Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 45

Severance crouched beside the trenches of Fort Valkyrie, and studied the System window before him.

It was a local map of Eliona. It was even more detailed than the simple map that appeared when he used Teleport, though it shared some similarities. Much of it was grayed out, representing areas that he had yet to visit. The places he had been to, like Two Bridges and Ascendance, showed up in perfect clarity. Even the roads and landmarks were marked down.

The Chosen Den was in the gray area not too far from the Fort. A white arrow indicated its location, courtesy of being an active quest. It was quite convenient, he decided, but he didn't like the fact that he'd have to skirt an active warzone just to get there.

He wondered if he'd get blown up again.

There was only one way to find out. Keeping low, he made his way straight east, keeping a healthy distance between himself and the distant fog. A few minutes later, dark shapes began to rise from the ground before him—dirty brown outcrops of rock that were tall enough to hide him from view. A small worn trail wove between them in a zigzag pattern.

He eyed the path for a moment, brows rising up to his hairline. That's kinda obvious, isn't it?

With a mental shrug, he followed the path. The ground began to descend and the rocky outcrops became walls of rock that closed in on both sides. Faint swirls of fog floated lazily above the ground, little tendrils curling about his ankles before breaking apart from each stride he took.

The further he went, the colors dimmed and everything took on a dreary, somber cast.

Severance checked his map. The little arrow bobbed right before him. He eyed it dubiously. That meant the dungeon should be right ahead. Wellon was supposed to meet him there.

Lifting his gaze from the map, he saw nothing but swirling fog obscuring the ground between flanking canyon walls. The sky hung overhead, gray and overcast as if to match the gloom of the place.

He ventured closer and the fog abruptly parted as if pushed aside by a pair of hands. A stone archway squeezed into a narrow opening in the rock, its center filled with boiling purple-gray light. Severance immediately recognized it as a dungeon gate.

A dark shape materialized out of the surrounding mist, stepping up to Severance. It was a young man, dark of eye and hair, and wearing a familiar black outfit.

"Wellon," Severance blurted, then cleared his throat in an attempt to sound more steady. "How did you get here so fast?"

The young Veiled clan member looked at him neutrally. "Fast? I've been waiting for nearly ten minutes. I already found us a team."

"You what?" Elionans could do that? Severance had thought he'd have to be the one to put together a team. He'd even been prepared to start sending messages to his few friends.

Something moved within the fog, half hidden by the shadow of the looming canyon walls. And once he caught sight of it, he suddenly saw others. Within a single eye blink, Severance realized that he was far from being alone.

Besides Wellon, there had to be nearly a dozen others. Some sat against the rocks, others wandered aimlessly, and a few gathered in partial groups. These were players waiting to fill their parties before going through the dungeon gate.

"Oh." He hadn't even realized there were so many people here already.

Wellon somehow smirked without moving a single facial muscle. He raised a hand and gestured a "come here" motion towards a random direction.

"We're ready," he said.

Three more people stepped through the shadowy fog in response. One second they were mere shadows, the next they were three strangers.