigh. “You won’t like this, but I might have to put you in the ring in case we run into trouble later.”
Atlas’s lights dimmed slightly, his mechanical limbs drooping in what could only be described as disappointment. Still, he gave an affirmative chirp that seemed to say he understood the necessity.
Justin ate a quick meal of dried meat and fruit from his pack, washing it down with water from his canteen. Once done, he reluctantly returned Atlas to his ring, feeling the familiar weight settle against his finger.
He exited the cave, making his way toward the same rocky slope they had used just days before. Well, more like months before from everyone else’s perspective, but the point stood. As he got closer to the top, the wind began to pick up, gusting down into the canyon with frightening force, nearly pushing him backward.
Justin switched to his Earth Affinity, Terridan’s Resolve.
[You have become as unyielding as the earth itself. You cannot be knocked down or staggered by a hostile attack.]
Justin wasn’t sure if this wind would count as a “hostile attack.” The Screamwind yesterday certainly had, and if this storm was a response to Ashralok’s return, it might be seen as connected to her.
Or, perhaps, the Affinity’s effects extended a bit beyond what the text actually said. Such was the case with Vorthak’s Flame, where the original description said nothing about fire protection, and yet it offered it all the same.
Immediately, Justin felt himself grounded and balanced. Despite the roaring wind, he made it to the top of the slope, only to find he could see just a few feet in front of him, such was the storm’s intensity.
“Yikes.”
Even using the Sapphire Star as a guiding light, this wouldn’t be easy.
He used his Ring of Hygiene to instantly swap into his Dapper Adventuring Set. Immediately, the Dust Repel enchantment kicked in, giving him a clear aura of about three feet in all directions to work with. He had nearly forgotten about this enchantment and wondered if it could have helped him avoid the canyon until he realized it would have done nothing for his visibility.
Visibility would still be an issue going forward. If the Star got brighter, he was on the right track. If not, he could change course. And with Terridan’s Resolve, the wind wouldn’t blow him off course.
He waited about half an hour in the lee of a large boulder, hoping things would calm down and offer some better visibility. Unfortunately, the storm maintained its ferocious intensity.
“All right. Let’s do this.”
He turned in a rough approximation of where the gate was and set off into the maelstrom.
The wind roared in his ears, drowning out all other sounds. His clothing whipped and snapped around him. Without Terridan’s Resolve, the stronger gusts would have been blown away instantly, tumbling helplessly across the desert.
Justin watched the Sapphire Star closely, noticing it was dimming. He shifted course, and after a few minutes, it started to brighten again. The gate was only a mile away from the canyon. It shouldn’t be too difficult to make his way there, even in these conditions.
Though the wind had no effect on his balance, he still tripped and stumbled over the shifting sands. Each time the Star dimmed, he changed course until it got brighter, a game of hot-and-cold played in a sandstorm.
At last, the Star was shining so brightly that its light penetrated the surrounding sand, creating an aura of clear air around him about fifty feet wide, a perfect aegis of calm in the heart of the storm.
And then, there it was. The Gate to Eyrth.
Justin wasted no time, leaving absolutely nothing to chance. He ran forward, pushing through before Solanis could throw anything else at him.
[Entering Eyrth.]
Justin stepped out onto the other side, where the calm, enchanted stillness of Zanthera was a welcome relief. He looked around, finding everything exactly as he had left it. The city rose from the floating island, while the Vein of Aetherius shone beneath, casting the vast cavern in a subtle blue glow.
“Home sweet home. Kind of.”
He swapped back into his Founder’s Regalia as he retrieved Atlas from his ring. The construct immediately chirped with excitement.
“We won’t be staying long, I’m afraid.”
Justin led the way across the former battlefield, still littered with the remains of constructs. Atlas inspected some curiously, his movements slowing as he approached one particularly damaged unit. He gently touched its cracked faceplate with one of his drills, beeping softly in what Justin could only interpret as respect for a fallen kin.
“Come on, buddy,” Justin said gently. “There’s nothing we can do for them now.”
They made it back to the main drag of the city. Justin found himself watching the empty buildings on either side, most about ten to twelve stories tall, many connected by bridges over the main street. He wondered what it was like to live here thousands of years ago, an exodus of humanity from Earth. He supposed this place could be thought of as a colony of sorts, and it certainly had more secrets to uncover, especially in its library.
But time was pressing, so Justin made his way to the central transit station, and within minutes, he was on the elevator taking him out of the city and back to the original tower above.
As he watched the city shrink beneath him, he prepared himself mentally. He was actually quite close to getting just about anywhere he wanted to be. He didn’t think it was likely that Valdrik would be camping outside waiting for him. That would be extreme, even by his standards. No doubt the man had given up the chase long ago, which would likely place him back in Silverton.
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Justin wondered what all had changed while he had been gone. It would be early spring by now, or perhaps very late winter.
At last, the elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors opened back into the chamber beneath the tower that the Fyrspawn colony had originally occupied. Justin didn’t hesitate, going straight toward it. Within a minute, he and Atlas were standing in the Nexus.
Now came the part where he wasn’t sure what came next. Eldrin had the clay tablet gained from Pyra, so Justin was working off memory. Of course, he remembered every location they’d previously visited, but for the rest, he was just guessing.
“Well, we don’t have many options,” Justin admitted. “And I’m not sure I trust my memory for all the locations I translated...”
Mont Elea was the only one he was absolutely certain about. Pyra had mentioned it led to a chamber with a heavily enchanted door, but they had not investigated further, fearing the risk. Justin could take that risk now, with his Sapphire Aegis giving him ten seconds of immunity in case there was an explosion or something.
Best case, he cut off weeks or even months of travel time. And if Lila and Eldrin were going to Mont Elea, it was possible he could “catch up” and their arrival times would line up perfectly. If they had already left, then he could easily ascertain where they were going by asking someone there. If they hadn’t arrived yet, that could be trickier.
And of course, if they had decided not to come at all, Justin was out of luck.
Justin nodded, using Atlas as a soundboard. “Well, worst case, I can use my Sapphire Aegis to protect against anything dangerous and retreat here. I also have Upper Hand, and I can use that to refresh the cooldown. I have nothing to lose by trying, really.”
Another thought occurred to him. He could also go through the gate and switch to Elea’s Whisper. Assuming the gate was located within the chapter house, or at least very close, and Eldrin and Lila were there, there was a good chance he could be speaking to them very soon.
Decision made, he headed through the gate.
He passed through simply enough. As Pyra had mentioned, he was within a chamber of basic stone. The room was small and circular, with walls of polished granite that seemed to glow with an inner light. On the side stood a simple stone altar dedicated to Arion, God of Power. A bronze effigy of a muscular figure holding a war hammer dominated the altar.
Before him, Justin could see the door, glowing with a subtle golden light. He had hoped his monocle would give him some information about it, but it registered nothing.
He started heading toward it, wondering about the optimal time to activate Sapphire Aegis.
But much to his surprise... it simply opened in reaction to his presence.
As he stepped through, he decided to absorb Atlas, at least for the moment. Ahead was a large chamber filled with pillars and glass display cases. Justin walked through the aisles, his eyes widening at what the cases held.
The collection was staggering—artifacts from Earth spanning centuries of history. In one case, a modern iPhone sat on a velvet cushion, its screen dark but immaculately preserved aside from a single small crack. Nearby, a collection of paperback novels from various decades sat, their spines lined up like soldiers. A glass-enclosed pedestal held what looked like a vintage Colt revolver, still gleaming despite its age. Further down, much older artifacts appeared—a pocket watch from what must have been the Victorian era, a collection of Roman coins, and even what appeared to be a stone axe head from prehistoric times.
The most jarring displays were the modern ones. A Boston Red Sox baseball cap. A Starbucks mug. A Sony Walkman with headphones. A stack of vinyl records, at the top of which was Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue. A plastic lightsaber. A medical stethoscope.
And went on and on and on.
Justin stared at these pieces of his world, displayed like sacred relics. The juxtaposition was unsettling.
That was when Justin remembered what Valdrik had told him. The Templars collected and used Earth objects to lure Earthers to them, since somehow their presence attracted Earthers, as a sort of honeypot. Maybe that was why the door had opened. Justin felt the impulse to run, and perhaps he might have—an older version of him.
But no, he would face this. He had come here for a reason, and that was to find Eldrin and Lila. Plus, there were no immediate threats. In fact, this very much had the appearance of a museum. Why display these artifacts in this manner if not for preservation and study?
After a bit of exploring, the shock factor waned, and Justin found a staircase leading up. A stone door slid back of its own accord, and as he passed through, it shut behind him, seeming to lock with a following snap. He found himself on what appeared to be a wide stone porch, with thick pillars supporting a rock overhang above his head. A stone railing stood in the distance, beyond which stretched a vast, tumultuous ocean.
Justin felt a bit dazed and looked around to see that he wasn’t actually alone, but no one was paying attention to him. There were several gray-robed priests, most of them various levels, anywhere from 5 all the way up to 20. There was even a Paladin wearing white robes and steel armor, much like Alistair, with the Phoenix of Light on his breast. This one was a Level 22 Paladin, and like the others, he wasn’t paying attention to Justin. Apparently, Justin was only one face in a crowd. Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising, since Mont Elea seemed to be a destination for pilgrims.
[Elea's Whisper adopted.]
Eldrin? This is Justin. Are you here?
No response.
Lila? Do you hear me?
Justin smiled as her presence filled his mind. He felt her shock, her disbelief.
And then, she responded.
Justin? Is that really you? By the gods, I thought you were dead!
Yes, it’s me. I just got here. It’s... a long story.
Well, where are you?
I’m by this railing. I can see the ocean. I just went through this museum thing. Do you know where that is?
No, I don’t. The Mont is a huge complex, though. When did you arrive?
Just now. The gate took me to that museum, and then it let me out here.
You must be on Arion’s Veranda. Well, hang on. I’m actually not far...
Within a couple of minutes, he saw her. She appeared from around a column, her brown hair longer than he remembered, just past her shoulders. Her green eyes were wide, and he had never seen a more beautiful sight. She was wearing a new leather armor set, wrapped in a cloak the color of burgundy.
She ran to him, and Justin held out his arms, locking her in an embrace.
“It’s really you,” she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.
They just held each other like that for a while before at last parting. Lila watched him with twinkling eyes.
“You have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Later,” Justin said. “Eldrin?”
She shook her head, and Justin’s heart lurched. “He left about a week ago.”
“Damn. I thought you were going to say he died.”
“We very nearly did. Multiple times.” She studied his face. “Justin, what happened? Where were you?”
Justin looked around, noticing that a few of the priests were taking notice of him now. Or maybe they were taking notice of Lila.
“It’s a long story. Did you deliver the news?”
She nodded. “We did last week when we arrived. Things have been working in the background, or so they tell me, but suffice it to say, a full investigation is going to be conducted.”
Justin closed his eyes in relief. “Thank the gods.”
“I’m not sure what that entails, but hopefully something will be done about him.”
“And you? What made you stay here?”
“I’m tired; that’s why. I just needed some time to clear my head, and this is a good spot for it. I was going to leave tomorrow.” She hugged him again. “I’m so glad I didn’t.”
“I’ve missed you,” Justin said softly.
“Same. It’s strange not having direction.” She glanced around. “High Priest Kaive... he’s the leader of the Templars. He’ll no doubt want to meet you.”
Justin remembered the museum of Earth artifacts, what Valdrik had told him. “I’m... not sure that’s the best idea. In fact, I shouldn’t stay here much longer.” He looked her in the eyes. “Will you come with me?”
She smiled. “Yes, of course. My things are still in my room. I’ll just have to—”
At that moment, a large, broad-shouldered man appeared from behind a column. His face was stern, square-jawed, with salt-and-pepper hair and a walrus mustache. His ornate white robes did little to hide his muscular frame. Above his head, Justin’s breath caught at seeing his level and class: a Level 40 High Priest.
The man approached, his footing sure, his eyes seeming to see right through Justin.
“You must be Justin Talemaker,” he said, approaching and offering a meaty paw. “I’m Arlan Kaive, High Priest of Arion.”
Justin took the hand, meeting his eye. “Pleased to meet you. Sorry, I’m a bit late in arriving.”
The High Priest smiled knowingly, as if he already knew Justin’s deepest, darkest secret. “Oh, no trouble at all. These are strange times we live in, and everything you have done to fight the darkness has not been missed. You have proven yourself a capable ally, if half of what your friends told me is true.”
Justin smiled, but inwardly he was reeling. Just how much did this man know?
Whatever the case, he had to do what he did best. Survive with his words.