Illuminaria [LitRPG Fantasy Healer Adventure]

37 - Hidden Names

When Wen was gone, Joe had his amber paw grab the remaining two cards Mojo had missed. The index slips were pretty beat up, but at least if he turned them over to someone, they could be recopied.

Sitting on the edge of a decorative planter, with the small changeling in his lap, Joe petted Mojo while trying not to feel like a lunatic. After a minute, he heard a door open. Joe looked up to see Kendell walking over to him. She sat right alongside him on the rim of the stone ornament.

"You ok? You look really down," she stated carefully.

"I feel like an ass. I've only had this sense of smell for a few weeks, but still, I should have handled that better. I lost it in there. There is just something about Vexor that drives my scent skill insane," he explained. "I was on a cramped ship with forty people for three weeks. I could easily block out their stinks then. Well, there was this one guy I avoided being in tight spaces with, but everyone did. I don't think the man ever bathed."

"Is Vexor better or worse than the stinky guy?" Kenda asked.

"A hundred times worse. I cannot even think around the mage. It's like my whole body goes into flight or fight mode. So far, flight has been the primary option, but I felt hostility building up at the end." Joe dropped his head down to his chest, placing his hands on top of his hair. The cave of his arms formed around his head, sheltering him from some of the embarrassment he was feeling. "I know it's not his fault. He was born with his lineage. Maybe I should just move myself to the study. Solve the problem that way."

Placing her hands on his, Kenda pushed them down off his head, causing him to look up at her. She was so close that he could not help but straighten up his slumped posture. When his eyes met hers, she smiled. "If I know Earcellwen, then running away is not an option. We'll come up with a solution. Trust me."

Not knowing what else to say, Joe just sat there with her for a few minutes. Suddenly, he realized Kendell had not let go of one of his hands. He was even more surprised at how comfortable he was with the touch. Her hand was warm, and Joe could think of nowhere he'd rather be at that moment. He kind of wished his hand was not such a feral nightmare, but he pushed that thought away. He simply enjoyed the comfort the gesture implied.

The pair sat together for a while longer. They started talking about the upcoming festival, and Joe's plan to look for a place to rent. Kenda gave him a few rooming suggestions and shared her excitement for the impending festival, though she bemoaned the amount of rush work it was demanding of her parents' shop.

Finally, Earcellwen opened the door and looked across the street at them. It was clear when her sharp eyes noted the clasped hands. The corners of her mouth quirked up into a smug smile, as if she had just won a bet. The archer signaled for them to come back inside.

The pair crossed the lane with hands still clasped together, only letting go to cross the Guildhouse threshold. As he entered the lobby, the first thing Joe saw was Vexor standing a few feet in front of him. He froze. Joe was about to hold his breath when he realized there was none of the brimstone reek filling the air. He also noted the room was very brightly lit. Insanely bright. So bright everyone was squinting a little.

He looked over to see Myllo holding a small, blazing candle. It was so radiant that Joe could only glance at it. Looking straight at the brilliant flame was like staring into one of those superpower flashlights.

Kenda, shielding her eyes, asked, "What is that, Myllo?"

"[Candle of Sacred Flame]," the korrigan explained enthusiastically. "They use these babies in high-level holy ceremonies. Right now, this little guy is kicking out so much sacred radiance that it's completely wiping out the faint emanations from our half-fiend friend here. You still feeling fine there, Vex?"

"Yup. Other than the eye strain that thing is giving me, I'm good," the red-skinned mage replied, using one hand to shield his face.

Vexor's voice just did not fit the demonic form standing a few feet away. Joe assumed the horned man's voice would be some dark, deep, scratchy-sounding thing, but it wasn't like that at all. Instead, the young man's words sounded like those of an amiable neighbor or classmate from school. Just an average, everyday nice guy voice.

"Problem solved," Wen exclaimed. "Now, what was that about you finding something regarding the undead surge?"

Myllo and Kendell locked eyes at those words and mouthed 'undead surge?' to each other.

Feeling completely put on the spot, Joe cleared his throat before replying. "I think the valley we were at is where the founder Margen died."

"That can't be right," Earcellwen argued. "Margen's Mourn is on the other side of Hornwood."

"No. I'm pretty sure it's on this side," Vexor countered. "But it's south. In the Malrenet Mountains."

"Whoa. Everybody hold yer lines. Yer both wrong, but we can get to that in a minute," the bearded guild leader asserted. Pointing at Joe and Earcellwen, Myllo continued, "Ok, you two. Start at the beginning. Just make sure we cover 'undead surge' before you stop talking. Now speak."

The group moved back to the library, and the two adventurers detailed their findings after finishing the badboons quest.

"So as far as you could tell, the undead had not broken out of the forests yet," Kendell asked, after their second time through the telling.

"I don't think so," the archer answered. "There is a huge swath of open plains between the western woods and Corran's stead. We covered that ground very quickly. At the undead's pace, it would take a lot more than one night to find sun cover. The dead seemed pretty mindless. I think each time the sun rises in the east in front of them, they would turn around and shuffle back to the shadows from which they came. I guess with several cloudy mornings, they could make it, but we don't usually get morning rains this time of year."

"That's a pretty slim rail to lean on, especially since the Storm Wardens have been posting warnings all week," Myllo added. "How many adventurers could we call on if we issued a full muster, Kenda?"

"At the moment, it would be slim pickings. D011's squad is still in Cazmaloq. Squish is somewhere out in the ocean, but she checked in a week ago, so I don't expect to hear from her again anytime soon. Naragash's team is on the way back from the Pridelands, but they won't make it much earlier than Founder's Day." She held up six fingers and stated, "As far as the guildhouse staff, we've got us, Puqmup, Taylyn, and Nard. Tezeno, too." Having reached ten, she started again. "Yuk and Lexaroth are dealing with a hatching of twigstings by the Drenabree farmstead today, but they should be back soon. Kerrig is working with the city guard, so we could easily get him. Edror turned in a bounty a couple of days ago, but I think he is still around. Isais was still moaning this morning about that gearbox you never finished fixing. So twelve."

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"That'll have to do. Just put Isais with someone else," Myllo huffed. "I'm not working with that girl again unless I have to. Not after Shelty Falls."

Kendell hid a smirk before adding, "That's enough to keep an eye on the west fields. At least until Founders Day. Then with Naragash's Hellions, we could clean out the forest and see what's up with the valley."

"My thoughts exactly," the short man conferred. "I'll talk to the Bennenoo at Storm Wardens and get some more specifics about this oncoming storm. How certain are you two that they can't cross the plain in a day?"

Joe thought for a second, and even with his limited knowledge of the world, he had seen how ploddingly the ghouls had walked. Recalling how much ground they had covered with their magical speed enhancements, he felt confident answering.

"I agree with Earcellwen. It would take several days without sun for them to cross that field. Even if they did. They wouldn't reach Mister Loigen's house for quite a bit longer. Wen and I could easily check to see if any of them had somehow found shade in the middle, if you want us to."

"Wen?" the bearded artificer questioned, only to get a kick in the shin from his second-in-command, Kendell. After giving her a small scowl, he continued. "All right. That will work. We use this time now to figure things out. Then we'll grab the Hellions to help clear the forest while we form a full team to look into the valley. So we have eleven days to get our answers." Myllo gave his beard a fierce scratch before continuing. "OK, Joe. Your turn. Why do you think the undead valley is Margen's Mourn?"

"The book said so," Joe exclaimed, holding up the children's schoolbook, feeling a bit silly using the picture book as his reference against a whole group of people who knew this area far better than he did. "Look," he pointed to the two passages, one that gave the names 'Glen Cumha' and 'Vale of Lament', and the other that stated that the valley was where Margen had been lost.

Kenda shook her head and stated, "I always pictured Margen's Mourn as someplace far away. But you're right, it even mentions Mount Serebuk. I'm not sure why I always thought he disappeared in some far-off part of the Hornwood."

"But Margen was lost in a cave," Vexor interjected from a neighboring table, where he had the four rubbings laid out. "Tintze even says it in the Founders Day pageant. 'In the dark depths, I lost my brother.' We were always taught that meant Margen died underground."

Joe thought for a second before suggesting, "The ziggurat. In the center of the valley is a huge ziggurat. There could be tunnels in or under the pyramid. Could that be your dark depths?"

"Ziggurat?" the green-eyed elf questioned. "What ziggurat? I don't remember any structures in the valley."

Joe stared at his friend, feeling utterly puzzled. "It was huge. You couldn't have missed it. Big stepped thing. Blueish stone. It was the most prominent thing in Glen Cumha." A shiver ran down his spine as he used the old name for the valley. "Other than the ring of massive menhirs, it was the only fabricated thing we saw. What do you mean you don't remember it?"

"If you say so," she replied absently. "So, are we done here?"

"I think so. Congrats on hitting fourteen, my dear," Myllo praised. "I'm going to get back to my workshop before Isias finds me not working on her treasure."

"Back to the books for me," added Vexor.

"You guys are lucky. Desk duty for me," Kenda sighed. "Unless you want more skill help, Joe," she asked hopefully.

Joe looked at Mojo, who was picking up on Joe's confusion. A second ago, the four of them were all alarmed about the undead building up in the woods. Now it felt like the valley was suddenly a non-issue to them.

"Yum. What about the valley and the fallen menhir? Shouldn't we look into fixing that?"

"If you think it's a priority," Myllo replied distractedly as he headed for the door. "Go for it. We encourage guild members to take initiative."

"So the whole Margen's Mourn thing is … just nothing?"

"Margen's Mourn. What has that got to do with the valley by Mount Serebuk?" Kendell asked.

"We just … Margen's Mourn is the valley. Vale of Lament. Glen Cumha." Another shiver ticked his flesh.

Joe stopped and held still for a second. He hadn't noticed the shiver when he was reading that name alone. But he felt the curse-related sensation when he spoke it in front of the others.

Going on a hunch, he yelled out the valley's name. "Glen Cumha!" he bellowed. As the shout left his mouth, [Know Curse] displayed an explosion of eggplant-hued filaments fraying into ashy specks in the air around him.

"What are you shouting about, Joe. Glen, who?" Earcellwen squawked at him.

"You guys keep forgetting about it," he breathed. "That's why no one has put two and two together before. I couldn't figure out how I solved this in like two minutes, and yet you guys who live here haven't. It's a curse. Can curses make you forget stuff?"

Myllo, Kenda, and Vexor returned to the room. Even though Joe was looking at the skill savant, it was the red-skin mage who answered.

"Sure, it's a common enough curse, but it is typically targeted, usually at a single person or a few people at most. A broad curse on an entire concept that affects everyone in a region would be an astronomical endeavor." A board of red force energy sprang into the air, and the cambion began stitching notes and calculations onto it using a pen also made of red energy.

Joe let the arcanist do his thing and focused on RC, Kendell, and her boss. "You guys know I can see curses now, right?" he asked the women, who nodded in return. "Also, I have major resistance to most mental attacks," he continued. "It feels like one of my traits is kicking in here. Pretty sure it's the one that prevents confusion."

The group looked at Kendell, who shrugged back at them and stated, "He received the [Iron Mind] trait the day he got to Illuminaria. It became one of his foundational aspects. There is a good chance those mental protections are stronger with Joe than they are for the dwarf who gave him the trait."

"Ok then," Joe resumed. "What if I told you the valley just below Mount Serabuk is Margen's Mourn, and it has an old name which I'm not going to say?"

"I'd say that is pretty implausible, son," the stout guild leader exclaimed.

Joe held out the schoolbook and held the pages, separating the two sections. He flipped back and forth. "Read this again, please."

"Well, I'll be. Why didn't you show us this before, kid?"

"I did," Joe squawked. "I just showed it to you guys two seconds ago. But then I said the valley's name and you all forgot about it."

"Something of this magnitude has to be a dissembling," Vexor intoned, staring at his calculations. "Disemblings are avoidance-based spells that are maintained by drawing power from other realms. They are most often used to hide gates from one realm to another. The menhirs, though, are a containment ward. My best guess is that there is something undead locked in that valley, most likely by the Fey, and they didn't want us to know about it."

"It explains why we have never tried to settle anywhere near that valley," Kendell observed. "Our farms keep expanding east, even though Earcellwen and Joe stated there is good open ground west of Corran Loigen's steading."

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here. Maybe they're keeping us away for a good reason," Myllo remarked. He paused and looked up at Vexor's red floating chalkboard, clearly able to read the arcane formulas. "It does fit Joe's theory," he mused, tugging on a beard braid. "A very old, strong dissembling could be the very thing Tintze and Margen were investigating. So our first priority has to be finding a way to keep us from forgetting again. I'm putting Joe and Vex on this. What kind of time do you need?"

"I'm right in the middle of something time sensitive, boss," the horned mage stammered. "If we have sunny skies for at least a few days, can we start the day after tomorrow, please?"

"Ok. Let me see what the Storm Wardens say, and if we do have time before the storm, I want findings by FireDay."

As the group dispersed, Joe and Mojo stepped into the atrium with Earcellwen to find a familiar face standing in the large room. Hah'roo was looking around at the trophies and paintings, but on seeing Joe, she immediately locked eyes with him; her mouth quirking up into a grin.

"It looks like you have used your time well, Joe. It seems you are already making friends within the guild. Good."

"Hey, Hah'roo. You finished lounging?"

"I have. Are you already engaged today, or do you have time to catch up?"

"You know what?" Joe proclaimed. "My day just opened wide up. I'd love to hang out with you."