Chapter 81: CARRION

Much like traveling from Windwake to the Barren the shift was accomplished with as much discomfort as merely a blinking his eyes. The small chunk of land with the conical topped structure was small, no wider than ten meters in diameter. Entering the meager structure, one’s predisposed notions would have been prepared them to be greeted by a space of appropriate size, though Risens was rapidly learning to abandon his notions or assumptions as the Roost and now the Barren and the Under followed rules of their oen making and design.

Had it not been for his previous experiences the widely disparate size of the chamber he found himself in would have been troubling. It was the continuing sense of dread oozing from the talons that currently rankled his senses.

The room he found himself in was large, dimly lit by a single beam of light that stabbed through the ceiling. His eyes adjusted rapidly, scanning his surroundings for for any signs of alarm or danger.

The walls of the space were made of natural stone, covered in moss and creeping vegetation. They were damp with moisture and irregularities that made the space feel more like a natural void between stones than a room. The purposeful, squared of walls and carved ceiling hinted that the hands of man had at one point carved the opening he now found himself in.

The floor underfoot was a mix of natural flat rock and sand. Not relegating itself to the walls, moss and a carpet of vegetation grew in places. Tiny leaves from the creeping cover sprouting miniature flowers that bloomed in various vibrant colors.

There was a definite natural beauty to the room. A serenity that was unexpected when compared to the dread that emanated from the blades still sheathed at his sides.

The grade of the chamber was relatively flat though it sloped gently upward toward the left of the opposite side of the room. The angle increased as it approached the edge, inclining until it was nearly vertical where it met the wall. There was no disguising the fact that the ceiling has was not natural, constructed using raw uneven rocks, it was a patchwork of small stalactites mixed in with the expected variations of the stones.

The far right side of the chamber featured a small pool of clear water fed by a small spring bubbling from the wall. The quiet gurgles and splashes of the water running over the stones were the only sounds to fill the chamber. As he looked closer at the wall over the pool the seemingly natural discolorations of the stones resolved into an undeniable form. With its wings splayed out wide, there was no disguising the silhouette of the raven disguised on the wall over the wager. With its majestic head turned so that the profile was visible, the gentle stream of water that fed the pool streamed from the hole that marked its eye.

A solitary opening in the center of the roof, nearly ten meters overhead allowed a wide stream of light to stab down into the chamber below. The lance of illumination landed purposefully in the middle of the room, highlighting a carved stone pedestal. Placed atop the waist high display, sat the item Maother Raven had sent him to retrieve. A wide, round bowl waited for him to collect it.

The area was unique as it was confusing. Risens found himself lulled into a sense of calm relaxation as he found nothing untoward amid the natural features of the chamber. To this point, the abject fear of the talons was unfounded. His calculating gaze swept over the chamber, identifying nothing to cause alarm and no threats. It was this fact alone that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand erect. His senses had saved him countless times throughout the years. Though they were new to him, motivated by an urge to destroy, he trusted the warnings of the Raven Talons. That Mother Raven, too had prophesied danger, was another coincidence he could not overlook

He forced himself into a heightened sense of alert as he viewed the room. There was no place for an assassin to lurk in the shadows. Risens stalked carefully, testing his footing on the flat natural paving stones as he stepped across the space. He could see nothing of note in the chamber beyond pedestal and the item that sat atop it. He’d crossed only a few steps when a quiet hiss, a gentle movement in the air drew his attention behind him. The talons whispered into his hands as he wheeled around, their glowing symbols igniting in the corners of his eyes.

He relaxed defensively while the aggravation within surged. The wall where he’d only just entered through the portal was now uniform, matching its natural surroundings. The black void of the doorway leading him back to the island and the Barren had vanished.

The unexpected tests he’d faced over the recent weeks had opened his mind to the possibilities that lurked in the hidden places beyond Windwake. Beyond the warnings, there was an air here that felt entirely different. Unlike the Roost, he doubted that failure here would be forgiving yet he had no expectation that he would be trapped forever. There was a definitive purpose to this place, a task that must be completed before he was granted access to leave.

Risens expected that over time the quests would only grow more challenging.

Refocusing his attention, he cautiously crossed the space, pausing a he reached the stone pedestal. The vessel that sat atop the pillar was round and clearly weathered by age. Made of what appeared to be smoothed stone the striations of minerals sparkled as they reflected the pillar of light that cut through the hole in the ceiling.

The bowl itself was empty, waiting patiently on the pedestal. It was concealed within the confined of the world within a world, accessible only by the individual bearing both the Brand of Avowal and the Quillkey.

Accessible only by him.

It had been carefully concealed, but for what purpose. At first glance, it appeared to be ne different than a normal bowl he would find in any market in Windwake, and even in the houses of the most downtrodden of Halthome’s society. He understood that there was an explicit purpose, one that he was yet to uncover. Mother Raven had started him on this task and he was determined to complete it. The truth behind it would come to light soon enough.

Risens inspected where the bowl sat atop the pedestal with cautious eyes. He was well trained and well versed in identifying, avoiding and or disarming traps yet you could see nothing of concern. Nothing that indicated there was anything of concern hidden on the pillar or vessel. He could see no trip wires that bound the relic to the stone. He noted no tingle of magic wards that tickled his senses. The top of the pedestal as uneven though the bowl was balance perfectly. The small gaps underneath showed that there were no pressure plates hidden beneath.

Carefully keeping his focus spread throughout the room, Risens reached out to collect the bowl from its natural stand. The quiet clatter of pebbles skipping on the stones snapped his focus toward the wall where the stones angled up to meet the ceiling. In two small, but distinct locations the stones shifted as if something pushed up at them from behind. He shifted to the side of the pedestal pulling the Raven Talons from his sheaths.

The abject fear that pulsed from the weapons mounted as the cause of the disturbances came to light.

The massive pinchers were the first thing to protrude from the rocks. Entirely black and shining in the low light of the chamber they preceded the body, a shape that was familiar, yet utterly disproportional. He watched with a sense of revulsion as what appeared to be a pair of massive disfigured bugs wriggled from the wall.

Compared to the versions he saw daily throughout the city, these were nearly the size of a medium dog. The vicious pinchers extending from the front of their bodies were nearly as long as his hand. He click of their pointed ends was audible, echoing through the chamber. Aside from being overlarge, the structure of their bodies was off. Where he was accustomed to seeing the smooth, rounded backs of the creatures, these were lumpy and gnarled as if they were some wild mutation of their siblings that haunted the refuse on Windwake.

His first reaction was to scoff at the terror that emanated from the blades, though he rapidly bit back the emotion. The insistence of the blades to kill aside, the fear felt learned nor irrational.

Darting forward, he struck at the disfigured head of the first creature anticipating the blade would slice through the all-black carapace with little resistance. He nearly lost his grip on the blade as it rebounded off the hardened shell. Like he’s struck a solid metal wall, his attack did nothing beyond forcing the creature to the side.

“Fool. The carrion will not feel the sting of our edges.”

The symbols for each of the talons ticked down another symbol.

What began as an initial failure of his blades to penetrate the creature devolved rapidly into a defensive battle of his swatting away his attackers. The chamber echoed with the ringing sounds of metal against metal as he tested the defenses. Rewarded with failure upon failure. The blades screamed in his ears that they were of no use to him, yet he had little choice but to defend himself from their charges.

The creatures, the Raven Talons had referred to as the carrion weren’t overly speedy or nimble. Their attacks followed predictable lines, their pinchers easily avoided. The were little adjusting the tangent of his strikes as the blades exposed no openings in their defenses.

Risens jumped to the side, swatting the back of the carrion that charged him sending it skittering across the stones behind him. Grunting from frustration, he pummeled the second with a vicious blow to its side. Its spun wildly as it slammed into the side of the pedestal, flipping over onto its back.Seizing the opportunity, he stabbed the talon down onto the center of the creatures exposed abdomen. The blade skipped off the creature, biting into the stone floor, while it sent the monstrosity sliding toward the pool in the corner. Reacting out of growing sense of aggravation he kicked the carrion into the water of the pool before turning to meet the charge of the other.

The splash of something heavy crashing into the water was immediately overwhelmed by the high-pitched squeal that filled the room. Risens covered his ears as best as e could as the volume increased with the pitch. Smalls bits of stone and dirt rained down from the ceiling as the noise continued. Even the second creature seemed effected by the sound, pausing as it screamed in apparent agony.

It’s motions were sluggish and uncoordinated as it stumbled through the shallow waters of the pool. The water had given the first indication that it was not as invulnerable as so far it had proven. Risens brought an arching strike down on the seam between its armored head and rest of its carapace. With only a muffled cracking and a minimal amount of resistance the talon cut through, severing it from its body. A viscous black slime, nearly the consistency of tar oozed from the wounds.

The demeanor of the second carrion changed at the sight of the death of the first. Instead of pressing the continual attack that had threatened to wear him down, it skittered across the floor fleeing his persistent pursuit. Batting it against the side of the wall to stall its motion, Risens hammered his foot into the spinning shell sending it splashing into the water. This time the deafening scream of the carrion was silenced as he lept into the shallows, plunging his blade through the monstrosity.