Dusk and Dawn Preview

Hi guys,

I am still working on my next big story, but I promised to share something by the end of the month. This is my first draft for chapter 1, and it's rough, so go easy on me! It introduces the major characters and the premise. Again, it's a WIP, so there might be major changes before I release the official chapter 1. Take a look, and let me know what you think!

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"I've never seen monsters like these! They just keep coming! What kind of dungeon is this?" Yells our leader, the Fighter. He swiftly dodges a blast of magic and delivers a crushing blow to the golem's head. The lights of its many eyes flicker, but don't go dark. "They're tanking some serious punishment. I'm not going to last much longer here, guys!"

"I'm not doing much better over here." The Rogue grunts, pulling their blade out of another golem's back. Just as it falls, another golem emerges from the darkness to replace them. "Penelope, do something already!"

"I'm trying! There's a magic here I've never seen before." The Sorceress explains. "The source of this ominous magic is going to keep producing more of these things until we stop it."

On cue, another one of the mineral-based behemoths emerges, primed to slam its arms down on him. Without looking away from her task, Penelope fires off a powerful [Disintegrate], reducing it to dust and saving her comrade. The Rogue makes a thankful gesture, before leaping to the Fighter's aid.

Meanwhile, the Druid calmly binds her enemy golem in thick vines and the Ranger follows up by firing an arrow into one of its eyes. The ground shakes as two more emerge from the ground. They're being overwhelmed, each new enemy spawning before the last can be destroyed.

"I've almost translated the inscription. Just hold on." The Sorceress says in a tone that is almost dismissive. 

Her purple irises glow with magic as they scan the stone tablet atop the altar in the middle of the chamber. For someone so knowledgeable in the arcane, it frustrates her that she would be struggling to analyze magic. This is her forte; no one in the world has mastery of the arcane like she does. Until now, apparently. The sense of urgency puts a pressure on her like no other. 

Though it hadn't been her idea to enter the Forbidden Tomb, the leader had insisted. He was always a greedy one, willing to put the lives of his party at risk if there was a chance to obtain a rare item. Though, that was part of why they had become so famous. Their group, aptly named 'The Trailblazers' are known to venture where no one else would. Clearing dungeons in record time and leaving with untold riches has always been their way.

Though, something about this specific dungeon is different than the others. There is no treasure to be found, nor is there anything with a hint of value. It makes no sense for there to be such powerful defenses when there is nothing to guard. Whoever had built this place was not only powerful, but well versed in a magic lost to time. She'd never seen symbols like these before in all the grimoires she'd studied. The very mana just felt wrong. 

With her party on the brink of defeat, she manages to decipher the last of the glyphs just in time. Raising her legendary staff into the air, she cries out a spell in a long lost tongue. "Elay diora, Elay diora! Ghilad ir vilza tomn!"

The chamber rumbles, loose dirt and stone raining down from the ceiling. The tablet glows and the golems' eyes go dark. At last, they go still, frozen in whatever position they were in at the moment she spoke those words. The Fighter falls to his knees, panting. His fists are bleeding and he is drenched in sweat. The others are no better, having sustained terrible injuries in the hour-long fight.

"Mildred, come heal our wounds. Surely you can do that, right?" The Fighter scoffs. The rest of the party glare at the Cleric, the party's newest and most useless member.

"I-I'll do it! Just watch me." The girl responds, hurrying over to him. She kneels by his side and clasps her hands together in prayer. "Selune, revered deity of the Moon, please grant your blessings- I mean... Please grant your love..."

"Did you seriously forget the words?" He complains.

"Even I know them. It's 'Please bestow your light'." The Rogue rolls his eyes.

"I k-knew that! I got mixed up, sorry." She pouts. Focusing her attention on the Fighter, she tries again. "Selune, reverd deity of the Moon, please bestow your light onto my comrade. May his wounds be healed by the power Lunar."

The Fighter's body begins to glow, his wounds slowly healing themselves, only for the healing to stop halfway. 

"Why are you stopping? I haven't recovered yet." He barks at her.

"Her magic power is depleted." The Sorceress sighs, shaking her head. "I can feel it. She's out of juice."

"No way... You cannot be this useless!" He yells, slamming his fist into the ground. "I'm so done with this!"

"I-I'm sorry. I overdid it with the divine blessings during the fight..." She confesses. "But if you give me a few hours-"

Suddenly, the Sorceress feels the presence of the strange magic return. Like a frigid breeze, it causes a shiver to run up her spine. Her head whips back to the tablet, which is still glowing. It never stopped, apparently. The party was simply too distracted to notice. "Shut up, Mildred. We seem to have bigger problems here."

All heads turn toward the tablet, which seems to be glowing brighter by the second. A faint hum can be heard coming from it, and the air feels so charged that even those with little magic sense can perceive it. 

"Why is it doing that? I thought your spell deactivated it?" Fighter asks, taking a stance in preparation for another encounter. The Rogue, Druid, and Ranger do the same, while the Cleric cowers behind them.

"It did. This is something new..." The Sorceress says, straining her eyes once more to read the inscription. Indeed, something has changed. The symbols from before are different now. From what she already knew, she deciphered part of the new text. There is mention of a blessing and a curse, but that is the extent of what she can gather.

As the energy begins to spike, Sorceress instinctively casts [Shield] to protect herself. Not a second later, a flash of energy arcs from the tablet to every party member. The energy penetrates her shield as if it were nothing. She disappears, leaving no trace of her to be seen. The light then fades, and the room goes dead silent. 

"What in the world was that? It looked intense, but we're fine..." The Fighter says, standing up and walking to the altar. The party members share his confusion, shocked that someone as powerful as the dark Sorceress Penelope Grynd would be killed by a single spell while they survived.

Unbeknownst to them, Penelope is anything but gone. She is fine, apart from the fact that she has no clue where she is. Her surroundings are odd. All around her are massive boulders many times her size. It looks to be a world made entirely of rock. Has she been transported somewhere far away? She would get her answer when the ground begins to shake. The quaking gets more intense, as if something huge is approaching. Casting [Shield] once more, she prepares herself for another encounter. In the distance she can see a large, brown monster seemingly leaping toward her. It's movements are strange, in a way that is difficult to describe. Her blood runs cold when she realizes that the giant 'monster' that's approaching is a boot. The same boot worn by her party's leader. Her eyes follow that boot up to the rest of the giant, trying and failing to take in his colossal size. His gaze falls downward, locking onto her. He kneels down pinching her tiny body between his fingers, their strength shattering her barriers instantly.

The Fighter couldn't help but notice the tiny bead of light on the ground. Thinking it is a gem of some kind, he picks it up to take a closer look. His eyes widen when he realizes what it is he is holding. He struggles to contain his laughter. "Is that you, Penelope? Oh my gods, you're hardly a millimeter tall! Guys, you have to see this!"

The others gather around, interested in what their leader finds so funny. Soon they too join him in laughter.

"This isn't funny! I've been afflicted with some kind of curse!" She complains, her tiny voice going unheard by the giants and giantesses.

Once he calms down, his expression becomes serious again. "I assume you can't change back? I mean, you would've done it already if you could. Unlike Mildred over here, you're not low on magic power. We all know how much of that you've got stored up. It seems you're no longer of use to us now. You know the rules, Sorceress."

Of course she knew the rules. She was the one who made them when she founded the party a year ago. After having to deal with so many mediocre teammates that only held her back, she felt she deserved better. Seeking out only the best of the best, she created a party like no other. Each member was easily as good as three of their class, if not better. Their party functioned by merit. Basically, those who were capable may stay, those who weren't must leave. She didn't see the cruelty in it until now.

"I'll undo this! Give me some time. A day or two, at most!" She screams even louder, to no avail. Their ears are just too far away to hear her.

"If you're saying something, I can't hear it. It's been nice travelling with you, but this is where we part ways. Does anyone object?"

The rest of the party shakes their head, except for the Cleric. She appears to be angry, but doesn't say a word.

"It's settled then. Goodbye, Penelope. Hopefully you find a party willing to take you. Though, I wouldn't count on it."

The Fighter then flicks his fingers, sending the tiny Sorceress flying across the room. A fall from that height would surely be lethal, being several kilometers from the ground. She casts [Feather Falling] on herself, just before hitting the ground, narrowly avoiding a painful death. She tumbles, only stopping when she slams into a boulder which she now realizes is merely a tiny pebble. Its rough edges give her painful cuts on her back and arms. By the time she gets back on her feet, she is met with the backs of her 'friends' as they all head back out the way they came. 

Never in her life had she felt so powerless, so weak. She could do nothing as that brainless oaf tossed her aside like trash. It was humiliating! She'd never felt such a lack of control. She'd be sure to get him back tenfold once she restores herself back to normal. But for now, she's too tired and hurt to do much of anything. The pain of her injuries and the dizziness in her head make her sleepy. Closing her eyes, she resigns herself to take a short rest right then and there.

"E-Excuse me?" A voice calls to her, forcing her eyes wide open. 

The Sorceress looks to her right, finding the giantess Cleric standing over her. She tries to speak again, but remembers that her voice cannot reach her. Instead, she points a finger to her and casts [Message]. This allows her to project her voice into her target's head, telepathically. "You're still here... Why?"

"I can't leave a party member alone, especially in their time of need!" She says, her expression so intense that it is almost cute.

"You heard what he said. I'm useless now. Hell, even you're more capable than me. Go on and join them before they leave you behind. Forget about me."

"Never! You're my friend, unlike those jerks. It's about time I left their party, anyway. I don't want to travel with people like them anymore." She says, kneeling down. She pinches the tiny Sorceress between her fingers, gently depositing her in the palm of her other hand. "I'll keep you safe until you're back to normal. You won't survive on your own. Plus, you always have a plan! Don't you?"

The Cleric's kind words do nothing but irritate the Sorceress. How far she'd fallen... Abandoned by her party and left to die, only to be saved by the person she likes least. Whatever this curse is seems to have a sense of irony. To be looked at with such pity made her want to shrivel up and die... 

She was in neither the state nor position to argue. Putting her pride aside, she reluctantly accepts the offer of aid.

"A plan..." She sighs. "I suppose I do... There's an amulet in a faraway land... It dispels curses. I've known about it for years, but never..." She groans, struggling to speak. "Got around to getting it... The Fighter would have surely claimed it for... himself..."

"I bet. That's so like him." The Cleric nods her head. "I promise I'll get you there safely. You can count on me, just lead the way!"

The Cleric's pure smile slowly fades when she gets no response. Bringing her hand closer to her eye, she inspects the tiny woman, worriedly. The Sorceress' eyes are closed, but she appears to be breathing. The poor thing got so beaten up by their former leader that she couldn't remain conscious. "Rest up. Leave everything to me." 

Picking her up carefully, she moves her to a pouch on her belt and stores her safely inside. With a newfound determination, she stands up and heads out of the tomb, following the path the others took.