Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

"Ha…thank the gods. Ma fuckin' feet—I ain't sure whether ma boots're wet from all the sweat or the blisters that keep poppin'," an adventurer breathed heavily from the front of the group.

"That's gods-damned disgustin'. We ain't need t' hear 'bout yer twice-cursed feet. Can figure plenty 'bout 'em already from the smell," another groused from farther back in the group.

Ravina shook her head at the group's antics. At least morale wasn't crumbling. She was positive that she'd lose at least a couple once the jog really got tough, but everyone had kept up—so far.

They'd been running for almost three days straight. True to her word, Ravina only allowed the group to stop for food and sleep, and she only stopped to eat so that they could take care of other business at the same time. Otherwise, they'd be eating and running—it only took a little practice (and maybe a puke or two) to get good at it.

"All members present and accounted for, ma'am," Mondan reported from Ravina's side, his fist to his chest.

"Great, but I ain't no ma'am. This ain't the fuckin' military, man," Ravina deadpanned, taking a swig from her waterskin.

"Of course, ma'am," he said without missing a beat.

"Haa…whatever," Ravina sighed. She'd mostly given up on that issue. It hadn't stopped no matter how much she complained, so might as well just get used to it.

Spirits were relatively high, despite the complaints. The passion they'd possessed at their exodus quickly died in the heat and uneasy footing of the desert, but after a day of running, they'd arrived at the Krancor Plains, and it was all easy running over short grasses from there.

There were even Crackling Bison on the Plains—perfect for feeding a group of a thousand adventurers, provided you could kill them without their electricity cooking their meat as they died.

There were rations aplenty, but nothing was better for morale than a freshly caught and cooked meal—especially meat. Plenty of small creeks and rivers crisscrossed the plains, so water was not an issue either.

If anything, the only issue currently was—

"If I might make a recommendation, I suggest we allow them a drink tonight. No matter how wise, you can't keep an adventurer away from alcohol for too long—even on a cross-country run," Mondan said with trepidation. The man was acting like a boy making a suggestion to his parents.

Ravina sighed again before turning toward the crowd huffing and puffing behind her.

"Listen up! This is the halfway point! Ya gone and made it halfway, despite havin' every chance to turn back! We'll break out the ale to celebrate!" she shouted.

A raucous cheer erupted from the group so loud that Ravina wondered if she'd stopped them too early. Seems like they had a lot more energy than their previous whining would've suggested.

"Quiet for a sec! Listen! I ain't yer mom, and I certainly ain't yer dad! Ya drink however much ya think ya can and still keep up tomorrow. We're only halfway done runnin'! It ain't over yet, and ya better believe I ain't gonna carry ya if ya can't keep up tomorrow! Be responsible!

"We got potentially ten thousand undead to kick the shit outta when we get there! We're already outnumbered ten to one! I ain't worried 'bout those odds, but if yer gonna be stumblin' over yerselves by the time ya get there, ya might as well leave now!" she finished.

The adventurers were all chuckles and cheers, with many assurances of getting "responsibly shitfaced" going around. Which, unfortunately, is when Sith—who always managed to remain unseen until she chose not to be—spoke up.

"Ten thousand is quite low. You're looking at more like a hundred thousand—potentially multiple hundreds of thousands," she said, casually obliterating the mood.

The cheers and jeers seemed to die down instantly, and an uncomfortable silence settled over the group. Ravina thought she could probably physically slice the tension if she drew her sword.

"And how many elven defenders to help us?" she asked, turning toward Sith.

"Oh, I don't know. Depends on when we get there. Right now? Probably around fifty thousand. Three days from now? Can't say for sure, but it certainly won't be more," she shrugged, a very slight smile creasing the edges of her mouth. What the hell was she doing, bringing this up now?

That number was not the comfort Ravina was looking for, and Sith was right—the elves' numbers would only decrease with more time.

Truthfully, she knew it was going to be an uphill battle—although not this uphill—and she was prepared for it. These adventurers, though…they were a gaggle brought together with delusions of grandeur and becoming stronger—both of which required them to come out the other side alive.

"I—we…I don't think we signed up fer this…ten to one was bad enough, but yer tryin' t' tell me we're gonna be outnumbered at least a hundred to one?" the blistered-feet man said hesitatingly.

A chorus of quiet agreement and nods passed through the group like a wave through the sea, building momentum until it became quite loud.

"Alright, that's enough! They were always gonna be long odds; I done told ya a'fore we left! Don't forget that yer all here cause'a the danger brewin' in yer own home! Yer here cause ya want to be, not cause I forced ya!

"Have a drink tonight and rest up! We resume our run soon as the sun rises tomorrow. And then, war!" Ravina said, pounding her fist against her chest.

The group mirrored the movement, but the clang from fists hitting armor was much quieter now, lacking the enthusiasm it had at the Guild, and even the enthusiasm from the past few days.

"I'll chat with some people, try and keep spirits high," Mondan whispered as he walked past Ravina.

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As the group dispersed, gathering up their alcohol of preference, Ravina stormed over to Sith.

"What the hell was that?" she asked quietly but forcefully.

"Better to find out now than later, don't you think? Morale must be high going into battle.

"Expecting a few thousand undead only to discover them covering the marsh like an infestation of ants would be tremendously detrimental to spirits when we need them at their highest," Sith explained, examining her nails with (probably feigned) focus.

"Ya couldn't'a at least told me earlier? I could'a come up with a way ta break it to 'em!" Ravina exclaimed sharply.

"Perhaps. Things will not always go your way, Ravina. Part of being a leader—a huge part, actually—is conflict resolution. This will breed conflict that you must resolve now.

"We cannot have any dissension or deserters when we reach the marsh. Do not forget that you are being tested," Sith explained. Ravina could've sworn her fangs grew longer as she spoke, but it was so hard to tell with her.

"Ha…fine, whatever. I assume sowing the seeds of conflict for me to reap later isn't the only reason you've appeared? Why have you come?" she asked with a sigh.

"You have one more to add to your forces—the most important of this entire gathering. His name is Drego. He's an old, retired adventurer. Lives out alone in the woods west of here," Sith explained, pointing to the west, where Ravina could just make out trees on the horizon.

"You must recruit him. This entire endeavor is doomed to fail otherwise," she said with gravity.

"...This another part of yer test?" Ravina asked with some bile.

"Of course. However, do not mistake my using this situation to test you for its lack of severity. This task is important—the Founder thinks so, as do I. Drego is key, and you must not fail to recruit him.

"He will not be whipped into a frenzy and follow you out of some reckless passion like the rest. His recruitment will be difficult, but also necessary for your growth," Sith said with seriousness, staring Ravina straight in the eyes.

"...Why can't you just…ya know…deal with all this? Yer like some kind'a God, right? Why can't ya just defeat all the undead and save Julia? Ya care about her, don't ya?" Ravina asked, fighting down a feeling of despair that was growing in her chest.

Not only were the undead far more numerous than she thought, the adventurers were beginning to lose their courage, and she had to somehow recruit some old recluse, or everything was in vain. How did she get thrown into this position?

"Ha, no, that's not what I am. Gods are just people that grew sufficiently powerful that the World entrusted them with a part of its maintenance. I—" she glanced over at Ravina with a wicked smile, "am not 'people.'"

"...Okay, but why can't ya just save Julia and the marsh?" Ravina asked, unamused by her antics.

"My presence is…tolerated, only. My being here is only possible due to a rather unique loophole created from my own nature and Gala's…uniqueness.

"This loophole, while currently tolerated by the World, is not guaranteed. Push too hard, and the loophole might collapse entirely," Sith explained cryptically.

"So…what…use too much of yer power, and the World will take notice? Get mad and…send ya away? Something like that?" Ravina asked, genuinely confused now.

"Something like that," Sith chuckled. "I'm sorry to say that you're on your own. We have laid all the pieces out for you, but it's up to you to assemble them into something coherent and useful."

"Haa…alright. Lead the way, then," Ravina sighed.

Sith set off at a light jog, with Ravina following behind.

"Move them all this way and set up camp on the outskirts of the western forest!" Ravina called to Mondan as they passed. Receiving a nod, she continued on, Sith having not slowed even a little to allow the interaction space.

As they neared the forest, Ravina began to notice peculiarities under its canopy. Typically, forests with a canopy this dense would be light on underbrush due to the trees blocking much of the sunlight. However, this forest's floor was a bounty of growth: mosses, grasses, crawling plants like vines and ivy, and even flowers were scattered in abundance.

Mushrooms grew near the tree roots, squirrels zipping up and down trees to collect them. Rabbits and deer grazed within sight, and though they didn't get close—they didn't run either.

This place was far too abundant. It was almost unnatural. Somehow, though, despite the dense growth, it didn't feel suffocating or dark the way overgrown forests might elsewhere. This place felt bright and cheerful, as though its residents had little to fear and knew it.

Ravina had never been very close to nature, only knowing enough about animals to know how best to kill them, and what plants were safe to eat, so all these inferences coming to her naturally was somewhat shocking.

"A garden tended by a master can shine bright enough for even the blind to see," Sith said with a mysterious smile, likely noticing Ravina's perplexedness.

"This Drego is some kind'a Druid, then? Guess that makes sense. Ya said there's a giant fuckin' tree in the center a the marsh, right? Big ass thing—bigger than I ever seen?

"What's this guy gonna do? Make the trees fight with us?" Ravina asked sarcastically, still a little miffed that Sith had intentionally undermined her group's unity.

"Ha! You'd be shocked by what someone with adequate nature attunement can accomplish.

"Well, you will be shocked, should you succeed, anyway," she said, ignoring Ravina's jab.

They emerged into a clearing that was almost blindingly bright after the relative darkness of the forest canopy. There was short, green grass underfoot and a small pond with the clearest water Ravina had seen in quite a while filling it. Fish ranging from tiny to medium-sized swam about lazily, appearing to fear neither predator nor fisherman.

Next to the pond was a small cottage. It was strangely round, occupying a footprint perhaps two or three strides in radius. It appeared to have two levels, denoted by windows a stretch and a half up the walls, with a roof of some kind of mismatched wooden tiles that formed a cone.

Actually, most of the cottage's wood appeared mismatched, as though it came not just from different trees, but from different kinds of trees.

Two circular windows of clear glass flanked the single door on the front, the only indicator of Drego's wealth—clear glass was not cheap.

Ravina looked around in confusion, noticing that Sith had disappeared without a sound, before finding her perched in a branch that stretched close to the cottage.

She was lounging with her back against the trunk of the tree, one leg stretched out languidly before her and the other pulled up to her chest, her arm around it.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," she said teasingly with a crooked smile. "Good luck."

Ravina sighed, not keen on this interaction being monitored, and raised her fist to knock on the door before halting midway.

She noticed a sign on the door, exactly at her eye level somehow.

"Do not knock. Go away. If you must knock, knock quietly, and then go away," it read in beautiful, flowing handwriting.

This was shaping up to be a great day. Ravina took a breath—and knocked loudly.