Chương 87: (85) 2.38. Tales from the Crater

Soldun, 3-248 Today started like any other. While I was busy smithing a brand new skygazer in celebration of Vaghel hitting his first prestige, Vaghel himself interrupted me, pleading with me to help him decide which prestige class he should pick. Despite my repeated insistence that I know nothing about the Explorer vein of classes and that he should go talk with the Pillars, he refused, stating that the Pillars were so old and slow it took them nearly an entire hour to utter a single sentence.

He's not wrong of course. But providing us with their wisdom is the entire reason we have the Pillars in the first place. The two of us were in the middle of arguing as always, when it happened. When everything changed. It's been hours and I still can't wrap my head around what happened. One minute I was standing in my forge like always, my favorite hammer in hand, arguing with my brother… And the next… I nearly lost my damn foot when my hammer smashed into the ground.

My grip was suddenly that of a newborn's, fresh from their mother's womb. All my strength I was so proud of, all my endurance I'd worked so hard to muster, gone in an instant. At first I thought something was only wrong with me. That some horrible curse had claimed me for whatever reason. At least until I heard the screams. Nongrok. Hethad. Narrarrim. Gistreck… Just about every master smith we had. Every dwarf that had been smithing within the lava flows of the Crater itself when it happened…

At least we didn't have to worry about burying them. The only one that survived was Deorer, who had been in the middle of testing one of his relics of protection. The relic managed to hold out just long enough for him to escape the lava, but even he didn't get out unscathed. I'll never admit it to Vaghel, but I'm scared. No. I'm terrified. Unlike my energetic brother, I've enjoyed my chats with the Pillars, learning all about our people and our history.

Perhaps that is why I became a Smith like our father and his father before him, while Vaghel decided to become an Explorer and leave the crater entirely. Regardless, thanks to all the time I spent conversing with the Pillars, I am well aware that nothing like this has ever happened before. While I'd never admit my fears to my little brother and did my best to keep up a brave face, I suspect Vaghel was able to sense my worries somehow. The damn boy has always been so aware of his surroundings.

He was the one who handed me this old journal, telling me I should jot down my thoughts. That it would be wise to keep a running record of these strange new times. Even if my interface doesn't say it anymore, I'm a twice prestiged Smith of Lava, and a damn good one. I'm not some Writer. These fingers were meant to wield a hammer, not some fragile writing instrument. … Though I suppose it couldn't hurt to try. Soldun, 5-248 It's been two days since every dwarf in the crater lost their levels. The Pillars are dead.

While the exact steps one needs to follow to become a Pillar are a well kept secret, it is known that the process involves the use of a few specific passives and evolved skills in order to prevent the body from turning fully to stone. With those abilities stripped away… It seems they died quickly at least. Strangely, not all the Pillars are accounted for. I've spoken to each and every one of the Pillars scattered about the Crater more times than I can count.

Because of that, I noticed immediately that eight of the oldest Pillars, most of the ones that have been around since before the time of my great-grandfather, are simply gone. Where did they go? They hadn't moved in centuries, it's not as if they chose now to finally get up and stretch their legs. Questions for another day. More importantly, Vaghel himself made a startling discovery.

While everyone else has banded together within the crater, desperately clinging to one another and trying to figure out what is going on, my brother slipped away. As he tends to do. Though this time, rather than vanish for days or weeks on end, he returned after only a single day, telling tales of magical borders and entirely new worlds. His words drove fresh fear into the panicked hearts of the citizens of Valdora, and I'll admit I may have lost my temper with him just a bit.

Our people are afraid, are terrified, and here he comes, running down the Crater rim like a forgling shouting about giant insects and a sea of green. Perhaps it is due to the years I've spent in the forges, tempering myself just as much as my metal, but sometimes I forget just how sensitive my brother is. He ran off before I could apologize, and I've had my hands full trying to help keep everyone calm with the master Smiths gone. I'm sure he will be back soon.

Soldun, 13-248 It's been a quarter cycle since what our people have dubbed The Shattering. Vaghel has yet to return, and with half the Smiths dead and the other half returned to level 1, I've been too busy trying to keep the Crater from falling apart to go out and look for him. I'd pray the Pillars watch over him, but there aren't any left. Soldun, 23-248 Half a cycle has passed, still no sign of Vaghel. Damn the needs of the Crater, tomorrow I shall go look for him.

Soldun, 24-248 Vaghel returned just before sunrise this morning, absolutely covered in injuries. Rather than walk, it would be more appropriate to say he rolled down the Crater rim, and frankly, based on these wounds, I have no idea how he is even still alive. After collapsing into my arms he lost consciousness, so I suppose my questions will have to wait. Soldun, 25-248 Vaghel is still sleeping, but the Healer tells me he should be okay. I hope that is true.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Soldun, 26-248 Vaghel is still sleeping. If he does not wake by tomorrow, I think I will place his hand in a cup of spring water as he did to me when we were children. Let's see if that wakes him. Soldun, 27-248 The spring water worked. Of course, the Healer says it was the smelling herbs that roused him from his sleep, but I like to think I helped. The strange thing is, Vaghel can't remember what happened to him.

He has bits and pieces, but he says the last thing he truly remembers is fleeing the Crater after I yelled at him half a cycle ago. At first I thought he was simply lying to me, not wanting to go on about his adventures after I'd yelled at him the last time. But he seems truly distraught. He says there was something important he was supposed to remember, something he promised to do.

Whatever this missing memory is, it was powerful enough to bring him to tears as he struggled to remember, so I can only hope his memory returns with time. Soldun, 30-248 Vaghel is still recovering from his wounds, and still trying to remember what happened to him. Our Healers lost their levels in The Shattering just like everyone else, so recovery has been slow. If there is one good thing to come from this, it's that taking care of Vaghel is helping our Healers regain their levels faster.

In that same vein, I am quickly closing in on my first prestige once more. I probably could have hit it sooner, but I have been helping outside the forge just as much as inside since this all began. I wonder what prestige classes I will be offered this time. Soldun, 34-248 Not worthy of prestiging? What is this ashflow? The Gods better hope they never run into me in the shadows of the forge or they'll find a greeting from my favorite hammer.

Rumdol, 1-248 Vaghel is able to get up and move a bit now, but he is far from recovered. Last I spoke with him he said he feels his memories are beginning to return, but he is still missing the one about a promise that fills him with such emotion. He spoke of a forest filled with trees as far as the eye could see, and insects as big as his fist. I myself have never seen a forest before, but Vaghel has.

He's explored the nearby lands surrounding the Crater, and even he said this forest is like nothing he has ever seen. He says he ventured into another world as well, but cannot remember anything other than dark tunnels and jagged cliffs. The Healer assures him his memory will return in due time, but I can tell that isn't good enough for my brother. I pray he doesn't do anything too reckless. Rumdol, 3-248 It has been a full cycle since The Shattering.

I'm still working on a project worthy of prestiging, and Vaghel has been quiet lately. That's never good. Rumdol, 5-248 Smashed Pillars, my brother is an idiot. Finally capable of walking again, Vaghel left his bed when the Healer wasn't looking and attempted to jump out the window. I don't know what his plan was and I can't find out seeing as he's unconscious again, but you better believe when he finally wakes, the first thing he's going to see is the business end of my hammer. Rumdol, 6-248 So…

My brother Vaghel Damn I wish the Pillars were still around. Vaghel finally woke once more, but before I could give him a piece of my mind, he explained everything to me. The people he'd met in that other world filled with cliffs and darkened tunnels. The war they've been waging since The Shattering occurred. The promise he made to their Rebel Queen. Honestly, it's a lot to take in. I'm just a Smith. I hit things with my hammer. And if the Gods are to be believed, not even all that well apparently.

Vaghel's tale sounds like something out of the etchings he used to read as a child all those years ago. If it weren't my own brother telling me this, I would have assumed the dwarf a liar and not wasted a second listening to them. But it's Vaghel. I can see the same fire in his eye that he had when he told our parents his plans to become an Explorer. I remember it like it was yesterday. Mother cried and father didn't speak to him for six cycles, but Vaghel refused to change his mind.

When he decides he's going to do something, there's no talking that idiot out of it. As soon as he's healed, he's going to go back to that strange world. He's going to get himself killed. Unless someone goes with him. Rumdol, 7-248 Thankfully, Vaghel has chosen to listen to reason. In exchange for my promise to accompany him, he's agreed to wait until his injuries are fully healed. I think offering him this compromise with enough chain to restrain a lavaskip in my arms may have helped.

Pillars protect me, I need to prestige before that day comes. Rumdol, 10-248 The Gods can chew ash. Rumdol, 14-248 Finally, I did it. In preparation for our journey, I decided to try my hand at making two fresh warpicks. The weapons are perfect for helping one climb, and just as effective for killing anything you don't want breathing. Vaghel has always disliked the use of weapons, but I'm not letting him leave the Crater without something he can defend himself with.

I don't know if my reasoning had anything to do with why the Gods finally allowed me to prestige, but I don't have time to question it. The Healer finally gave Vaghel a clean bill of health two days ago, but I managed to convince him to cover for me until I could finish the warpicks. Now that they're complete… We leave tomorrow. Plynk, 2-248… I think. I'd completely forgotten about this journal. But seeing as Vaghel and his new friend are about to get us all killed, I might as well make one more entry.

While the Crater is technically underground, the passage of day and night is as simple as looking up at the sky. Not so much in this strange land. We found the 'Rebel Queen' that had been missing from Vaghel's memories. These people are the strangest sort I've ever seen. Some of the Pillars told tales of other races. People of all sorts and sizes, living far from the Crater, down from the mountain ranges entirely. Though I don't recall any of them mentioning a race of people quite like these.

Thin as a drawn out rod, these people tower over us. With their four arms, you'd think they'd make excellent Smiths. Except for the fact that none of them look strong enough to lift even a beginner's hammer. But that's not what concerns me… I can hear them in my head. These people… their thoughts… I find their methods of speaking unsettling, but Vaghel loves it. Says he wishes we could speak to everyone in the Crater like this. He loves how quickly they can convey information, and how the more...

put together members of the community seem to know exactly what everyone else needs. Like how they know they need to remain hidden. I don't understand entirely why, but I get pictures. Something about hiding from the 'True Queen,' as these people call her. In fact, that's exactly what Vaghel's promise had been about. Apparently my little brother promised the Rebel Queen he'd help escort any of their members that wished to leave for a better life.

From what we gathered, he tried escorting a small group of them out of the fragment. And the True Queen found them. I don't know how my brother managed to escape, but that must have been how he gathered so many injuries and had his memory damaged. If these people can speak directly into my head, I don't doubt they could do far worse things if they so choose. Anyway, for Gods' knows what reason he feels he owes the Rebel Queen even more now after the small group he was leading was slaughtered.

Despite this strange new threat we keep hearing about, some warrior that recently began working with the True Queen that these people refer to as 'The One With The Golden Blade,' he's determined to try again. Only this time he's starting with only a single one of these strange people, and rather than take them straight to the Crater, he's going to lead them through the strange forest of green. That way if the True Queen is still watching the border, we'll be able to slip past her. I told him it's too dangerous.

I asked, then argued for him to reconsider. But there's no dimming that fire in his eyes. The best I can do is go with him and do everything I can to keep him safe. Because as much as he gets on my nerves… He's still my little brother.