The Ethersmith

“Friendly?” Vivi asked.

The blue crystal-skinned creatures surrounded them. Wisps coated the arrows and the strings of their wooden crossbows. The arrows had steel tips, but the spirits’ auras extruded to their weapons, enhancing the arrows. The coating stuck to the steel and stayed there, with very little ether wasted. Their arrows were much stronger than outside-carved weapons, and the same applied to their spears.

The creatures themselves all faced Vivi upon her question. The black-robed figure spoke first. “You understand us?” he asked.

He had white hair and pointy ears. His fully white eyes made him look monstrous, but the rest of his face was human, with emotions readable from his brows and cheeks. He regarded her with caution.

“Let me handle this,” Lucius said in her head. “These are spirits. They’re old. Maybe from thousands of years ago. I might know them.”

Don’t say anything stupid, Vivi thought.

Lucius, in his usual style, took a proud pose and faced the black-cloaked spirit, whose frown moved straight to the red cat that popped out of Vivi’s core. “Spirits of old,” Lucius said. “I am honored we have met. I am, like you, a magnificent spirit of the abyss, Lucius! I ask, which god are you a creation of?”

The blue spirits kept their weapons up, just as weirded out by Vivi’s idiotic spirit as she was terrified of his next words. Their leader’s crossbow pointed straight at Lucius’s face. “I do not recognize that name, cat.”

“I am a new creation,” Lucius said, remaining in his proud pose. “My legacy is currently being built. Lower your weapons. You would not want to fight me, or my wielder.”

Lucius, nothing stupid! Vivi said in her head, while Alda and Cael stood absolutely still. Lortel glanced around her subtly, while Aolinn trembled between the Darkwind hunters.

“It’s an act,” Lucius insisted. “Trust me, this will work.”

The black-robed spirit didn’t show any reaction as his stare remained on Lucius.

“The cat looks like a sub-spirit,” another one of the crystalline spirits said. She was a woman with braided hair, also white, and pointy ears. Her skin reflected light, making it difficult to read the shape of her face, but she had a smaller nose than the others. “Lucius, your god does not seem to have offered you a grand amount of power.”

Lucius’s whiskers twitched. “Hmph. I am more powerful than you would believe. I also bring information.”

“You are offering information to spare your lives?” the black-robed spirit asked.

“I am not concerned for my life,” Lucius said. “I’m a spirit, and immortal. I offer my information for your information.”

The black-robed spirit snorted. “Correct you are. Fighting is pointless regardless of outcome. Though, it seems your humans are still mortals.”

“They are also very strong humans,” Lucius said proudly. “You will not kill them.”

Don’t provoke them! Vivi thought.

“But I’m right, am I not?” Lucius asked. “We would not lose.”

Vivi eyed the spirits around her. From their ethereal presences, each of the ten spirits was at least as strong as Veronica lifeweaver. Winning would be tough. With her full void core booming, she could stand a chance, but protecting the others while doing so would be hard. Aolinn would probably die.

Taken from NovelFire, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Lucius,” the black-robe said. “You are a new creation, as by your own word—and I assume that means you are not over a thousand years old. That implies the gods are still active. Active again.”

“The gods are all asleep,” Lucius said, nodding like some grand messenger. “Ythar has slept for over a century. Noxbryn has not been seen since the Age Of Typhoons. Sylvina and Zenhar are hiding. I am a spirit of Ythar, created to keep order in Ythar’s Empire.”

“Ythar’s Empire?” the braided woman asked. “The Fool God has started playing Emperor! Are you his creation?”

Lucius’s presence blinked. “Ythar, the Human Emperor, yes. I am his creation.”

“This cat is a complete hack!” the braided woman said to the black-robe. “Those two humans hide spirits as well. Even weaker ones.”

“They may be weaklings, but they are fresh weaklings,” the black-robe said. “Fresh weaklings bring information. Great Lucius, tell me, for how long has Ythar been active, playing Emperor with the humans?”

“For thousands of years,” Lucius said. “He is an enjoyer of sleep, however.”

“So Ythar will not save us.”

“Of course the Fool God won’t save us,” the woman said, her brows twitching.

“Save you from what?” Lucius asked.

The spirits gave no response, while the staredown continued, while Vivi and her friends stood absolutely still. Vivi remained ready to open her void core and summon her sword if any arrows from the crossbows were released.

“We will ask the questions first,” the black-robe said. “Once we can trust you, you will have your turn. Great Lucius, are you here to seek the Gauntlet Of The Gods?”

Vivi decided that Lucius had spoken enough, and said, “Great spirits, we are looking for a way out. We don’t want any trouble. I apologize for my spirit’s behavior. He’s not accustomed to dealing with people yet.”

Heads turned toward her. “And you are?” the black-robe asked.

“Vivian,” she said. “I’m a runesmith.”

His head perked up. “A runesmith? Interesting. For your knowledge, we might trade information. For how long have you been a runesmith?”

“Fifteen years,” Vivi said. “I am an inside-carving runesmith.”

The woman laughed. “They’re stuck as well, the fools. How did you enter?”

“We entered by teleportation,” Vivi said.

“Banishment Portal?” he asked.

Vivi’s head perked up. “Yes.”

“Ah.” The black-robe’s face turned strangely sympathetic. “Yes, we receive visitors like you, occasionally, though never spirits. It seems you will spend your eternity with us, humans.”

“What do you mean?” Vivi asked.

“I will answer your question in due time,” he said. “Lower your weapons.”

All of the white-robed spirits lowered their weapons. They remained in formation, ready to raise their weapons again, but their postures seemed safe enough. Alda, too, placed Moonlight into spatial storage.

“They might destroy our town,” the woman spirit said.

“And that doesn’t matter,” the black-robe said. “That will give us something to rebuild. Humans, you can call me Drean. It is a made-up name. I am a sub-spirit of Sannelia—the Queen of The Stormkeep, a dungeon hunter, and a half-spirit of Noxbryn. This dungeon is our grave, where Sannelia was broken, and where King Francesco has rotted for five thousand years.”

“The Stormkeep?” Cael asked. His voice was hesitant, but when he wasn’t shot down, he added, “The ancient city of the abyss?”

“Indeed,” Drean said. “Once the epiphany of strength, the greatest city of the lower levels, brimming with spirits, blessed by the gods, that Francesco used to rule.”

Cael glanced at the others. He looked like he had something to say, but the spirits’ presence made him hesitate. “The King of The Stormkeep has been stuck here all this time?” he asked.

Drean snorted. “Yes. Amusing, is it not? The secret of his disappearance is right here. Many stragglers have found out. None have made it out alive to share the secret. We are all stuck here.”

“Why is that?” Vivi asked. “We heard that from Francesco. We’ll be stuck here for eternity. But it’s just a dungeon, is it not?”

“The entrance is sealed with levelstone,” Drean said, “and the bottom is impossible to reach. The Gauntlet Of The Gods is the most concentrated dungeon in the world. Mortals cannot reach it. Not even the King of The Stormkeep could.”

“Do you have metals here?” Vivi asked. “Ether roots?”

Drean raised an eyebrow. “Yes. We do. Though, I do not understand why those would be important.”

“Show me the entrance,” Vivi said. “I might be able to clear a way out.”

“It is blocked off with levelstone, dear,” the braided woman said, arms crossed.

“Yes,” Vivi said. She still had one of the improved first iteration slingshot launchers in spatial storage. “I believe I can crack the entrance open. With the help of some runes.”

The spirits observed her dubiously. “It is an arduous trip. First, I invite you to rest with us. There is one more of your kind that was banished with you. He is alive with us. Follow us, and make yourselves comfortable, for if you cannot destroy impenetrable levelstone, this cave is where you will live, and where you will die.”