Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/Step…/

/Thud!/

After walking for half an hour in the darkness, the ground seemingly began to change, prompting Dale to tap his foot around as he felt something was off.

"Hm?... This is… Stone?" Dale asked as he tapped his foot on the ground

"Can you be more specific, I can't quite see the ground from my angle and I'm pretty sure we're surrounded by those."

"It's different, this is… Smooth stone."

Dale crouched, using his gauntlets to wipe some of the dirt and dust from the ground, revealing an old, clear ceramic tile.

To show this to David, he unwrapped him from his waist.

"Oho? This is rather unusual, it seems to be a piece of ceramic, a tile to be precise."

"Try clearing more of the dirt, see if there's more." He asked as he raised an eyebrow

Dale did as he was told, already planning to do such a thing from the beginning.

He cleared the dirt around him, revealing several more tiles, connected to form a greater, somewhat dim pattern. They seemed to have something else painted on them but it was borderline impossible to see due to the dirt stains.

"Ohoho… This is getting really good… A path of ceramic tiles…" David said with curious words

"That's not only it." Dale added as he pointed at the walls and ceiling

"There are signs of old metal lights and other tiles on the walls, this place was deeply decorated. I imagine the dirt came from the Ants moving around the place."

"This place could've been a tunnel, but the Ants shoved dirt on the walls to reinforce the path, hiding its true appearance."

'Since they only cared about the path, the walls remain mostly untouched aside from the dirt on them, the ceiling items are a bit bent here and there, likely from the Ants bumping into them.'

"To think there was such a place deep down at Resko… It gives me bad vibes, it reminds me of my days in the Catacombs." David said with disgust as his eyes turned cold

"From the looks of it, this place isn't that old, likely built during Resko's time, these tiles are quite similar to other ones I've seen used in the Church in the past. He added as his eyes focused on the darkness ahead of them

"No ancient mystery to be uncovered here, just a piece of the past waiting to be uncovered."

"Onwards kid, let's figure out what this place was used for and if there's anything good still inside before we move on."

"We ought to do it fast… This place gives me the shivers, maybe it was built by the same people who built that place, I've cursed them numerous times you see..."

"Hm... I don't hear much around us so… I'll pick up the pace." Dale said as he strapped back David to his waist before he quickened his pace, dashing across the darkness

The decorated hallway went for a few hundred meters before finally coming to a sudden halt, leading to a wide, open room…

"This is…"

"Exactly what I expected from a bunch of wizards…"

Both Dale and David were each without words to describe what they saw.

A massive cavern with a ceiling dozens of meters high appeared before them!

So wide and large it was it possessed its own, small ecosystem.

With a lake by the side with a waterfall and a forest spreading throughout its expanse, the cavern was full of life with birds and critters moving around the place from bush to bush.

Tall mushroom trees, together with thousands of vines grew on the cavern's walls…

At the ceiling, uncountable crystals shone with prismatic light, casting daylight onto this small wonderland.

Dale recognized neither the Fauna nor Flora of this place, however, it wasn't unusual for isolated islands to have their own biology, and it seems this was the case for this place as well.

However, it still did not explain the source of food for the Ants, albeit now, Dale figured out where their water was coming from.

"Hm… There's a small waterfall in that lake, could it be… There's a chance." He muttered to himself as he tilted his head to think

"What are you thinking about?"

"Resko had many rivers in the past, most of its sewers were built by modifying their courses… This could technically be one of those underground rivers. Although we're quite far for that still, it was just a thought that went through my head."

'If I enter the Ravine and explore its depths, I'll eventually find one of these underground rivers, a group of players managed to find it in the alternative future.'

"This is incredible, nonetheless…"

"It is, but I'm more interested in that over there." David said as he interrupted Dale, turning his gaze to the center of the cavern

There, a tall palace-like structure rose from the ground.

It was… Bulky, and its architecture was incredibly stone-like as if it had been carved from a single, large boulder.

To some degree, it was like witnessing a Dwarven structure from the stories.

"... Given by the tracks, it seems the Ants pass by this place quite often, strangely enough, I haven't seen any in a while." Dale replied as he looked at a small path in the forest

With an arch made of trees, Dale felt as if he was about to enter a mystical forest with pretty elves waiting for him… Although he knew better than to daydream.

'Hum… I may have to alter some of my plans… If there's a place like this underneath the mines, then… For the sake of the city and my Quests, I'll have to tap into this place's resources.'

'There are all kinds of trees and plants I've never seen before, this is likely a type of biology that was exterminated with the desertification of the South, or materials from other parts of the Continent.'

'It could also be how the biology of the underground looks like, although how and why a type of underground fungus evolved to be this big is beyond me.'

'Still, being able to grow unusual materials would definitely aid Yumi in her alchemical endeavors, and this place is quite nice as it is, I don't think it would be too hard to have some people live here to take care of the gardens.'

'The problem is getting people here… The air isn't too welcoming after a certain point, and although the air here is clean and smooth, people can't hold their breaths as they come down.'

'The previous bad smell likely came from a waste chamber of the ants, I thought it was natural gas but I could've been wrong.'

'There are also the psychological problems… I'll have to think about it all.'

"Why are you staying still? Stop dilly-dallying and get a move on! Those treasures aren't going to be plundered by themselves!"

"... How are you so sure there's anything there? For all I know it could be just like the Catacombs, with the previous inhabitants dragging everything they had with them before they left."

"Even if they did, something will always remain, onwards!"

"..."

Dale rolled his eyes, approaching the Manor with caution and interest.

...

The Palace had no walls, it seemingly rose from the ground at the center of a clearing within the forest.

It was around five stories tall, being rather "blocky" in appearance, without any large towers or tips in its design.

Dale didn't know how far it went, but he could tell the front of the Palace alone was at least thirty meters wide, with a pair of large stone doors.

/Tap.../

With great caution, Dale approached the doors, touching them.

"... They're stuck, unmoving."

"What about the windows?"

"... Stuck too, I don't even think they open, it feels more like a carving than an actual window and door..."

"Wait... Do you think Palace is just an oversized, real-like carving?"

"That seems to be the case, I could be wrong, but on a surface analysis, this is what it feels like."

"A bummer... Then the only option is to follow the Ants."

"Yeah."

The Ant's trail went through the sides of the Palace, it was pretty evident as the grass had been completely cut off in that region.

Following the trail led them to the source of their food and their goal for today's little adventure.

/Shine.../

/Cha cha cha!/

A massive glowing crystal mounted atop a strange metallic apparatus seemed to be 'feeding' thousands of critters and plants around them!

"What... Is... This?" Dale asked as he had difficulty processing what he was seeing

The Crystal was light blue, in fact, it was somewhat similar to the Crystal Qrubin was sealed within, albeit different from the latter, the crystal seemed to be 'sweating', a strange kind of pale blue liquid that formed a massive pool around it.

Around the crystal, strange insects gulped down the solution in large droves like pumps, with dozens of ants surrounding them, grabbing small solid clumps of matter from holes in their bodies, like disgusting protein bars...

With that look alone, after holding down his disgust, Dale understood where the Ant's food came from, it was from these strange ants that were processing that strange liquid into an energy bar.

Above that, the Ants weren't the only ones with the idea of settling near the crystal for sustenance.

Thousands of plants took hold throughout the crystal's body, directly absorbing the solution as it dripped down to the lake.

/Splash!/

From time to time, Dale also saw strange fish jumping from the pale blue water.

None of the creatures seemed to be fighting each other in this unique environment as there was more than enough for all.

"Do you... Have any idea as to what this could be?" Dale asked as he looked at David

"I really don't... And I'm trying my hardest to."

"In any case, I don't need to remind you not to drink that do I? It's best left untouched until we figure out what it actually is."

"I'm not that reckless."

Before approaching the crystal, Dale turned back, looking at the back portion of the stone Palace.

There, he saw an opening covered by large blades of grass...

"Maybe we'll find an answer over there, let's ignore this for now."

'This is getting strange, just what is this place? Why go over so much trouble to make all of this?'

'Were the people of the past looking for this? Why did they keep it here? There are clear signs the crystal was placed upon that metal base, there had to be a reason for that.'

'It makes me think if there are other strange anomalies buried in the Sands of time...'

"You're doing it again! Stop thinking! Get your ass over there! My curiosity is killing me." David said out loud as his eyes shone in golden light

"Calm down a little, the crystal's going nowhere..." Dale said as he rolled his eyes

/Shush.../

Pushing the grassy blades aside, Dale delved inside the opening of the stony palace.

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Notes