Published at 16th of February 2024 2:25 pm

Chapter 2.68 The Well Of Pestilence

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It felt odd walking into a dungeon’s heart without facing any beasts or bosses. Instead, the passageways were mostly deserted. Almost naked servants passed Nox and Lillin without making eye contact. Blue-black markings covered their skin. They looked like veins but followed more geometric patterns. Nox was familiar with such marks. He had two sets of them high on his forearms. The people working in the pyramid had mana burn far more severe than his.

It didn’t take long to reach the giant domed room that occupied the top half of the pyramid. Nox’s eyes darted to its center. He saw a myconid three times as large as any he had seen before occupying the space. The prettiest face Nox had ever seen grew out of the beast. It was two feet tall, and the blue eyes appeared near-lifeless. As Nox got a better look, he realized the fungus mostly encased a giant human body. Joints and extremities stuck out of the mass, appearing pallidd and atrophied.

Nox didn’t need Lillin to tell him that the entity he saw was the dungeon lord. However, she looked like a husk of the god she once was. As Nox took the scene in, he noticed the magic circle surrounding her. Lines connecting the outermost rings made it look like a well’s border. The runes pulsated, and she breathed with it. Nox realized the Well of Pestilence wasn’t just corrupting and draining Terrastalia but also the dungeon lord.

A woman as ancient as Diya sat on a floating throne in front of the myconid-encased goddess. She wore the same marsh-green coat as the other cultists, but a broach sat over her left breast instead of a lapel pin. It bore the same wasp and well emblem as the coats.

“Hurry up!” She snapped at the servants binding the Woodson siblings to posts under her. “Wake them up.”

Smelling salts did the job. Both siblings awoke, but Alexander looked dazed. Blood streamed down the side of his face. It looked like someone had struck the side of his head to end his protests and struggling. Caitlin appeared more alert than her brother.

“I hear you’re the smartest Woodson of your generation,” the old mage said. “Is that true?”

“Hard to tell,” Caitlin replied. Her cold tone betrayed no sense of fear. Nox shivered, sensing the powerful, noxious mana radiating from the old woman. However, despite the closer range, the Woodson woman didn’t quiver. “I don’t have many cousins, thanks to you. The few remaining keep their distance.”

“Don’t thank me, lovely.” The woman laughed. “It was my mother who culled your grandaunts and uncles. I’m just a humble daughter trying to carry on her mother’s grandest work.”

“Ah. Clementine Schneider. Grandmother said she killed you.”

“Good. That’s what I wanted the old bag of bones to think.” The laughter got louder. “It's been Clementine Wagner for just over a century now. The esteemed Dean Woodson met me a handful of times, but she never made the connection.”

“And here you are now, torturing this poor Titan. Haven’t you lived a wonderful life?” Caitlin’s tone couldn’t have been any drier. “Go on then. Continue your mother’s work. Kill two more Woodsons.”

“No.” The ancient mage waved her hand, and the domed ceiling lit up with moving images of the world outside Terrastalia. “Not yet, at least. I think it’ll be a lot more fun if I let you watch the grand City of Ygg fall before I kill you.” The old woman’s attention shifted to where Nox and Lillin stood. “You, there. Where in Niddhogg’s name is Mathias?”

“He’s dealing with a portal on the eastern cliff face,” Nox answered, forgetting about the fake accent. “Apparently, the intruders are making it challenging. We came for your help, Master.”

“Portal?” Her face contorted into a snarl, and she banged her fist against the throne’s armrest. “Why in the world did I pay a fortune for a damned portal mage if he isn’t here when I need him?”

“Apparently, it’s the druid,” Lillin added. “Mathias thinks she and Terrastalia made the portal together. He can’t close it.”

“He asked us to request your help.”

“Hold on a moment.” The woman’s angry expression turned frigid. She thrust one hand to her left, and a cloud of flies manifested. They shot in the indicated direction. Some swarmed in the shape of a man before orange fire set them ablaze. Then Joey fell to his knees, coughing violently. “An intruder? Really?” Clementine spat a wad of mucus. It flew off her throne and landed on the mound of myconid flesh. “Someone remind me to execute a guard. I don’t think flayings are doing the job anymore. Have I done wasp lung yet?”

“No, mistress,” a servant answered.

“Let me show you how it's done.”

“No!” Caitlin screamed.

The protest fell on deaf ears. Clementine Wagner conjured another cloud of insects. They shot at Joey’s incapacitated form, but much to Nox’s relief, the attack failed to reach its destination. A pair of fist-sized golden orbs manifested, and Kris appeared between them, conjuring a third. The spell incinerated the wasps long before they reached her or the junior apprentice.

“Another little mageling?” The old woman spat. Her floating throne retreated from the room’s center as the spheres fired concentrated beams at her. “How many examples do I have to make?”

“I don’t know, Plaguebringer.” Kris almost sounded amused as she spoke. “Maybe you’d have more competent subordinates if you treated them better. I hear the rest of the Cabal are doing much better than you.”

The ancient mage’s eyes widened. “Where did you hear those names?” Her expression betrayed her surprise and confusion. “Which Herald do you serve?”

“Only the Keeper of Knowledge. I doubt you’ve heard of him.”

Then, a violent exchange began. Kris’ spells had the obvious advantage against the summoned insects. However, Clementine cast her spells several times faster. The swarms came at her so quickly the professor could do little more than defend. By Nox’s estimate, his mentor was at the higher end of low-expert. Meanwhile, their foe was most likely a rank higher. Given Clementine’s age and her expert-ranked subordinates’ fear of her, it wouldn’t surprise Nox if she was closer to archmage with a mana count almost in the four digits.

Swarms of wasps assaulted Kris from every direction, and an assortment of other creepy crawlies approached her along the ground. Defending herself was not her only concern. The woman titled Plaguebringer also sent her summons after Joey and the Woodsons. Kris used her beams to defend all of them simultaneously. The look on the professor’s face suggested it was a reasonably strenuous exercise.

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“Rescue Joey,” Nox instructed Lillin. “Once she’s safe, defend Kris. We need her on the offense to survive.”

The pair set off simultaneously. Nox sprinted toward the Woodsons while surrounding himself in a dome of Crystalized Essence and two Slow fields. He could’ve just as easily targeted the restraints using Ratra’s Bow, but it was too early to draw Clementine’s attention. She still considered him and Lillin her subordinates—although she didn’t appear to care if her mana-burnt servants got swarmed by her insects. In fact, several leech-like creatures crawled toward the women as they tried to flee.

The essence glass knife once again proved valuable. The servants likely lacked magic. They had used rope to bind the Woodson to their poles. They appeared ordinary. Nox guessed Clementine had the power to kill either before they did any harm. Fortunately, she sent no insects after him while he sawed the rope. Instead, sparks flew from them, assaulting his fingers. Nox ignored the stinging and kept at it. The sensation reminded him of mana-burn. He realized the ropes disrupted mana flow just like the collars used by the All-Father’s cult.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Clementine shrieked. Dead insects pelted Nox’s face harmlessly a moment later. A handful survived and stung Nox. It hurt and felt like several fiery pinpricks, but he felt no other ill effects thanks to his sigil.

“Help your brother,” he told Caitlin before unleashing Ratra’s Bow and firing at Clementine. His empowered fire arrow cut through two wards and made it halfway to his target before exploding. The following projectiles got similar results. The swarms and the magic they carried forced his projectiles to destabilize far too early.

Meanwhile, Caitlin successfully freed her brother and force-fed him two healing pills. “I can’t cast any spells,” Alexander said, sounding exhausted. “My mana circuits feel like they’re on fire.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine.” Nox turned to Caitlin. “Run. I’ll cover you.”

“But what about you?” She asked, slowly encasing herself in a lighter version of her elemental armor. It took far longer to manifest than usual. It was more than likely she was starting to feel the effects of mana burn, too.

“We need to cover Kris and destroy the well,” Nox answered, firing more arrows at Clementine. A swarm somehow got through his barrier, and he felt at least a dozen stings on his face and neck. The pain brought tears to Nox’s eyes and forced him to his knees. He swallowed mana and healing pills before continuing the onslaught. The insects caused a lot more pain with their attacks than their ordinary variants. However, they failed to cause significant damage without mana or essence empowering them.

The slim wood armor moved with greater agility than the bulkier version. However, screams escaped Caitlin as she retreated. Clementine’s bugs found holes in the defense and peppered her with stings. Since she excelled at self-healing magic, Nox didn’t worry about her. Kris and Joey’s fate concerned him more.

The junior apprentice now lay between Lillin and Kris. A portal shield blocked frontal attacks, while gravity armor and skin reinforced with a subdermal armor made the former almost immune to damage. Kris only had to worry about flanking swarms as she focused her attacks.

Vile curses and insults only found in century-old journals burst from Clementine's mouth whenever Kris' light beams penetrated her defenses. Unfortunately, none did much besides jostle her throne. It had the markings and lights of a relic. Nox didn't doubt it had shielding powers on top of the levitation.

After firing another empowered arrow and depleting his mana stores to below a third, Nox used a pink essence marble to make himself invisible. Thanks to Kris's persistent attacks, Clementine struggled to track him and directed swarms in the general area. Haste helped Nox retreat to a wall and move along the room's perimeter with reasonable safety.

“You're not getting away!” Clementine screeched, and centipedes as wide as Ernest and at least ten times as long emerged from magic circles around her. Two raced toward Kris, while the last targeted the Woodsons. Concentrated light beams gave the monsters pause but failed to kill them.

A scream burst from Caitlin as giant mandibles caught her around the midriff. Her armor grew to its sturdier form, but the wood buckled, groaned, and cracked under the pressure. They dropped her brother, and he landed awkwardly on his left arm. His pained yell failed to mask the sickening crunch of bone breaking.

A gravity spiral burst from behind Lillin's shield. It was the largest one she had ever conjured, consisting of seven fist-sized orbs of spatial magic. It didn't fly toward Clementine but toward the dungeon lord.

“You bitch!” The ancient mage yelled, blocking it with a centipede. The attack mangled chitin armor and cracked it but failed to do more besides draw ichor from within. The creature moved slower but resumed its onslaught.

Meanwhile, Nox successfully got behind Clementine. He used all the fire essence in his satchel to Shape the most perfect arrow he had ever made. He etched it with his best incendiary spell before pouring mana into Ratra’s Bow, growing the weapon into its long-limbed empowered form. Five rings of varying diameters spun around the arrow when Nox fired it. The projectile roared during its flight, and Nox saw Clementine’s eyes widen in fear just before his attack made contact.

Another giant centipede and a horse-sized beetle burst from the inferno. The first came for Nox, while the latter barrelled into Lillin and Kris. Crystallize Essence and panic-fired mana arrows did nothing to the giant insect. Its mandibles closed around Nox, and he just about protected himself with the bow and Artisan’s Arm.

Both tools cracked under the pressure.

The damage to the third arm wasn't too bad. A handful of replaced segments and a couple of new claw digits would do the job. Ratra’s Bow didn't have such luck. Nox was forced to release the weapon as he threw a Trap Foam bottle into the centipede’s maw. The creature recoiled but sliced the metallic rod half of Ratra’s Bow into two and shredded the accompanying glove. Nox’s breath caught in his chest as he lost his one offensive tool and a part of his late father.

“You're all fools!” Clementine Wagner cackled. Alexander and Joey were as good as unconscious while Caitlin wrestled with a centipede. The giant beetle had flattened Kris while Lillin lay on the ground with two limbs bent in the wrong direction. Only Nox stood upright. A couple of ribs, and his left forearm felt broken. The numerous stings also had him gritting his teeth, but he stood upright. “I'll feed you all to the well and use the spawn to destroy your city. The age of—”

“You've lost, you know,” Nox said, interrupting the woman. He limped toward her on a twisted ankle. “Dean Woodson is coming. She's going to kill you, destroy the well, and save Terrastalia.”

“What good will that do?” Clementine continued to laugh despite the orange flames still sticking to her throne. The fire had burned off most of her clothes and covered her body in burns, but the woman appeared unfazed. “There is no stopping the old tortoise now, deceitful child. But I'll tell you what. Your magic intrigues me. Bend the knee and swear an oath, and I'll let you live.”

“And what if I refuse?” Nox asked, trying to buy more time for his companions. His heart raced as he held Clementine’s attention.

A wasp as big as a human materialized, hovering next to the floating throne. It didn’t just have size, but segments of the creature emitted noxious green and purple aetheric lights, too. “That's a silly question. I'll kill you, of course. If you join me, I might just give you the means to save a loved one from inside the city.”

Nox snorted. “You just want a hostage to control me, don't you?”

“My. My. Aren't you an intelligent specimen?”

Kris appeared, standing on nothing but the air just behind the throne. An immobile copy of her lay next to a now stirring Joey. She slapped her white glowing palms down on Clementine’s neck. The relic’s defenses didn't activate, letting the spell through. The smell of burning skin and flesh filled the air as life fluttered from the old woman’s eyes. Unfortunately, her insects refused to stay idle and attacked while fading from existence. The centipedes and beetles rushed to their master’s aid, and the wasp planted its stinger in the professor’s face, destroying the top left quadrant of her head.

Kris, agent of the Keeper of Knowledge, and Clementine Wagner, Plaguebringer of the Cabal, perished within seconds of each other.

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