Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Being a small town of less than 500 people, there were only three places that served hot food in Chelsea: The Miner's Pick, the Drunkard's Mug, and, naturally, the only inn in town, the Skipping Horse.

The Skipping Horse was the only place that regularly served sober clients and, therefore, had the best food. The place was only half-full of diners due to the late hour, though every stool at the bar was occupied.

They met up in the common room at nine o'clock and picked a quiet corner to hold their discussion in.

"I can't say we found a whole lot," said Sorin, reporting his findings to Gareth. "I took notes like you asked, but I'm not sure they'll be of any help. Those we interviewed only reported two oddities in the past two months: sporadic flashes of light emanating from abandoned mine shafts and the female adventurer called Astley, who goes around reading things and digging holes.

"Reported oddities aside, there's mention of the Dark Lady and the Winter Vigil, where a sacrificial ceremony will be taking place. I've been assured that the things offered are somewhat mundane, consisting mostly of foodstuffs and mana crystals. I also heard there was an order placed for alchemical ingredients through a merchant three months back. Roughly half are poisonous."

"Good work, Sorin," said Gareth, accepting the notebook. "And you too, Lawrence. Go ahead and have at your stew while I sort through this mess."

Everyone, excluding Gareth, started wolfing down their meals and washing them down with ale. This time, the innkeeper was prepared for Sorin and Lorimer. She set a large pot between the two of them and insisted that they serve themselves.

It took fifteen minutes for Gareth to summarize Sorin's findings and explain his conclusions. "Most of what we discovered confirms your findings. There are certain undertones to this situation that I don't like, but nothing actionable.

"The populace seems… off about our inquiries. Offended almost. As though these sorts of inquiries aren't normally made in the winter months."

"It's natural to be defensive," said Stephan between mouthfuls of stew. "No one wants to find out their neighbors are going crazy."

"To a point," admitted Gareth. "Fortunately, there's nothing overtly wrong. I also haven't detected any potent sources of corruption with my wish-fire medallion. But just to make sure, I'd like to stick around for the Winter Vigil. We should also find Adventurer Astley and interrogate her before the vigil takes place."

"Apparently, she's out for days at a time," said Lawrence. "We'll need to get lucky."

"I'm not too sure about that," said Daphne, looking up from her book. "If my read on this 'Astley' character is accurate, all we'll need to do is plant a few rumors about some old artifacts and forbidden truths, and she'll come right to us."

"Do you know something we don't?" asked Stephan.

Daphne shrugged. "Call it intuition. I've interacted with certain people that I'd very much not like to interact with again. Judging by her behavior, she fits the bill."

"Ah," said Stephan. "I see what you're saying."

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," said Gareth. "And honestly, I'm not that concerned about a random hero. Heroes tend to be very resistant to corruption, and corrupted humans don't tend to become heroes in the first place. I just want to interrogate her to be certain. "

"Then are you thinking the winter vigil is problematic?" asked Sorin.

"It's difficult to say," said Gareth. "Folk religions and idolatry do exist, and they usually don't cause any problems. Nine times out of ten, it's just some random rogue cultivator using smoke and mirrors to fish for benefits. Occasionally, however, it's a full-blown cult to Madness. We can't run the risk that someone invites madness into the village and wipes it off the map."

Given Gareth's history, their team could only go along with the investigation and hope nothing was amiss. Their conversation turned to more cheerful topics, half of which revolved around berating Lawrence and warning him not to get into too much trouble.

Daphne mostly kept to herself but occasionally took notes on the banter. Sorin suspected she was performing research for her next story.

It was close to midnight when they decided to call it a day. "No need to get up too early," said Gareth. "We'll focus on farmers and miners next, so be sure to dress warmly.

"It also occurs to me that some people might not be forthcoming. Tomorrow, we'll switch things up. Stephan will team up with Sorin, and I'll stay with Daphne. Lawrence… you do you."

"Recognition!" said Lawrence, pumping his fist.

"Just be discrete about it, and don't cause any problems," warned Gareth. "Staying out of sight is key."

"Yes, yes," said Lawrence. "No offense, Gareth, but I'm very good at what I do."

Gareth sighed. "If only that didn't involve antagonizing powerful individuals. Though I suppose that doesn't matter in a small town like this."

He bid them good night and was about to head upstairs when he suddenly stopped in place. After pausing for five seconds, he rushed out the inn's door and hopped onto the roof. An image flashed in Sorin's mind, showing him their team and a map of the entire town.

A command nudged him to head north with the rest of the team. They ran out of the inn and through snow-covered streets while Gareth jumped from covered rooftop to covered rooftop.

"A woman is running through the snow," said Gareth, using his ability. "Roughly ten two-star demons, highly mutated, are chasing after her. They look like muskox, but they have humanoid torsos and wield bows. Perhaps they're the centaurs I read about in my mythical bestiary?"

"Centaurs have horse bodies and have almost pure human upper halves," said Stephan. "They're probably just demons that suffered madness-induced a few generations back."

"Um, are we going to fight them then?" asked Lawrence. "Because the guild master seemed pretty keen on us not killing any demons."

"We don't have the luxury of worrying about that," said Gareth. "The woman they're chasing is a Bone-Forging cultivator. Likely the hero, Astley. We'll kill the beasts and deal with the aftermath later."

To her credit, Astley did not bring the demons back to town and instead lured them to a tree-covered hill located in a mostly empty field. There was a flash of silver as she entered the woods and an accompanying surge of demonic energy. Six demonic wolves emerged from the woods, including an alpha wolf as large as Stephan's Arctic Rune Bear form.

"It doesn't look like she needs help," said Gareth, motioning for them to slow down. They stood by and watched as the demonic wolves charged at the demons Sorin decided to call muskaurs. The heavy bone bows the muskaurs carried were useless before the sudden melee assault. Two were taken down within the first ten seconds.

The wolves continued nipping at the remaining three muskaurs until, finally, the muskaurs embraced Madness. Their bodies mutated, sprouting extra legs, claws, scales, and eyes, which they used to catch the wolves and slay two of them before they were finally taken down.

Once the battle was over, Astley walked out of the woods and held out an open book. The remaining wolf demons transformed into ink that flowed onto one of its white pages.

She then placed flags onto the ground and chanted out a strange incantation that was incomprehensible despite Sorin's magical education. A large amount of corruption evaporated from the muskaurs corpses as they returned to their original appearance, then transformed into inky images that filled another white page in the corruption-filled book.

"Many thanks for not interfering in my battle," said the adventurer as she shut her book and locked it with a golden key. "It's hit and miss with adventurers, especially since I work alone. Some people just take my abilities the wrong way."

"Why would anyone ever suspect the wielder of a corrupted item, much less a ritualist like yourself?" said Daphne sarcastically.

"Daphne, stand down," said Stephan. "Adventurer Astley, I'm Stephan York, and these are my companions: Daphne Philips, Gareth Fletcher, Sorin Kepler, and Lawrence Holt. We're all two-star adventurers and one-star heroes like yourself."

"Astley Chaser," said the adventurer. "But I imagine you already deduced that after interrogating the villagers."

"Indeed, we did," said Stephan. "Though I'm not sure how they'll take you killing all these demons, given Guild Master Fergusson's warnings." He looked to the town. Three bone-forging cultivators were rapidly making their way through the snow toward their position.

"My word," said a fat man with a top-hot and a well-oiled mustache. "What have you six done?!"

"Don't look at us," said Lawrence, raising his hands. "We just got here. It was all her!"

"Quiet, Lawrence," Stephan scolded. "You must be Mayor Underwood. My companions and I witnessed everything. This adventurer was being chased by demons and acted to—"

"We know exactly what transpired, adventurers," said Mayor Underwood. "My companion, Mr. Stone, could hear everything through tremors in the earth. Mr. Langley here is also a demon tamer, and he had the area under aerial surveillance. Which is why we know that your group did not make any substantial effort to stop her from needlessly killing these local demons."

"I don't exactly see what the problem is," said Gareth, stepping up beside Stephan. "Demons are pests to be culled and eliminated when they get too threatening. The situation in your village, where adventurers are warned not to kill them, is quite frankly bizarre."

"What do you know?" sneered Mayor Underwood. "In case you haven't noticed, there are a total of six bone-forging cultivators in this town, including myself. Out of all of them, Mr. Stone and I have reached the second forging, and Guild Master Fergusson has reached the third forging.

"Meanwhile, there are dozens of two-star demons in the surrounding mountains. It's only thanks to the Dark Lady's Peace that we're able to go about our lives without fearing demon tides. Yet despite knowing any of this, here you are, breaking a careful balance that had been maintained for decades. All because a certain scholar got greedy."

"With all due respect—" started Stephan.

"Enough!" said Mayor Underwood. "I know you are here. I know that you will carry out whatever investigation you've been assigned. All I ask is that you hurry up with it, don't meddle in our local affairs, and stop digging around for historical sites that may or may not exist.

"Five hundred humans are living in this town, and they cannot bear the consequences of thoughtless actions. Do I make myself clear? Yes? Good. Mr. Stone, Mr. Langley, let's head back and inform Mr. Fergusson about this mess. There will doubtless be retaliation from the local demons, and we'll need to be ready to respond when the worst comes to pass."

The three bone-forging cultivators stomped off, looking less than pleased. "I think that went well," said Lawrence. "And that guy in a top hat? Super suspicious."

"He has been most unpleasant," said Astley. "If not for his refusal to help me in my endeavors, I would never have had to take so many risks to complete such a simple investigation."

"Did you seriously expect anything different?" snapped Daphne. "You're not here on a government-sanctioned mission, and you couldn't care less about the people in this town. All your lot cares about is whatever useless tidbits of information you can get your grubby hands on—whatever the cost."

Astley's remained unfazed in the face of a hostile Daphne. "Ah. A mage. Probably one who had one too many arguments with some of our order's younger scholars. I won't try to convince you of the error of your ways, so please don't try to convert me."

"The error of my ways?" said Daphne in a heated voice. "My path is one of logic, reasoning, and science, not metaphysical nonsense that—"

"Enough!" snapped Stephan. "The situation isn't looking good, and we don't have time for childish arguments. Miss Chaser, we are here to investigate the village on behalf of the Nighthawks in Jigolath Ridge. Your actions today have complicated things, and we'd appreciate it if you returned to town with us and set the record straight."

Astley frowned. "I'm not used to being interrogated, Mr. York. Moreover, the demons I painstakingly lured away from a historical trove have left the area vacant and available for—"

"Pardon if you interpreted that as a request, Miss Chaser," said Stephan. "I'm sure you understand that Nighthawk assignments take priority in the winter months for reasons people in your order are very much aware of."

Astley nodded slowly. "Very well, Mr. York. I'll kindly accept your… invitation. Perhaps we could speak in a more comfortable location?"

Stephan nodded to Gareth, who took over. "We'll return to the inn and talk there. I imagine you've already booked a room?"

"I keep a room there just in case," said Astley. "And the food is of acceptable quality, I suppose."

"Then it's settled," said Gareth. "And for safety's sake, please refrain from pulling out that corrupted item. I've yet to encounter anyone of this 'order' both Stephan and Daphne are speaking of, so you'll need to brief me on the specifics."