The Tower in the Shadows

As the seasons shifted from summer to autumn, my experiments continued to bear fruit. Each day brought new discoveries and advancements while adventurers bravely tested their mettle against the challenges of my Dungeon.

The death toll went up and down, with new groups suffering the highest losses. The elves and several other groups were making regular visits. Gran and his team showed up several times but disappeared on another job.

My essence count was going up and the sixth floor was near reality. I had finished my basic ideas about what I was going to do. I was happier that the basic idea was in place, but I wondered what my creations would be like on the floor.

The snake design, a creature of my creation, had now evolved to incorporate fangs and a camouflage skin. I knew it would possess many new abilities when I unveiled the final version. The prospect of these unknown capabilities filled me with a sense of anticipation and a hint of excitement.

I was in a waiting mode at the moment as I had reached the end of most of what I could do until the floor threshold was reached.

## ## ## ## ##

"The Tower in the Shadows." Ranus said, a bit confused. "That is the Guild's final decision on the Dungeons name."

"Not very impressive, I know." Elian was a bit apologetic about her Guild's choice of name. She had told him in their weekly meeting. A gust of colder wind blew through one of the open windows. She got up and closed the shutters.

The summer weather was changing and traffic flow from north and south along the river was finally dropping. The weather was getting colder and wetter. Winter was still a time away, but the population prepared for what was coming. Most remembered the last and did not take any chances with this winter.

"Yes, it is a bit unimpressive." He had been looking at the message scroll that proclaimed the Dungeons name.

"We are placing the new name at the required places around the Guild." She replied, sitting back down.

"Back to business then." Ranus put down the scroll and looked at Elain. Comus could not join them today because new samples had arrived. "What else is happening."

"The surge in deaths during mid-summer seems to have stopped finally." Elian picked up a scroll with the figures on it. "The new teams have learnt their lesson or have been killed."

Ranus grimaced at this, but she continued.

"Team access will start to drop now as the days are getting shorter. We have had a few issues with groups trying to jump the line, but we are handling it."

Ranus nodded as he heard about a few of these groups and what Elian had done to them.

"As to your ongoing request with winter coming soon, are you going to continue it?"

"No. Travel is bad enough going south. The northern valleys and passes are far worse. What is the final tally?"

"Three twisted creatures have been encountered and killed by different groups. Their bodies have been handed over to Comus after several churches and temples wanted to cleanse them. He is looking them over today."

"Did you let them?" he asked. Elian initially opposed it but, in time, understood it was a small thing that generated a bit of goodwill. Most of the other called for the body's destruction but took no further action.

"Yes, but Comus thinks it has no effect." Elian was still disturbed by his words. What sort of force could the Divine not remove? Ranus's expression told her he was thinking the same. "He is taking all the precautions he can think of when dealing with the bodies."

"I trust his decisions here. Anything else?"

"As expected, the Guild requests are shifting away from monster clearances along the southern land route as most have been dealt with. We are starting to see more aimed towards the north."

"As long as they do not violate our instructions there, there should not be any issues from the town." Ranus closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and finger.

Elian shared his frustrations with this rule from the Divine. She remembered that in one meeting with some merchants, he had snapped at their dogged requests and told them to go raise their issues with the churches. That brought the discussion to a swift end.

"Anything else?" He asked. He is still leaning back with his eyes closed.

"No. I will take my leave. We still have much to do." She stood to leave; he nodded and did not move. Elian was not insulted, as she completely understood his exhaustion.

She withdrew from the room, closing the door. She passed Naru at the desk in the next room. The woman had chosen to accept Ranus's offer and she did not envy her, as she had trained a competent replacement for the Guild.

Elian walked into the town's central square. It was as busy as always. Few were bundled up as summer had not given up yet, but she made out more carrying thicker clothing that had been bought recently. The weather would turn quickly soon.

The Guild was across from Ranus's home/office. It took her a few minutes to navigate the crowd and enter the building, which was just as busy as outside. Three receptionists handled the adventurers who accepted or turned in request jobs. Several were crowded around the board, looking at the unclaimed ones. The rest were hanging around and talking.

Gods, she wished more bathed more often!

The pungent smell was unique to the Guild as the closet was many taverns, but they had the smell of cooking and alcohol to try to hide it. The crowd here moved aside for her as she went to her office up the stairs.

Once inside, she took a deep breath as she had been holding it most of the way between the entrance and her office. Walking across the room, she sat at her desk and glared at the pile of scrolls that were not there when she had left.

Sighing, she reached out and opened the first. She could not escape them and knew that ignoring them would only increase the pile.

It was near midday and she could deal with a few before lunch. It would be good if she could….

The explosion rocked the building.

The blast wave came through her window and scattered the scrolls from her desk.

There were moments of pregnant silence… and then the screaming started.

Elian was on her feet in seconds and looked out the window.

The Alchemist Guild was on fire and the blast had wrecked part of the building. People were staggering around and many were lying around, not moving. Others were starting to respond to help or panic.

Alarms were being raised.

Elian was out of the room and running down the stairs.

"Explosion at the Alchemy Guild. All adventurers respond, NOW!"

This broke the bulk from their shock and they followed their Guild Leader into the square.

Chaos was what they found.

Danrum was on the scene organising his people. Ranus was emerging from his building. A few with healing knowledge or powers were treating the wounded closest to them.

Wounded and shocked people were still emerging from the burning building.

Suddenly, most of the more experienced adventurers stopped and all listened. Elian was among them. They heard it from the building.

Secondary explosions.

Several more blasts erupted from the building and the veterans instantly knew what they were seeing and hearing. Someone was fighting in there!

Comus fell from the building, holding two glowing bottles covered in blood and soot. He turned and threw one back into the building, triggering another blast. Those adventurers armed rushed to his side. Something was attacking the Guild!

From the smoke and fire, it emerged.

It had been a person but now was terribly mishappen.

As it cleared the smoke, Elian recognised who it had been.

Benard, one of Comus's assistants. The young man was tall and awkward but was well-liked. Now, he was a monstrosity.

His body was no longer proportioned right. The whole right side of his body was warped and sat higher than the left, giving him a lopsided look. His right arm was longer than the other, and his hand was now a clawed talon. Bone protrusions and spikes stuck out from different locations. The most striking thing was his eyes, which Elian could see even from a distance. They were so black that they seemed to absorb the light around them.

"Engage!" She called out and pointed at the horror the poor boy Benard had become. Many adventurers went forth and engaged him while Elian got to Comus. It was difficult in the growing chaos, but she managed it.

The fight was quickly unfolding in the square.

"Comus! What in the name of all the Gods is happening!" She had to yell over the growing battle.

"Ber-Bernard was cataloguing the bodies recovered from the north." He was wounded and burnt but was focused on his former apprentice. "Something happened and the next thing I knew, he was changing."

Elian turned to see how the fight was developing. Whatever he was now, Bernard was putting up a fight far past what he could have yesterday.

The adventurers were from different groups but should have been able to overwhelm him with numbers. He was holding them off and they formed a half-circle around him, pinning him against the burning building.

Two arrows thudded into him.

He staggered slightly but remained upright.

Elian turned and saw the Elven group armed entering the fray. Around her, she sensed the building of magic.

Two more arrows bit deep, but it was the dozen or so spells that collided with him that killed him. The collision of so much magic against one target was blinding. Once her sight returned, the charred body was lying on the paved walkway.

Elain could see the damage from half a dozen elemental spells across his body.

"Stay clear!" Comus called out. He was standing looking over the disaster before him. More adventurers, guards and priests were arriving and the ones present formed a cordon around the smoking body.

Many voices were now competing for dominance.

"SILENCE!" Danrum roared, being the desired effect. "All adventurers withdraw. Thank you for the assistance. Priests hold back unless you are treating the wounded. Watch secure the scene."

His tone did not cause any misunderstanding as he organised the chaos. Elian helped Comus to a priest who was treating the wounded. As he was healed, she looked around. Most of the adventurers had pulled back but were still in the square. They were talking amongst themselves and watching. Ranus had a group gathering around him. Elian helped Comus to them when he was ready. Danrum soon joined them.

Ranus was fending off questions when the trio arrived. He named a few church leaders and ushered them into his meeting room after dismissing the others who tried to follow.

"Comus, what happened?" Ranus asked.

This was the question on everyone's lips. Ranus waited until he had a drink in his hand before asking. He downed most of it before starting. Everyone let Ranus handle this conversation as the town's Lord.

"We had received the three bodies of the twisted monsters. They were locked in a reinforced warded examination room. Benard was overseeing the storage of the bodies. Nothing seemed wrong at first. The wards were solid and Benard was not acting anything differently."

He paused as he set the scene of what had happened.

"Not one of our wards or scrying magic saw anything. Benard handled most of the work with the bodies preparing for my latter examination. We were getting ready to start to cut the bodies." His eyes went distant as he told his tale. "No alarms were active when we entered. Benard was acting odd, but I thought nothing of it. We started the examination and as we began, Benard became agitated. Before I knew what was happening, Benard suddenly began changing."

His audience remained silent as he spoke. The implications of what he said scared many in the room. The idea that whatever corrupted the young assistant had not triggered the impressive Alchemist Guild wards was unprecedented.

"He began attacking me and the others. I pulled everyone out sealing the room. The wards, now active, did not hold him long. He broke out and attacked all he saw. The fighting quickly spread, and many containers of alchemy components were smashed and triggered a chain reaction after a few of my juniors panicked and began throwing anything on hand."

"Causing the explosion." Ranus stated.

"Yes, the blast injured many and disorientated him briefly. I do not know if any were killed." Comus slumped in the chair, the weight of loss sitting heavy on him.

"We are still searching the building. When we know, we will tell you." Ranus tried to console him. He nodded to Danrum, who slipped out of the room. "What did you think happened?"

"Whatever is causing the beast and monsters to change is something we have never encountered before. The standard wards are not good enough to contain it." The question seemed to help Comus as he answered.

"So, what do we do?"

"For now, destroy the kills on sight and check the returning for signs of the same change." Comus seemed to slump even further and Ranus stood, leaving him for the moment. Whispered conversations broke out across the room.

"Attention!" Ranus brought all eyes to him. "For the moment all those called "twisted" encountered are to be killed and bodies destroyed on sight. Whatever is affecting them is too dangerous at the moment to allow the entry to the town."

All within the room nodded in agreement.

"A combination of priests and healers will check out any who have fought or been in close contact with them to confirm they have not been affected."

A chorus of agreements echoed through the room, Elian joining them. She had work to do. She had some adventurers to track down.