Entry 120 -
1796
Celestine entered my tent during the early hours of the morning when the frost-touched fog still lay low across the refugee camp.
The sky outside shone a pale-lavender blue with distant clouds swirling ‘round the nearby peaks. Her breath came in short, translucent puffs, even within the confines of the tent. “Here,” she said, handing me a red-dyed cloak. The fabric had a slick, oily texture that shimmered when it caught the tender, pre-dawn light. “If Kallian’s alchemical treatments are effective, the Athin coating ought to protect us from the fire.”
“Cellie,” I said, holding the folded cloak in my lap. “What happened with Dannika?”
Celestine’s mouth pressed into a thin, angry line. “No more talk of Dannika,” she murmured before opening her satchel and handing me a few more supplies. An insulated water canteen, a length of rope. “I’ll deal with it later. I’ve got shields too - Daemonsteel. If we run into a ghast again, it might save our lives.”
“Please, Cellie,” I said, reaching out to grasp her by the arm. “This… seems dangerous. We need to be in a stable place emotionally if we want to succeed. The Nether could… take advantage of our minds if we’re in a bad way.”
Celestine closed her eyes for a long moment, taking a deep breath in and releasing it slowly. The warm breath streamed from her nose like smoke from the nostrils of a dragon. “I’ll be fine, Tanith,” she said, opening her eyes. “I’ve failed enough already. Come on, we need to fetch Zodd and Kallian. We’ve no time to waste.”
Once Celestine has set her mind on something, trying to change it is like trying to divert a river from its course. We were going to take one last trip to the Nether, no matter what. I couldn’t let Celestine and the others go by themselves. My magic might spell the difference between success and failure, life and death. Even if Cellie doesn’t want to admit it, she’s getting older. She’s not elven like me. The years have a palpable effect on her. I needed to be there to make sure she escaped alive, with all her limbs intact.
So I dressed in my adventuring clothes, tied the Athin cloak around my shoulders, and said no more.
We met Zodd and Kallian at the center of the camp. They were already dressed, packed, and ready to go. Celestine briefed us before we set out. “The attunement ritual for the portal involves an act of self-sacrifice,” she explained. “You have to drown yourself in the lake. But! Not to worry! You won’t stay dead.”
Kallian’s nose wrinkled. “Suicide by drowning. Sounds like a fun afternoon.”
“Everyone got your cloaks and your daemonsteel equipped? Canteens filled with water?” Celestine asked, looking over our attire and rucksacks. “Right, let’s be off.”
With that, we set out across the mountains toward Luxem. Valwyck proved to be a suitable staging area for our expedition since it’s quite close to Luxem. We followed a little-known goat-herding trail through the peaks and arrived outside of Luxem in a few short hours. Still no sign of the Paladins. I wondered if I would ever see Jack again. The last time I saw Jack was before my wedding to Icroth - over fifteen years ago now. Was he even still alive? Did he die fighting in Korvassa? And whatever became of Diomedes?
My life is one of many mysteries. Many stories that have no endings, many issues left unresolved. There’s often no choice but to keep moving forward.
We gathered on the lake’s edge. Crows perched atop the floating portal suspended above the water. Their caws broke the still morning air. “Right,” Celestine said. “So, into the lake we go. Whatever you do, don’t try to fight it. You’ll want more than anything to swim back to the surface, but try to resist the urge.”
“How did you figure out that this was the way to enter?” Kallian asked, regarding the grey waters uncertainly.
“Lauritz puzzled it out, actually,” Celestine replied. “He and I found this place and figured out the riddle on the pillars. Since then, we’ve traveled to the Nether a total of three times.”
“What’s the riddle say?” Kallian said, shading his eyes and peering at the floating ruins.
“Pillar of water seeks life to leech, where Hogmen revel in eternal feast,” Celestine recited. “That’s our objective for this trip. We want to locate a Nether fortress and observe the Hogmen in their natural habitat.”
“Shall I go through and wait for everyone on the other side, Cellie?” I asked.
She gave me an affirmative nod. “Please do, Tanith. Zodd, Kallian, I’ll stay here with you two.”
Leaving the group, I hopped across the floating stones toward the portal in the center of the lake. A film of swirling, purple light stretched between the stones. I plunged into the portal and my entire field of vision filled with purple. A moment later, the portal spat me out in the Nether lobby. Once I’d arrived on the other side, I settled down to wait for the others.
About half an hour later, Kallian came tumbling through the portal. He landed on his knees, coughing and spluttering with tears streaming down his face. “I’m alive,” he wheezed. “All right. Good. For a minute, I was worried you all tricked me into killing myself.”
“Ehehe,” I giggled, reaching down to offer my hand. “Welcome to the Nether.”
He took my hand and pulled himself to his feet. “So what is this place?”
“A sort of… holding zone,” I replied. “It’s the only safe spot in the entire Nether - and the only place with breathable air. You might want to take a moment to read the books around here. They’re very helpful!”
“Surprisingly welcoming,” Kallian observed, looking over the dusty shelves. “Guides left behind by previous expeditions? That’s something else. Why haven’t the Undead destroyed this place?”
“Maybe they don’t know about it,” I hypothesized. “If that’s the case, I’d rather not tell them!”
At that moment, Zodd staggered through the portal. “Augh!” he bellowed out, coughing and choking. He thumped his chest repeatedly. “I hate ponds! I hate lakes! I hate water!”
Celestine appeared a second after him, no worse for wear. “Welcome to the Nether, everyone,” she said. “What do all think about it?”
“Too much red,” Zodd grumbled. “They need a new interior decorator.”
“Far more comfortable than I was anticipating,” Kallian replied.
“Not so much once you leave the lobby, though,” Celestine said before directing us over to the pile of oxygen orbs in the corner. “Make sure your oxygen orbs are secure on your head before we head into the Nether proper. Keep them on at all times. You can feed water through the spout on the side. They last about an hour. We haven’t found a means to refill them yet, but… that’s another one of our goals for today. This might be our last chance to breech the Nether, so we need to be on our toes. Once we’re inside, keep moving and follow our lead.”
“Perhaps Tanith’s translocation can help us move faster,” Kallian suggested.
I frowned. “Shifting is… very demanding on my mana,” I said. “I estimate I can only shift us five times total before my mana stores run out. I don’t want to pass out on you all…”
Celestine nodded. “If we can reach a certain location by conventional means, we’ll try that first,” she said. “Tanith, I want you to save your mana for translocating. I’ll use my water evocation to keep us cool and protected from the fire. Kallian, I want you to save your mana for combat… if we’re unlucky enough to run into some more fire slugs… or worse, Undead.”
“And I’m the meat shield,” Zodd groused.
“Muscle is important too, Zodd!” Celestine chimed cheerily. “Once we find the air pocket, I want to plant our banner and leave a plaque to mark our progress. Are we all ready to go?” By then, we’d affixed the oxygen orbs on our heads. We gathered around the portal leading out of the lobby. “To new frontiers!” Celestine said, thrusting a fist in the air. One by one, we jumped through the swirling purple light. Celestine first, then me, then Zodd and Kallian.
We emerged on the other side. A wall of searing, oven-like heat slammed into us the moment we stepped through. No matter how many times I enter the Nether, I’ll never get used to the heat. It knocks the wind out of you, rendering you breathless. Within seconds, my clothes became drenched with sweat and stuck to my body. My oxygen orb immediately steamed up with condensation. A niggling, persistent headache throbbed at the back of my skull - the psychic fields of the Nether exerting their influence. We couldn’t waste a second. Celestine took off at a brisk pace and I followed after her.
The early obstacles presented no challenge for us, of course. We’ve learned how to bypass them. Celestine struggled with casting, though. Voidal evocation is more difficult in the depths of the Nether. I have three-hundred years of magical experience, but… Celestine does not. Her mana pools are much smaller than mine. She strained to keep our canteens cooled off. Washing our clothes of the gaseous fruits made her gasp with effort. We reached a small gap in the road where lava had burned away the brick. On previous expeditions, I conjured a blast of water to create a stone bridge. When Celestine tried the same technique, her magic failed and she couldn’t summon enough water to cool the lava.
At that point, I stepped in. “I think we need to try shifting,” I suggested.
Celestine gave a labored nod. “All right. Everyone, gather around Tanith.”
My three friends clustered around me. I drew my wand from its holster and called upon the magic of the Void. “Erm…” I began uncertainly. “…This is the first time I’ve tried shifting more than one person. And… ah… fair warning… You all are going to vomit the first time I do this. So try not to get the puke on the inside of your oxygen orbs…”
I followed the technique as Serenity taught it to me. I placed my marker on the opposite side of the lava gap. The mana enveloped my body… then extended to swallow the figures of my companions. I opened up a portal to the Void… and pushed the four of us through it.
The Nether has a strange effect on Voidal magic, it seems. Somehow, we overshot our destination by several hundred feet. We emerged on the far side of the gap - thankfully still on solid ground - but a few more feet and we would have translocated directly into a river of lava! We emerged right on the banks with the magma mere inches from our vulnerable feet. Zodd, Celestine, and I all immediately vomited. Our puke splashed on the searing ground and evaporated quickly into nothingness.
Once we’d rehydrated, we headed further down the path. We arrived at the floating islands, covered in balloon-like, gas-filled plants. Lava slugs roiled in the magma below the islands. I knew at once that we couldn’t reach the islands by conventional means. The last time we tried to cross via rope, which resulted in Icroth losing his leg. So I voidally shifted us a second time. Thankfully, my magic got us to the other side - and with minimal vomiting.
This was further than we had ever gone before. On our last expedition, we had to give up and double back once we reached the floating islands. Now, with my voidal translocation, we’d managed to make it past the islands without incident.
We found ourselves standing on a peninsula with no obvious way forward. The peninsula appeared to be melting under our very feet, with pieces of it slowly breaking off into the lava. Unsure of where to go next, we took a moment to assess our options. To the west lay a field of ever-burning flames. To the east, an ocean of magma. To the north… well, if we squinted, we could just make out the shape of a brick pillar extending upward from the lava.
Celestine paused to cool our canteens with magic. As she pulled forth the ice from the Void, extinguishing the last of her mana, she crumpled into Zodd’s arms. “I - I can’t keep doing this,” she gasped, her eyes rolling back in her head. “I can’t go any further…” Just like that, she was out cold.
“We need t’ head back,” Zodd said, gathering Celestine in his arms and holding her bridal-style. “Let’s set up th’ banner an’ get outta ‘ere. We’re runnin’ outta air fast.”
“Wait…” Kallian murmured, squinting into the smoky mist. “What’s that?”
He pointed toward the brick pillar in the distance. I didn’t have my glasses on me, so I couldn’t quite see what he was talking about. Zodd shaded his eyes and peered into the murk. “Is that… air?” he murmured. “That’s got to be it. I don’t see any smoke over there. That’s got to be the air pocket - on top of that pillar! It’s right there!”
“That’s what we came here to find!” I exclaimed. “But - Celestine… We need to get her home. She’s out cold.”
“We might not ‘ave enough air t’ make it back t’ the portal,” Zodd replied. “So it’s goin’ t’ be a risk either way. I say we get up t’ th’ top o’ that pillar. World’s goin’ t’ shit. We might not make it another day. Might as well plant our goddamn flag on top o’ that pillar.”
“We don’t have the time to climb it. We’d run out of air before we reached the top,” I replied. “I’ll need to teleport us. But what if I overshoot again?”
Zodd shifted Celestine onto his back and shuffled closer to me. “We’ve got t’ give it a go. It’s what we fuckin’ came ’ere for,” he said. Kallian nodded in agreement as he linked his arm with mine.
I withdrew my wand and summoned my mana. “Dear God in Heaven,” I said. “If you can hear me down here, let my magic aim true!”
Well… unfortunately, it seems there’s no God down in the Nether. I opened up the portal and pushed the four of us through the Void. I expected us to emerge atop the pillar, but… we weren’t quite so lucky. My magic dropped us atop a floating bit of debris suspended by some of the balloon plants. It was near to the top of the pillar, but separated by a gap of several feet. A massive ocean of lava flowed beneath us. We clung to the floating rock, which was barely large enough to hold all three of us. “Why th’ HELL did ye teleport us ’ere, Tanith?” Zodd screamed.
“I made a mistake!” I spluttered, clinging to the rocks. “I overshot it! This was a bad idea!”
“Whatever you do, don’t pop these balloon plants!” Kallian cried out. “We’ll go plunging straight into the lava!”
“M-Maybe there’s a way we can n-nudge this rock toward the shore?” I stuttered, readjusting my grip on the stone. Sweat made my palms slippery and damp.
Zodd narrowed his eyes. He stared across the gap toward the pillar. It lay tantalizingly close. Near enough almost to touch, yet separated by a dangerous gap. “I can make that jump…” he mumbled. “Adventure’s not over yet. Right. So we’ve got us a choice. We’re either goin’ down or up.”
Kallian and I looked at each other… then down at the lava below. “Up,” we answered simultaneously.
Zodd reached for a length of rope hanging from his belt. He tossed it over to Kallian. “Tie this around yer waist,” he said. “Then try to jump over to th’ pillar. If ye fall, I’ll drag ye back up. Once yer at th’ top, tie th’ rope off so Tan an’ I can climb up after ye.”
“Time for me to make myself useful,” Kallian quipped as he tied the rope around his midsection. “Nowhere to go but up!” With that, his thigh muscles coiled and he sprang forward off the rock.
Kallian smacked into the pillar. His fingers scrabbled as he tried to find hand-holds. Zodd and I seized hold of the rope, ready to haul him back up if he slipped. Kallian’s elvish dexterity kicked in, though, and he secured a firm grip on the bricks. He turned and gave us an encouraging smile. We let the rope slacken a bit, watching intently as he scaled the side of the pillar. We held our breath… and didn’t breathe again until Kallian had safely reached the top.
“Air!” Kallian shouted to us. “It’s air! We were right! There’s air up here!”
“Don’t jus’ STAND THERE!” Zodd bellowed. “Tie off th’ rope an’ throw it down!”
Kallian untied the rope and lashed it to a bit of partially collapsed railing atop the pillar. He gave us a thumbs-up as he threw it back down. Zodd caught hold of the rope and handed it off to me.
“Ladies first,” he said.
I looked down at my palms, which were slick and drenched with sweat. I wiped the sweat off on my cloak and took the rope in hand. Holding the rope as tightly as possible, I swung over to the pillar and began to climb toward the air pocket.
Halfway up, my grip failed. The rope slid through my sweat-soaked hands and I began plummeting toward the lava. I let out a raw shriek.
“CATCH ME, CATCH ME, CATCH ME!”
Zodd lunged forward - nearly falling himself - and grabbed hold of my ankle. He pulled me back up onto the bit of floating debris. My heart hammered in my chest and my breath came in ragged gasps. Kallian gathered up the rope and threw it back down to Zodd. “Yer not gonna make it in yer state, Miss Tanith,” he grumbled to me. “Ye’ve used up too much fer yer mana.” That said, he tied the rope around my waist.
I couldn’t argue with him. By that point, I’d sweated out nearly every drop of water in my body. My head ached painfully with even the slightest movement. My casting had left me depleted. Our air supplies were rapidly running low and all I wanted to do was sit down and cry. Once Zodd had finished tying the rope, he gave the signal to Kallian. “Pull ’er up!”
Kallian’s arms tightened as he began hauling me up the side of the pillar. I helped as much as I could, finding handholds among the stones to support myself. The rope creaked and groaned under my weight. I feared I might look up, only to see the hemp fraying and about to snap. At last, I reached the top of the pillar. I scrambled onto solid land and clambered for the safety of the air bubble. My oxygen orb refilled to maximum the moment I entered.
Fresh, cool, breathable air rushed into my lungs and I nearly cried from relief. But we couldn’t waste a second. Zodd and Celestine had mere minutes of air, perhaps only seconds. I untied the rope from my waist and threw it back down to Zodd.
“Z-Zodd! You can’t climb with Celestine on your back! We… we need to pull you up!” I shouted to him. My throat wheezed from a lack of water. It felt as though I had dust clogging up my windpipe. Everything inside me felt shriveled and dry.
“Hurry th’ FUCK up, then!” he yelled back at us before securing the rope around his midsection.
Together, Kallian and I grabbed the rope and began to pull. Our muscles strained from the combined weight of Zodd and Celestine. Slowly, very slowly, we began to lug our friends up toward safety. “DAMN, you’re fat!” Kallian grunted as he dug in his heels and heaved as hard as he possibly could.
Below, we heard Zodd struggling to breathe.
“N-No… air…” he coughed.
“HOLD YOUR BREATH!” I screamed.
Kallian and I pulled the rope as hard and as fast as we could, dragging our friends upward inch by painful inch. The seconds ticked past like hours. I couldn’t hear Zodd below us. Was he holding his breath? Or had he suffocated? I feared that we might have two blue-faced corpses on the end of the line.
At long last, Zodd climbed onto the edge and tumbled into the air bubble. He inhaled an enormous lungful of clean air, then abruptly turned on Kallian. “Call me fat one more time…!”
“Is Celestine all right?” I asked, searching Cellie’s unconscious face.
“She’s still breathing,” Zodd confirmed.
For a moment, all we could do was sit and thank God that we’d made it. We had dry lips and parched throats from dehydration. Our heads throbbed from the influence of the Nether’s psychic fields. Our muscles ached from the exertion of traversing this hostile realm. But for a brief and shining minute, we could breathe easy.
After taking a moment to rest, we took the banner from Celestine’s pack and set it up within the air bubble. We left our plaque - which listed our names and the date - at the foot of the banner.
This was the text etched into the metal:
NGS Nether Expedition 1795
Celestine Herbert
Tanith Vursur
Kallian Syrivir
Zodd Calliban
We discovered that the pillar was connected to a catwalk that ran along the top edge of the Nether caverns. While exploring the walkway, we uncovered a small portal just large enough for a single person to fit through. When we entered the portal, we discovered that it took us straight back to the Nether lobby - a shortcut of sorts! We were all immensely grateful to return to home and safety. Of course, I made sure Celestine received medical care as soon as we returned to Valwyck. She was badly dehydrated and her mana stores depleted, but otherwise unhurt. She’ll make a full recovery.
In short, our final Nether expedition was entirely successful. We discovered the air pocket. We left our mark upon the Red Realm. We didn’t see a Hogman, but I don’t mind that. I’m just glad we achieved some of our objectives and escaped unhurt.
In a few days, we’ll be leaving Arcas behind for good. We achieved something while we were here, though. I’m proud. I’m proud of the NGS and everything we’ve done. We built museums. We published studies. We learned new things. We made true friends all across Arcas. And we explored further into the Nether than anyone ever did.