I reincarnated in game

14 The Abyss

About two weeks before Judi and Hugh started out on their journey to Riah, two visitors, a man and his son, arrived in the village of Halea which was approximately fifteen miles from the Abyss of the Demon. 

Matthew and his son, Kenneth were water mages.  They lived in the desert country of Stuhr, home of the Dwarves, located on the western side of Third Level Land.  They ran a successful business, manufacturing magic machinery and products, selling them in the various countries; until the day one of the experiments using the darkness element went horribly wrong.  The accident resulted in Kenneth being afflicted with a curse which started a slow erosion of his body.  He suffered intense bouts of pain and migraines which occurred weekly.  The full extent of the curse was indeterminate, but one of the effects was that Kenneth’s water magic was transformed into ice magic. 

Kenneth had always been a kind-hearted, considerate, child with a cherubic face.  He saw only the good in people, was quick to trust, but easily misled.  While Kenneth’s personality remained the same, the deterioration of his body caused Matthew great anxiety because he felt responsible for his son’s predicament.  Matthew speculated that since it had been the darkness element which brought on the curse, he might be able to use the strength of the abyss’s dark magic to counteract the evil which had befallen his son.  With that hope, about a week ago, the two of them had come to Halea, on the fourth level.

In the first few days following their arrival, Matthew purchased some supplies and enough food for a week from the merchants in town.  They would have to set up camp somewhere closer to the abyss; they would need several days to set up for the experiment which he hoped would purge the darkness element from within Kenneth. 

The day arrived for them to make the trek.  At the abyss, a chilling wind howled up from the depths of the blackness.  Kenneth was excited; finally, it was time for his father to initiate the plan to cure the darkness within him.  He walked up to the edge of the precipice and looked down at sheer sides which disappeared into nothingness.  It was a dizzying sight.

Speaking loudly, in order to be heard, Matthew said, “Kenneth, be careful, boy.  This place is extremely dangerous.  If you slip, there will no way to stop yourself and you will be lost forever.” 

“Aye, Pa.  I will be careful,” Kenneth replied and stepped back from the edge. 

They walked back to a safe distance and set up their camp.  It was dark by the time they were finished, so they made a fire and had something to eat.  “Best we turn in now so we can get an early start,” said Matthew. 

At sunrise, the duo walked back towards the abyss.  “Before we go to the edge, we will have to find a place to stage our experiment.  We need to find a hollow spot which backs on to a ledge or wall.”  The duo walked along the perimeter looking for the perfect site.  At the shallow end of one of the fissures, Matthew saw exactly what he was looking for … a small ledge cropped out from a rocky wall only a couple of feet below the surface of the land.  The narrow end had some stair-like rocks which made it easy for their short, stubby legs to descend to the ledge below.  “This is ideal!”     

Back at the edge of the crevasse, Matthew spoke to Kenneth, “To keep you safe, I am going to tie this rope around you, with the other end around me.  We will need to go close to the edge to find the dark purple crystals which I am looking for.  The larger ones will have the strongest energy.”

The pair collected several large, purple crystals, a few at a time, from the very edge of the chasm.  They carried each armful back to the ledge with the rocky wall.  As the pile grew, the dark energy in them became more palpable.    

It was evening by the time that Matthew declared they had gathered enough crystals.  They returned to camp for food and rest.  As the hour grew later, Kenneth became more withdrawn; it was obvious to Matthew that his son was experiencing another bout of pain and the accompanying migraine.  “I am sorry, boy.  I know it is on me that you are suffering like this.  Hopefully, tomorrow, by this time, this will all be in the past.”

Through the night, Kenneth tossed and turned, trying to suppress his moans; he didn’t want to let his father know how much pain he was in.  This bout seemed much more intense than any he had before.  He was anxious for the light of day to come so he could be rid of the darkness element within him.

Just after dawn, Matthew and Kenneth went to their stockpile of crystals.  Matthew carefully shaped the dark crystals into the shape of a pyramid against the rocky wall; Kenneth watched from the rim of the fissure … he was still feeling exhausted from his restless night.  

Matthew motioned for Kenneth to join him on the ledge.  “Sit down in front, and then lean back against the pyramid of crystals.  You will feel a tugging sensation; that will be the dark energy trying to draw the life force from you.” 

From the bag over his shoulder, he pulled a large, pure blue crystal which he had brought with him from Stuhr.  “Hold this crystal against your chest.  I am going to focus my water magic on it so that it flows through you to flush out the darkness element.  The strength of the dark magic in the crystals behind you should pull all the darkness of the curse from your body.”

Matthew sat in front of Kenneth.  Fueled by his desire to undo the effect of the accident, he focused all of his energy and power on the pure crystal his son was holding.  The crystal started to glow; the glow brightened; radiant energy cascaded over his son’s body.  An aura of light surrounding Kenneth pulsed slowly; quickening as Matthew continued his concentrated focus on the crystal.  The crystals in the pyramid began to glow and pulse in time with the radiant energy. 

A jolt of light arced from Matthew’s outstretched hands; through the pure crystal; through Kenneth; into the pyramid. 

The energy dissipated.  Kenneth leaned forward, breathing heavily.  He looked behind him; the crystals in the pyramid had turned black.  He looked back to his father; his father rushed to his side.  “How do you feel?”

“I feel fine.”

Matthew smiled at his son and said, “I am happy to have you back, boy!  Let’s head back to camp.  We will leave at first light.”

That night, both fell into a deep sleep; pleased that the darkness that had possessed Kenneth had been flushed from him. 

Sometimes, during the night, Kenneth started tossing and turning.  He broke out into a sweat.  Suddenly, he was jolted awake; his body in excruciating pain.  “Oh, no!  The curse is back, and stronger than before!” he said to himself. 

Kenneth got up and left the tent, gritting his teeth in pain.  He walked blindly into the night; after only a few steps, he fell to his knees as another wave of pain hit him.  He screamed out in agony. 

Matthew sat up suddenly, awakened by his son’s screams.  He exited the tent.  He looked around.  Kenneth had picked himself up and had started to run.  Matthew called out to him, but his son had disappeared into the darkness.

Matthew spent the rest of the night looking and calling for Kenneth.  He feared that his son might have fallen into the void.  When dawn broke, Kenneth was still missing.  “This area is too vast for me to search by myself … I will need to go back to Halea and hire some men to help me find my son.”