Striking Trine

“What a great day don’t you agree?” The one that said that was Emma, she has long brown hair, her eyes are the color of topaz and she wore leather armor. Yep, you guessed it, we’re adventurers and not just any kind! We are the boast of our country, the heroes of the masses, and the right hand of the king! Pretty much a big deal. We’re a balanced party, we have Emma as our rouge, Scarlet as our enchantress, Henna as our doctor-alchemist, Alvin as our paladin, and me, their leader. My name? I’m glad you ask, I’m Arthur, Arthur Pendragon. The renowned swordsman of the north, the one-man-army, and the hero of mankind! Don’t worry, I don’t brag this much, I only do this if the person will be with me until I reached the end of my glorious tale. Rest assured my story shall only stay in the light and the light of truth, should it come to lie it shall end. Today we accepted a quest that raises concern about an unknown tomb or dungeon, the information only said that it was underground so as for what it is, we don’t know. Actually, from what I’ve heard twenty scouts were sent, but only five came back. They arrived after 2 weeks they were sent and they were in perfect condition. Guildmasters were skeptical about such a phenomenon, not only was it weird to arrive after 2 weeks but to be in perfect condition, that’s just creepy. Not to mention they gave vague but very good information about the ruins. They said that it has three floors, the first being a massive labyrinth, long enough that a month could pass and you might not even be out of it yet, and tall enough that it can house giants of monsters. The second is an outside world, decorated with beautiful flowers and calming trees by day, and by night adorned by stars. They said it was a dome, so spacious that you can live there your entire life without knowing every location there is, the grandmasters assumed this could be illusion magic, but to cast a spell with such a great area of influence would require a god. And finally on the third floor, to our surprise, it was smaller than both the former rooms. They said it had no roofs or any covering, it was only revealing the starry night sky, a moon so big that it can rival the shine of the sun. There, only ruins exist, black metallic floors covered the ground, and pillars of unknown stones are irregularly placed and designed, red carpets mimic the pillars and go to uncertain and suspicious ways and swirls. It was the floor of chaos the grandmasters surmised. The mapmakers were joyful for the information given, the trap-trackers weren’t nor did the monster hunters. There was no information given about traps and monsters whatsoever, which makes professional adventurers and guild masters highly suspicious. Out of twenty, only five came back. It was 2 weeks late, they were in perfect condition. The information was very specific in how they chose their words but everything else remains vague and unknown. My heroic senses say this is not your run-of-the-mill dungeon. Something is going on behind the shadows. That’s why we’re here to solve it! One of the guild masters said that whatever treasures we find, it is by all means ours. “Not a single percentage shall be taken nor a single coin. It is my delight, to see fit that the adventures take and plunder what they can for it is what they deserve.” That is what the old man said. It’s a bit off, the guild normally takes 10-20 percent of what the adventurer makes. I’m very doubtful that the guild could be this generous, so I approached the grandmaster. “Goodmorning old man!” I started with a joyful note. He smiled back, though his white silvery beard makes it hard to notice. “Yes Arthur, what is it?” “Hey, it wouldn’t hurt to say good morning to me too you know?” “Haha, I’m a busy man, especially in my age time is so much more precious than gold. So out with it Arthur.” He was obviously bantering but in the end, he was serious. “Well… doesn’t this seem kinda… weird?” His face went dark and grim as if he knows that this might be a suicide mission to the intermediate adventurers and professionals like us. He gestured for me to call my party for a meeting. And so I did. We’re in the private section of the guild house, where sound will only travel to a certain distance, and forms of wizardry are nullified such as Connection and Telepathy. “Is this confidential or not? Be quick, the massive raid will start soon, and I don’t wanna miss a single moment of such a sight.” Emma started. Scarlet coughed to hide her chant, she enchanted her ears to only hear the truth from the guildmaster’s word… And this is why Scarlet never gets a boyfriend. “Well, to be blunt, many will certainly die in this expedition, and the guild’s priority is setting its name as the founder of great adventurers and exploration. With the decrease of monsters, every month so does the income of many adventurers and guilds. So to prepare for the inevitable future, we plan to be a map-oriented shop so we could withstand the test of time.” Scarlet did not waver, meaning the old man only spoke the truth. But to gamble the lives of people just to make your establishment alive is despicable! “Old man, this isn’t right! People’s lives are important, enough to cost them hundreds of gold. And yet you’re here throwing them away as if they’re as common as copper. If the foundation of this guild is built upon the blood of the innocent and its skeleton out of lies then what is… what will you gain being written down in history as a beautiful apple, but rotten to the core in truth.” I full-heartedly proclaim what I believe. My party just smiled, we’ve been together for 7 years and they know that nothing can waver my stand on my belief. People… rich or poor, slave or master their lives matter. The old man sighed he seems troubled just like me. “I too, stand with you here. But, this was not my decision, but the decision of the guildmasters… When we investigated the scouts through Optical Enchantment we found out that there are no monsters, nor traps. The reason the information seemed so suspicious is that there were non to begin with. The only danger that exists is time and fleshly limitations…” As he ended Scarlet’s bell rang, indicating he lied. Emma was about to reveal a dagger, but the old man knew so he raised his hand calmly and shook his head, suggesting he has more to say. “To answer your question earlier, this is all confidential. I trust that my words will only reach your ears and no one else.” We nod and agreed. And he continued. “The… The five scouts were no longer human, they were, somehow, without any forms of magic, being controlled.” Scarlet and Henna’s face was in complete shock at what they heard, there was mental hypnosis that didn’t require any kind of magic but for it to last this long without any influence of any kind is anything but danger. “After they reported the information and answered every question they can answer, they… disappeared.” The situation is getting dire. If there are no monsters, nor any traps at all. How could they be controlled? The third floor? But from what we have gathered the only interesting thing there are the walls, being distorted and constantly changing. It might have some effects on the mind. As my train of thought raged and railed the old man answered, all of our questions. “But before they all left. One was left behind, he said, with the tears of a human:” The old man revealed a Screaming Lamp, that records voices and repeats them over and over again. It can only be stoped by wizards “T-t-there are t-three beings at the t-third floor. T-they are not human, n-nor are they m-monsters… They… are… N-NO! Don’t let anyone enter! I BEG YOU! DO NOT-.” The lamp shattered to pieces. The guildmaster’s face darkens with despair. The atmosphere became eerie, my party has mixed emotions about this news. Emma was hiding her face, Scarlet, knowing the truth, is overcome with dread, Henna has her hands on her mouth, Alvin was clenching his fists and grating his teeth with anger as for me… it’s fear. Just what kind of being can manipulate and control a soul without any influences of the elements. The old man suddenly bowed to us and whole-heartedly begged that we protect the adventurers. The news of getting and owning what you find is tempting and knowing that the treasures of the unknown are unprotected and untapped makes it harder for you to withdraw. This is almost like a perfect trap for adventurers, thieves, and mercenaries. Did those three beings plan this all out? Knowing the actions of everyone and anyone, such wisdom should not exist in this world. As I was beginning to grow hopeless, I realized the old man was still on the floor bowing. Not out of pride or pity but by belief: that if someone asks you for something then they see you are capable of doing it, they place their hearts and depend on you. And if that person begs that means you are their last hope, the last light in the darkness. And who are you to not accept their cry for help? That’s right you’re nothing, once you were in their place and were given help, and so you should do the same. I helped the old man up, and took his lantern of hope seeking to return it much brighter when it was given. My party especially Alvin agreed with me. Emma asked for the reward, the old man said it would be a lifetime supply of the guild’s beer and food, free of charge. What Emma did was pretty bad, but having free food and drinks for life would be a great help. Well, since we’re on this special quest now, we have to be ahead of everybody to ensure nothing abnormal might happen before they even get close to the place. Emma is surprisingly in a good mood, it’s always a desire of her’s to see such a massive raid commence, but I guess free food for life is much better. The guild prepared our carriage and we hopped on, drove off, and waited for the inevitable. The sun finally sets, and we’re setting up camp. Alvin is doing his normal routine of casting Divine Protection in the area around us, Scarlet enchanted our tents to become stable and dry in rain, Emma hunted wild rabbits and Henna prepared them for us, just so you know, I was the one setting up the tents. As the sun fades and evening takes its place we finish our meal, close the night with a prayer, and finally make ready ourselves for the abyss known as sleep. I entered my tent, closed my eyes, and finally dream… is what is supposed to happen. I am overcome by fear, I still hear the old man’s voice and warnings… especially the peculiar scout who screamed and cried for his last words. The eeriness, the silence of the night is the same as the news given. The fear of the unknown, what a phenomenal mental beast, just give me a single peek of the mystery, be it a monster or a spirit I would be glad. Even the lands we are in is suspicious. It’s perfectly flat, the grass is evenly cut and the trees are beautifully placed. Everything feels like it’s all planned, and we’re just playthings and dolls for this grand scheme… No, what am I thinking? I’m Arthur Pendragon, the wielder of the enchanted sword, the right hand of the king, the known hero of the north. How can I be wavered by such mystery, maybe the Arts inflicted to those being possessed are not known to us humans, heck it may even be a lie or a ruse. Whatever comes my way, I’ll be sure the light of justice touches it. “Arthur Pendragon, such a wonderful name, and what a great future you hold! I promise kingdoms and mountains shall be yours as soon as you sell your soul.”“NO!” I screamed myself to the waking realm. My party quickly checked my tent, to only see a half-naked Arthur. “Oh no!! I no longer can marry!” Henna’s face was an image of disgust as for Emma she bantered. “Those only work for girls, Arthur.” I laughed it off and prepared my armor and belongings. I stepped into the carriage, another day of nothingness. They say the ruin is a three-day trip by carriage and a 10 day trip by foot. So I guess after this trip of peace we would have 7 more days to set up camp for the others. five days have passed since we left, and we have reached the ruins. The ruins do not appear to be a ruin or a dungeon. It was a sight to behold when we arrived. Three giant tendrils that penetrate the clouds were planted on the ground. It was massive in length, width, and most of all height. It was a majestic structure, and the curves were like in a fixed state of circling one another, their tips getting closer as the swirl increases in height, but the top doesn’t meet. We arrived at noon, and we saw one of the three curves reflect a mix of silver and soft pink color, and with what our eyes can only see, there were massive characters written vertically, it was of another language so we had no clue. By evening one magnified the light of the moon, it was blood-crimson in color and again writings of the unknown were there. And by morning one shone violet shining color, showing once again unknown characters, and as noon arrives it losses its color. It’s the same for all the unknown majestic pillars, they only light up when it is a certain time and turn into clean white when it’s not time. It was breathtaking and indescribable you’d almost think that these are the stairways to heaven. The ground after passing the pillars was covered by ancient stone, there were still some invading grasses in between the stones but it only added to the ancient-like design. And finally at the center was a decayed old colosseum. Some of its parts were laid on the ground and some were barely holding on. It was ancient yet you just can’t help admire the scenery. Going back to the present, we were surprised that many adventurers came too, but they were like us, professionals and prepared. We asked why they were here and they asked the same, so we answered that we were sent here by one of the guildmasters and of course, they answered the same. There are exactly 7 groups including ours, and by coincidence, we all were 5-membered parties and all varying in classes and professions. Especially the engineer, I don’t know her name but she’s amazing, she built a massive barracks for all of us to stay in, giving us peaceful sleep for each night, she’s a stranger but everyone here owes her. Oh! There’s also a cook in one of the groups and most importantly, he’s giving us free food as long as we can hunt for the ingredients. Hope is restored! Time passes quickly and the adventurers finally showed up. Everyone was in shock by the numbers that have arrived, it was almost an army! To be precise there are currently 500 adventurers, ranging from newbies to grandmasters. We gathered the 7 groups and decided that we will not let time go to waste. By the time they arrived, we will give them one day of rest before the great raid, we don’t know how to sustain the food supply and shelter so we asked them to make sure that they’re keeping themselves alive. The pressure of being a leader is a beast not to be underestimated, especially when they are depending on you. It’s almost like we’re running a country here. The day of rest finally ended, and the sun of the next day finally dawned. oddly enough the violet pillar shone brightly than the other mornings. This can be a sign of prosperity or an omen of misfortune. We crossed the three curving pillars and set foot in the arena. Just like every other colosseum, it has the main ground for battles and above on its sides seats for the audience, so at first, we were confused and didn’t know where to go. Until Emma detected the entrance to the labyrinth, it was a door leading to the inside of the colosseum, paladins immediately investigated if the door is bind with a curse or evil, turns out it was just a normal door. right after the door was a huge stairway going down, and below is the labyrinth. The 7 groups entered first, and the others followed. To avoid overcrowding, we made it that only 50 adventurers may enter per hour. The labyrinth, needless to say, is massive, the ceiling is quite high and you can fit three people besides the walls and you’d still have an allowance of movement as if this labyrinth was originally made for a beast. An hour and nothing seems to be happening, there were no monsters nor traps as stated by the intel given to us, as far as I’m concerned the only monster here is the unbearable silence and eeriness of the air around us. The number one rule in a maze dive is to always draw where you’ve been in, in other words, making a map. We tried going back in forth to see if the maze changes by the hour or certain times but it doesn’t seem to change at all. Everything is still intact and where they are supposed to be, as for treasures… there are none. A day has passed and at this point, the silence of everything and anything will drive any person insane, and the constant light which we don’t where it’s coming from makes you lose the sense of time, is it morning? noon? or evening? Unless you have a watch you’re lost in time. Yet another day has passed, we’re fairly certain that we have mapped eighty percent of the labyrinth, so today we’re completing the twenty percent and ending this insanity once and for all. Emma was becoming forgetful, Scarlet started to become insane, she said she keeps hearing the whispers of the dead both ancient and present, Henna has started to lose faith and has slowly become weary, Alvin was the same as Henna but to the point that he can’t pull out his sword, as for me the dream I had before kept repeating and repeating, a never-ending loop of insanity. In some cases, I seriously thought of saying “yes”, but the lantern of hope that was passed to me… Wait, what have I been doing? I was supposed to guide and try to persuade the adventurers to not enter this cursed structure… yet here I am, trying to figure out the way to save myself and my party. Fear strikes my heart, I began to realize that in the three days we’ve been here, we have not encountered a single soul. What happened to them? Where are they now? Is everyone doing ok? Fear penetrates every layer of my being, the realization that the lantern of hope that was entrusted to me has been broken and gone the time I entered- Emma stopped in her tracks, a smile written all over her face as she shouted that we finally have reached the end of the maze. Joy awakens and so does hope, my party is saved, but the fear lingers still. Before us was a portal to what seems to be the outside world, but the scouts clearly said that the second floor of this dungeon replicates the outside world perfectly. As all of us set foot inside the portal great sense of tranquility surged in our hearts… or at least mine. Before us was the sun shining down on perfectly cut grass, trees that bore fruit, and… everyone is here. Fear became non-existent, only peace and assuredness came to me. Hope is now really restored. The other elite groups waved at us, inviting us to what seems to be their little house, and of course, the engineer built it, how did I know? The symbol of a hammer and gear was marked on their front door. We waved back and nodded to indicate that we accept their invitation. As we walk towards them the calming winds greeted us and the laughter of every adventurer assured our doubts. Those pillars were the stairways to heaven after all We entered their humble abode and the others were there too. I don’t have a clue on how the engineer did this… But we were 35 total inside this meeting room, they nodded as if they expected us to come late or something else. The five of us sat and the first person to speak was clad in white robes, his blue eyes were sharp, his face was almost perfect and his white hair is something comparable to the price of diamonds, I somewhat feel annoyed. “Before we get started I would like to introduce myself, I am Allen Lionpryde. I am the head priest of the great god Siech and his church, and the leader of my party. The Lord gave this humble servant insight and wisdom. We sent out scouts from varying adventuring parties to find the entrance to the third floor but unfortunately, we still haven’t found it yet.” Huh? So he already commissioned scouts without everyone’s say? Quite a forceful priest we have here. “Allen sir, what and how are we going to compensate for their work? We don’t have anything of value.” The person that seemed like an assassin took the words out of my mouth, she has my gratitude. “Well, have you looked around? Some fruits come without any effort, rabbits, and birds that don’t seem to run out, soil and grass so clean that you can sleep on them whilst naked, rivers and rain that’s more than enough to sustain life, winds enough to cool you down, and skies to inspire you. In such a place like this, do you even need compensation? Do you even need to leave?” He does have a point, but if this place is such a paradise why would you ever want to leave right? Leaving just appears to be a big loss, there’s peace, satisfaction, and pleasure here. Not to mention, “Whatever you find is yours” so we’re practically free! Though a haven namely like this is so perfect that it’ll leave you uncomfortable just thinking about it being a trap. Say, how long has this Allen guy been here anyway? I raised my hand and asked. “Allen, how long have you been here?” Silence surrounds the table, Allen looked at his hands and back to me and then to everyone. “A day in the outside world is a month here, so to be precise three months. We were the first to arrive here and enjoyed the peace this place gave at first, but soon after days passed we were overcome by fear and anxiety that we may have been the only ones to reach this place. Until a party came and said that it has only been 7 hours since the raid. Eventually, people came flowing in saying that only a few hours have passed, then days. So we agreed that a month is equivalent to the days outside.” Huh?… This has to be a joke right? Time alteration, such magic can’t exist, right? Just what is this place? Are we still even alive? Everyone in the room turned silent, some were optimistic while others dread. The room’s aura was mixed and complicated. This continued for about five minutes until Allen spoke. “Fear not! We are trying to figure out what is happening. The entrance to the third floor hasn’t been discovered yet. So please do rest and calm down, we have a few architects to build all of us houses and farms. If you wish to contribute you have our gratitude and our gods’ blessing.” *** It’s all going according to plan Eve Of course, it should, if it didn’t you would go out there, Ane. I don’t think so, I’ll send out Vrede to do the hard work for me. Yeah, good job on that. He seems to be way more capable than you. *** And so after that crucial meeting, days, weeks, months and years have passed. We’ve lived here for 3 years, we’ve built a nation, Allen as the king and surprisingly Henna is his wife thus one of our party members is now our queen. The milk and honey of this world did not run out, every time we pick out a fruit or a tree, the very next day a new one will appear to resupply. We learned to farm and the variety of our food increased, and some of us became experimental with our drinks hence creating juices out of fruits. Many of us started families. Actually, Henna is the only one out of the five of us to have a kid, I think they named him Gehenna. Alvin became a priest of Siech, Scarlet is still an enchantress but she only enchants tools and equipment for everyday work now. As for me, I’m now a woodcutter. Though axes are made for woods and swords made for war, my sword can do both. It slices the trees like butter and the more I use it the more it sharpens. Sometimes I entertain people too, mostly children, I tell them the stories of our adventuring past, the monster, and criminals we’ve caught and slain, and also the wonders of this enchanted sword. Wait… where is Emma anyway? I totally forgot about her, as far as I know, she was working directly under the king and queen for information gathering. Why gather information in such a perfect world, right? Though that is only a thought of a lowly woodcutter like me. I was clueless and wanted to reassure what I knew so I visited Emma. She answered, and was still as beautiful as ever. I asked her what her work was again, and she said it was exploration. “Isn’t that… somehow boring?” “I know, but, I forgot our main mission, we’re just collecting wild fruits from here and there and tell everyone it’s ‘information.” “Huh, should we ask the king?” “You go yourself this time, I’m enjoying my comrades’ company right now, see ya later!” She shut the door on my face and I don’t know what to feel. I just decided to go to the castle myself and ask my kingly friend Allen. I arrived and there were no guards as expected, I entered the castle freely and met up with one of the butlers. I asked the butler if Allen is available right now, and to his glee, he said “He’s always available.”. I entered the throne room, bowed, and casually addressed Allen. “Long time no see Allen!” “I could say the same, my friend, what brings you here today?”