Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Corruption tunnel

The presence of the miasma became increasingly intense. Because of this, all the mole-beings wielded shining weapons created by Light Blade. It helped keep the miasma at bay by purifying it.

"What... is that?" Fita asked, horrified at the approaching presence.

"Some kind of corrupted snake," Eldi clarified, calmly.

To tell the truth, the clarification wasn't necessary. They were warned, but it was one thing to know it, and another to see it in first person. The snake wasn't more powerful than them, but its presence was sinister.

"Stay alert. Observe what happens when it's killed," Goldmi reminded them.

This was something that everyone who had fought in the corrupted area knew, and that they had explained to the mole-beings. However, it was necessary for them to experience it.

The possibility of dealing with corrupted mole-beings was high. They had to be prepared, to be familiar with it.

Gjaki then immobilized the snake with Blood Bindings, after taking it by surprise with Darkness. They then let the mole-beings finish it off, with weapons blessed with Purifying Touch.

They had to see with their own eyes how it disappeared. The mole-beings needed to feel how the trapped soul was released. Only then, would they have no remorse if they encountered their corrupted peers. Eliminating them would be their duty.

"I see... It's horrible..." Fita murmured, overwhelmed.

She wasn't the only one. All her companions said or thought similar words. Without a doubt, seeing it, feeling it, was necessary to understand.

As they advanced deeper into the miasma, the number of corrupted beings increased. Nonetheless, it was never too high, no more than they would have been if they were alive. Those losts also didn't seem to have orders. They were simply still, waiting forever, until a group of living beings had appeared.

"There is no baddy," Pikshbxgra had assured.

She was hidden inside Goldmi's clothes. Although the fairy wasn't as vulnerable to the miasma as when she was a spirit, she found it extremely unpleasant.

Since they didn't move if they didn't get close, the Bats could discover most of them, the ones that weren't buried. Nevertheless, those weren't a big problem either. They were detected by the attentive mole-beings as soon as they moved.

The losts had forgotten the stealth that made them dangerous when they were alive. They woke up abruptly after perceiving the presence of living people, and dug directly towards them. To the ears of the mole-beings, they were simply too loud.

The first corrupted mole-beings they encountered were a group near a hatch. Apparently, they had opened it and were exploring the surroundings, when the corruption had overwhelmed them. Since then, they had remained there, still, waiting.

"Five of your people, corrupted," the vampiress announced regretfully. She knew what it meant to their mole companions.

"Let us deal with them," Fita asked, after taking a deep breath and controlling her feelings.

Despite everything, despite having been preparing along the way, despite putting themselves in the worst case, finding them face to face made their hearts sink. Despite it, they asked to be the ones to end their suffering.

It wasn't difficult. Purifying Touch was the nemesis of the corrupted beings, and Gravity helped hold them back. The most difficult task was to stop looking at the ground where they had disappeared, to not letting grief overwhelm them.

They knelt.

""Now, you're one with the earth. You can rest, until the cycle is completed, and the earth returns you to us,"" they recited their farewell.

The knocking on the first hatch of the passage between the tunnels urged them to stop their prayers. The second was open, so the first remained closed as a precaution. Behind it, there were the rest of the now corrupted mole-beings that had been part of the expedition. They wanted to attack the living, but they had forgotten how to open it.

If the three companions had been alone, they would have had to choose to tear the hatch down with blows or explosions. Their companions had more subtle methods.

Goldmi created a Consecrated Ground at the junction point, thus freeing it of miasma, although not the other side. Since the hatch was hermetically closed, it blocked the spell.

These hatches were designed to prevent the passage of other beings from the depths, but they had a mechanism to be opened by their creators. Those mechanisms could be inhibited, as had happened during wartime. If so, those explorers, or other before them, had restored it before they were corrupted. In case of emergency, no one wanted to stay locked up.

It was a mechanism that required time, and could be easily interrupted from the other side. Of course, in this case, those on the other side no longer knew how to do it. Not to mention that they only wanted to attack the living.

The mechanisms turning could be heard, the rubbing of the cogs, the clicks as the different closures opened.

"Let it be quick, please," Fita asked.

Goldmi nodded. She kicked the hatch, and launched two Light Blasts in a row. Meanwhile, the feline was waiting next to her. If necessary, she would protect her sister.

The purifying power, which doubled their levels, shattered the miasma of the mole-beings. Perhaps, the most surprising consecuences was that it took a few seconds for their bodies to disappear, even after having lost the cohesion provided by the miasma. One of them even moved his lips.

"He has said 'thank you'..." a mole-man was amazed, moved, tears running down his cheeks.

"Me too... I've seen it..." another agreed.

All the mole-beings felt deeply moved, overwhelmed, and also determined to free the others.

It should be said that the three companions weren't immune either. They may have seen it several times in the Lost Forest, but that didn't mean it didn't affect them anymore. Above all, when their small companions were in shock, praying again for their lost peers, for the friends they couldn't make anymore.

However, they couldn't waste much time at that place. Besides, now the mole-beings knew that there had been some of their people there. They didn't want to think about it, but they could only expect that what awaited them ahead would be even worse.

Everything pointed that there was a settlement nearby. The likelihood that it had escaped corruption was remote. The further they advanced, the denser the miasma, the stronger the corruption. Without a doubt, the first wave had been more intense there.

They wanted to keep hope in their hearts, but the reality in front of them made it impossible. As much as they desired it, they knew there wasn't any. The food was corrupted, as well as the rock and water. Even if there had been survivors, they would have died of hunger or thirst.

The only possibility was that they were far away when the corruption arrived, and that they had fled through other tunnels. Perhaps, some had been lucky enough to survive like that, but it was clear that those wouldn't be near. If it was the case, perhaps they would find them in the future, when they contacted other tribes.

However, what awaited them ahead could only be more corruption. It was the cruel reality that they couldn't deny, no matter how much they wanted to.