Chapter III: The Governor's Estate
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Following Selene, the group was able to procure their gear before leaving. All of their items were found in the same condition they left them. Selene was quite happy to return her shortsword and daggers to her side.
From there, they parted ways with Renik. It had been several days since his incarceration began and he wanted to return to his ship and see how his crew was holding up.
Jezran guided the group through the city streets to the governor's estate. The Hollow was not large, but they chose less-travelled roads in hopes of avoiding any guards that might have seen them at the wall.
Eventually, they reached the center of the Hollow, where the Governor resided. The governor's estate was a mixture between a military base and aristocratic manor in the middle of a city. It had tall walls and a single gate for entrance, similar to the walls around the Hollow itself, but it also appeared far more well preserved than most of the other older structures.
Since the gate had several guards protecting it, the party moved away to find a less guarded portion of the wall.
It did not take long. Despite the Governor's increasing paranoia, he apparently trusted the walls alone to protect him.
Or he just has enough traps in his house that it doesn't matter if you sneak in, Selene thought gravely.
Once they were certain there were no guards in sight, Jezran cast his Passage spell to enter the domicile. The interior appeared no less defensible. The ancient structure acting as the foundation for this fortress was clearly chosen for this very purpose. The walls appeared strong and were marked by several strange runes, and spikes lined the bottom half of the exterior to make climbing the defenses difficult. When Jezran tried to cast Passage on the interior wall, it failed.
"It appears the wall is warded against magic," Jezran said, frowning.
"Great, now what?" Selene whispered.
"We'll need to find a way that's less guarded," Argent stated.
"How about a path through the servant's entrance? I'm sure the governor has one," Selene suggested.
"Hmmm," Jezran thought aloud, "If there is one, I don't think I've ever seen it. There are a couple servants here, but I'm pretty sure they use the main entrance like everyone else."
"I could transform into my bird form and get up there," Ari suggested.
"You're pretty big in that form, Ari," Argent said. He then corrected himself when Ari huffed loudly, "I just mean you stand out in that form. I don't think that will be very stealthy."
Ari considered his words for a moment, then sighed, "Fine, then what should we do?"
"I can jump this," Hamish said simply.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"What?" Selene asked, not sure she heard him correctly.
Hamish explained simply, "I can jump quite far, did so to save friends from devil back underground. Would be less obvious than Ari as giant bird. If I take rope, I can pull everyone up."
Everyone then looked to Argent, who turned the proposal over in his head for a moment. Finally, he said, "If you think you can do this, it's worth a try. Selene, give him the rope."
She nodded and quickly pulled the rope from her pack.
Hamish grinned, "Thank you, my friend. I will lower once I'm atop this wall."
He's like...a giant frog. Selene thought to herself as he crouched down low and sprung up into the air.
The airborne half orc rose up to the top of the wall, then grabbed the ledge and pulled himself over the lip. Shortly after, Selene's rope was dropped down.
"Even with the rope, be careful everyone. These spikes are dangerous, and I would not be surprised if they are covered in poison...or worse. Just let Hamish pull you up, one at a time," Argent explained.
Selene was the first to go up. She squeaked as the rope seemed to spontaneously pull her up to the top of the wall. As she reached the top, she saw Hamish with one hand on the rope and the other out to help pull her up. She gladly accepted the proffered hand and stood beside him a moment later.
"Wow," Selene whispered, staring off into the distance. The wall of the fortress was higher than the wall surrounding it, so she got a clear view of the Hollow around them. The algae from the city streets glowed strong enough to be seen under the haze. For the first time since she arrived, Selene marvelled at this strange world where she now found herself.
Hard to believe it's only been a few days. So much has happened already...
Selene allowed herself to be lost in her thoughts as the rest of the party were pulled up.
Once Argent, the last member was pulled up to the top of the wall, he immediately scanned the area around them.
"Does anyone see an entrance into the interior?" he asked.
Everyone glanced about for a moment, then shook their heads. The top of the building was surprisingly blank, save for a few ramparts marked by simple artillery placed around the perimeters.
Jezran pulled out the Orb, pondering it for a moment as he studied the magical currents. He then sighed, "It appears this roof is enchanted. Possibly with some kind of illusion magic."
"Might be unnecessary," Hamish said, "Where is Governor study?"
"Corner room, top floor," Jezran said without hesitation.
Ari narrowed her eyes, "Wait, you're not thinking of breaking anything to get in, are you?"
Hamish shook his head, "Just use magic to open ceiling, we can go drop right on top of him."
Jezran's eyes widened, and then he nodded, "Good idea."
Quickly, they followed Jezran to the corner above the Governor's study. Pulling out his focus, Jezran quickly performed the Passage spell. For a second, the spell appeared to fail with nothing happening.
Then, it suddenly sprang open.
"Odd," Jezran muttered, but shrugged, "On we go."
Seeing the wizard unfazed, the party leapt through the Passage together.
Only to find themselves immediately swallowed in an all-consuming pitch black.
"Jezran, did you close the Passage behind us?" Ari asked.
He did not respond immediately. Selene looked around in confusion. Normally her eyes would start adapting to the dark quickly. They did not.
A moment later, Jezran spoke the words Selene was thinking.
"Oh, that's not good," Jezran said.
"What now?" Selene asked.
"I...think this is more of that enchanted darkness, but I can't cast a spell to affect it," Jezran said, frustrated.
"It appears the dispelling field paid off, after all," someone whispered a small distance away.
"Who's there?" Argent said, followed by the sound of metal drawn from its scabbard.
It spoke again, but this time it was clear the voice came from the shadows beyond the room, somewhere down the hall. It seemed manic, "I knew you would come, Jezran. You always did want this position after all. A pity you decided to come before the world ends, but no matter. I will not allow you to take what is rightfully mine."
"W—what?!?" Jezran asked, baffled, "What are you talking about, Merus?"
"Don't you 'Merus,' me!" the Governor shouted. It was now clear that he stood right behind the door, "I know you come here with your assassins, vying to take my life."
"How on Ashar does that make sense?!?" Jezran screamed.
"Enough talk! I knew you would come, and I knew you would try to attack me in my study, so I brought some 'friends' to stop this coup before it begins!" Merus shouted. Soon they heard the door slammed and then locked as retreating footsteps faded into the distance.
Movement could suddenly be heard in the darkness.
"That's not good," Selene whispered, vainly searching the blackened room for the source of the noise.
"Nothing is here, friends," Hamish said calmly, unfazed by the Governor's words.
The sound of something dropping onto the floor near Ari caused her to fall back with a loud crash.
"Are you sure? How can you tell?" Ari asked.
"Eyes not only way to see, my friend," Hamish whispered, "And I see nothing here."
As Hamish spoke, Selene felt something wet fall on her shoulder. It began wriggling around, and she could swear she felt tendrils touching her face. Panicking, she slapped the creature away. She heard Ari scream. Jezran let out a panicked yelp. Argent grunted, steel singing through the air.
Hamish sighed, grabbing everyone in either arm and running through the door. It crashed open with little effort, and the party was happy to find the enchanted darkness limited to the study.
Outside, they saw the hallway was quite simple. Anything ornate was leftover from the old buildingbefore it was repurposed. Everything else was designed with a sleek efficiency akin to the walls surrounding the Hollow. Nothing grandiose, just what was necessary.
While the Hollow did not have a great amount of natural illumination, the lack of windows completely removed that as a possible light source. Instead, algae lined the top of the walls, casting everything in an eerie green glow.
Down the hall, they saw an old Malenai, huddled in a corner. His clothes were ripped and torn, but appeared to be once quite decorated. His features were similar to Bastion's, blue skin and coral in the place of horns decorated his person, but there somehow was something off. His skin was far from the vibrant ocean blue of Bastion's, it appeared discoloured and pallid. His eyes and hair were a dull grey. He stared at them blankly, clutching something tightly to his chest.
Watching them from afar, Selene could see his lips in constant motion, but could not hear what he was saying.
"Merus?" Jezran asked from behind Selene.
The Malenai jerked at the name, then he started crying out, "No! No no no nononono NO! You...shouldn't have gotten out of there until the guards came."
"Wait, Merus. I—"
Jezran was cut off as Merus shouted, "NO! You cannot replace me. You will not! I won't let you!"
The aging Malenai then bolted down the hall away from them.
Without hesitation, Jezran ran after him, soon followed by the rest of the party, "Wait, Merus! We can help you!"
"NO! You c...can't! You don't understand!" The governor cried out. Reaching a corner, he turned back to face them, his eyes crazed, "We are cursed. Beset on all sides. No one is safe and no one can be trusted! You wouldn't understand. You and your college only see us as a resource to exploit, I am the only protector this Hollow has and I DO ONLY WHAT I MUST TO SURVIVE!"
Before they could close the distance and grab him, he was already in motion once more. This aged Malenai was remarkably spry. Despite their best efforts, it did not appear the party was able to close the distance.
Chasing this crazy old guy will get us nowhere, Selene thought, Let's see if he can outrun a Shadowstep.
Selene kept running, then took a breath. I want this whole stupid chase to be over.
Time began to slow.
The shadows enveloped her and she found herself easily outpacing the rest of her party. In that world of shadow, she focused her attention on the light glowing ahead of her. It was a strange sight, as two colours clashed in one bright shining star before her.
Getting close, she realized that there were actually two lights in the dark. One she knew was Merus', shimmering ocean blue. The other appeared to be the thing clutched to his chest, which appeared to be a sickly green. It reminded Selene of that moment she saw the light emanating from Lendrig. Strange. She passed ahead of him a second later. As she ended the Shadowstep and time seemed to resume, she positioned herself so he would trip on her outstretched foot.
A moment later, Merus lost his footing and tumbled end over end. He was stopped abruptly as he slammed into a nearby wall. Gasping as the wind was knocked out of him, the thing clutched to his chest flew from his grip and landed a few feet away.
It appeared to be a skull, having all the characteristics of a human head with some strange warping around the jaw. If Selene could hazard a guess, it was a skull of a Sep'tha, but she did not know enough to say for certain. What stood out the most, however, was the strange black metal fused around the top of the skull. Like a crown circlet, it sat on the top of the head, with seven spikes rising upwards several inches.
Merus, beginning to recover, reached for the skull weakly. Selene was quick, and grabbed it off the ground before him. Despite its size, it was surprisingly light and smooth to the touch. As she picked it up, whatever strength was in Merus faded, and he collapsed to the floor unconscious.
As Selene gripped the skull, she was overcome by a strange sensation.
Trust no one. A familiar voice echoed in her mind.
I started from nothing, I will become nothing if I allow myself even a moment's weakness. Because everything I hold dear is but a moment's delay from destruction. All those opposed to me, as well as those that serve me, seek that end.
This...is Lendrig's voice. She thought as it continued. It was impossible to miss: the speech, the tone, everything matched that monster's voice digging in her mind.
The only safe path is the one where all kneel before me. Otherwise, they will rise up and take all I hold dear. I refuse to be usurped. I have sacrificed too much for all this to end in vain.
I will drown the world before I relinquish what I fought so hard to procure.
As Lendrig's voice spoke. Selene's perspective began to change. Suddenly, the world was far darker, the people surrounding her held knives behind their backs. Their faces showed a false concern, but she could see the hidden hunger and malice behind their eyes. She knew they would destroy her in a moment's notice.
Suddenly, knives seemed to reach out from every corner and even the shadows seemed to hide some kind of hidden intentions against her. Panicked, she tried to get away, but was stopped by Hamish, who swiftly took the skull from her hands.
As it left her grip, the visions faded and the world returned to the way it was before.
"Hmm," he said, "Seems to be filled with bad feelings. Paranoia like deadly poison cloud."
"Is...is that—" Jezran tried to ask, huffing loudly, "Is that the artefact?"
"I..." Selene stammered, "That thing has Lendrig's voice."
Jezran's eyes widened.
Hamish nodded, completely unfazed, "Friend is right, I hear it too. Must be Lendrig's head from old days."
"What?" Jezran asked, clearly confused.
Argent spoke up this time, "Legends say Lendrig was beheaded in battle during the War of the Collapse, but the head was never recovered."
As they were talking, Merus began to stir.
"Ohhhhhh, my head..." he groaned, he tried to rise to his feet but dropped down to his knees.
Hamish, with one hand free, reached out to help the man. Merus took the hand graciously. As he looked around, Selene noticed a change in him. His skin was still discoloured and pale, but there was a lucidity in his eyes that was missing previously.
"W—what happened?" Merus groaned. As his eyes fell on the wizard, "My friend, what is going on?"
"We were wondering the same thing," Jezran said, "We came back to find the Hollow under some kind of lockdown and your guards threw us in prison!"
Merus seemed shocked, "I...I don't remember—"
Jezran continued, clearly agitated, "Then we came to find you and you were babbling something about me taking over?!? I mean really, when have I ever shown a desire for your position?"
Merus turned away at that, his eyes downcast, "I...I'm sorry, friend. I-"
Jezran cut him off again, "Then, it turns out you've been hiding an artefact from me? One that may now lead to the destruction of the Hollow?!?"
"What? I—" Merus said, then he saw the skull in Hamish's hands, "Ah, I see."
Jezran, finally taking stock of Merus's change, forced himself to calm down, "It's...alright. It appears you were not yourself."
"But...Merus, why didn't you tell me about this?" Jezran asked as he pointed to the skull.
The governor was silent for a moment, his shoulders sagged as he continued to avoid looking Jezran in the eye.
"It was not mine to share," Merus explained, "It was given to me by my predecessor, who received it from his, dating all the way back. It's a relic we found in the early days of building the Hollow. It granted us some powers of illusion, and appeared to show us signs of danger, so it was decided it would be our safeguard against the darker residents of Lendrigol."
Merus then swallowed audibly as his brow furrowed, "But...something changed in it. It's like it came back to life. It began speaking to me, warning me of the dangers within and without. I ignored it at first, but slowly, I...I think it took over me. I don't remember much after that."
"Do you remember when it started?" Argent asked.
"It...it began...a day or two after I received your letter, Jezran. The one that said you were going on an expedition into Lendrigol?" Merus spoke, his voice hoarse, "Which was around the time the dreams began to change, I think."
"Hmmm," Jezran murmured, "I'm starting to see where everything falls into place. Our departure and the trap we fell into, the change in dreams, and Merus's paranoia. They all seemed to be a part of the same plan..."
"How so?" Argent asked.
"Well, let's start with the basics," Jezran explained, "Lendrig knew the skull was in the Hollow, but he was waiting for one of the Máni's progeny before reclaiming it. If my ancient history is right, that's the old name for Artem, which would mean he needed one of the Lunar Celestial Elves, like you."
Argent nodded simply, "It's the name my people still use."
Jezran continued, "So, hoping to lure one of your kind here, he hatched a plan two years ago to affect our dreams. Once we were attacked by those Drowned, he realized all the pieces were in his grasp and he immediately made his move. While we were running around in the dark ruins beneath Lendrigol, he was sowing the seeds of paranoia here."
"But, my friend, the dreams all foretold the destruction of the Hollow," Merus asked, "Why warn us when he could surprise us?"
Selene spoke up reluctantly, "Because...he wants us to be afraid. He said something to me before we escaped. Something about our struggles and fear making it...better."
Jezran nodded in understanding, but blood drained from his face as he spoke, "Right, right. He does seem to take pleasure in other's suffering. I guess then all this was just a game to him, some pleasant distraction while he prepared to destroy us."
"The game's over now," Argent declared, turning to Merus, he ordered, "Gather all the leaders of the Hollow. It's time we prepare for war."