Runeblade

Abrissian Manticore - Level 268:

Crucible Guardian, Depths-born, Beast, Skirmisher

Kaius blinked, staring at the patchwork Guardian as he grappled with what the notification told him.

A Crucible? He'd been suspicious, but he hadn't thought it would actually be one! As far as he was aware, the guild had been on the lookout for them from the very day of the phase change, yet they'd had no luck whatsoever. At least, he assumed so — Rieker and Ro would have surely kept him abreast of any developments.

Sure, it was possible that the news had travelled slowly, or another had been found during the months they'd been away from Deadacre. Still.

A Crucible…

He switched back to the eight-sided obelisk of black glass, staring at it as if the fiery runes that covered its surface would reveal their secrets if he willed it hard enough.

Hunger swept through him like a storm, his heart pumping hot as a low droning whine sounded in his ears. This was what they needed. Something that could reforge them anew — provide the weight they needed to push themselves to their goals.

Levels, Aspects, power. It was perfect! It would be dangerous, but so what? They'd made their choices — not one of them would have reached where they were today if they were the type to turn back from a challenge like this.

What was it the system had said?

Kaius focused his intent, his Glass Mind helping as he whirled through his memories, desperately trying to remember the wording of the first phase change notification.

'Rare Crucible Grounds have opened in the Great Depths. Seek them out and attempt their challenges to obtain potent rewards, if you dare.'

Kaius turned the words over in his mind, savouring them as he drank in the obelisk. Yes, this would do nicely. A wild grin spread across his face.

"What did you find?" Kenva said suddenly, breaking his revere. "Still no sign of the Guardian up top, but I've spotted a few common Depthsborn."

"It's a Crucible, with what looks like a portal," Kaius replied, not bothering to suppress the excitement in his voice. "It's got a Crucible Guardian too, which I have to assume is different from a normal one."

His team froze, every single one of them looking between him and the far off obelisk in shock.

"You're sure?" Ianmus asked, disbelief evident.

Kaius nodded firmly. "I'm sure — Kenva can double check, though."

The ranger nodded, focusing on the far off Guardian — before she blinked.

"He's right — what are the bloody chances?"

Porkchop snorted, settling onto his haunches as he shook his head. "In my experience, pretty good. I do wonder one thing — how likely do you think it will be that this Guardian will be tougher than a normal one?"

"Do you really have to ask that? The system itself warned us they were dangerous challenges." Kaius replied, cocking a brow. "It's still within a normal level range for a Guardian, though — so we won't know for sure until we get down there."

Kenva cleared her throat, drawing his attention as she stepped back from the edge of the stone ledge. "I hate to be the voice of reason here, but are we sure it's the best idea?"

She raised her hands when Kaius, along with everyone else, gave her a blank look. "I'm as eager as the rest of you! It just seems smart to talk it through?"

"Well, what's the other option?" Ianmus replied with a shrug. "Ignore the challenge that might as well have 'big, juicy rewards' painted on it in ten-stride high letters? We've been looking for the next thing to push us, and we just found it. Besides, none of us have heard anything about others discovering them first. There'll be Honour in it, or I'll eat my left boot — let alone the other promised rewards."

Kaius nodded enthusiastically — the mage was right. If they really were the first, he could see that potentially being enough of an achievement to be worth a Major Honour. Even if it wasn't, each one was invaluable. They had to try.

"Well, there's one other situation that's worth considering." Porkchop replied grimly.

"Oh? What's that?" Kaius asked.

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"The fact we haven't heard of anyone discovering them doesn't mean they haven't been. Hoarding the knowledge is likely, depending on who found it, but it could be easily explained if they've been discovered but no one has made it back to report to the Guild." Porkchop said, his voice grim. "The Guardian will be dangerous, that is certain, but we know almost nothing about the trial it defends. How bad must it be if you need to kill a bloody Guardian just to earn your access?"

Kaius winced, hoping that wasn't the case. Surely it wasn't. With how cautious and tentative most delvers were, anyone who wasn't a maniacal elite like them would leave it well enough alone, right?

Still, it wasn't enough to stop him from trying — a Crucible, the very word stoked the burning heat in his belly.

"Well, regardless, I'm interested. But your point about our lack of information is valid," Ianmus replied, before he turned back to Kaius. "Have you tried analysing the portal itself? It might tell us a little more if it's anything like the normal Depths ones."

Kaius shook his head and turned back to the distant arch of runes. He focused his Truesight.

Crucible of Xenanra:

Challenge fate and be tempered, if you dare.

A song ignited in his blood as he read the notification, hardly caring at the lack of information it gave. He grinned, relaying what he'd seen.

"At the very least, the system is pressing hard on the warning, and the name suggests that each one might be different from the others. I think Porkchop might be right. I have no idea if we're the first to find one, but I think few will be better positioned to finish one," Kaius said.

It only made sense to him. Over the last year, he'd grown more and more certain the changes in the integration were designed to encourage and push groups like themselves — those who strived under adversity, and used the pressure to grow tall. Likely, the Crucibles were designed for similar means. It would make them dangerous — a place where they would be foolish to rely on their higher than normal strength — but it also meant that the boons it provided would be designed for people in their position.

Kaius felt it in his gut: they had a good shot at growing their advantage further if they succeeded. He might not be so egotistical as to think they were the only people who were attempting to become a new breed of powerhouse — especially not when Kenva had done the same before they'd even met — but their outsized capabilities did give them a good chance of succeeding where others might have failed.

"Well, it sounds like we're decided; we recklessly charge into unnecessary danger once again!" Kenva said with an easy smile. "What's our plan? It seems reasonable to expect the manticore to be a monster of a fight."

Kaius eyeballed the descent they would have to make down the mountain. Not only was it rough terrain full of high-grade slopes and lengthy cliffs, it was far — at least a day to the foothills, and maybe a second to cross their length and reach the Crucible.

Scanning the way there, his eyes stopped at a small rocky outcropping set at the top of one of the taller hills before the alpine flats. A small cluster of stone, forming a natural wall and wind break — with a clean sightline directly to the nest of the Manticore. A perfect place to set up and observe.

"I think we should try to make camp there for a while," he pointed out the site he had spotted. "It would be good to see if we can tease out some of the Guardians capabilities from afar — we saw plenty of depthsborn hunting each other in the Godsmaw, so it would make sense that the manticore might be the same. We can plan a strategy, and I could tailor my spell loadout to what will be most effective."

"That's all well and good," Ianmus replied, squinting into the distance as he attempted to make out the suggested campsite. "But how do we get there? We might be fine, but I doubt Porkchop would do all that well at scaling down solid stone cliff faces."

"Rude, but true."

"Don't worry, I already thought of that," Kenva interjected. She pointed, tracing a wending route down the mountainside. "See?"

The trail she'd picked made its way down their ledge to the right, across scree slopes, before it doubled back down to follow a ridgeline. It might have been indirect, but it circumvented every obstacle that would require them to actually climb, weaving its way through gravel-ridden slops and tussocky mounds.

"No cliffs — but it'll mean more fighting. At least we won't have to fight any ridgechargers on their home turf — I swear the things can defy gravity, nothing else makes sense. Look, there. And there." Kenva pointed, occasionally moving her hand to a new spot.

Following her direction, Kaius leaned heavily on both Truesight and Explorer's Toolkit — searching for evidence of prey. He found it quickly. Flashes of movement racing between stone nooks and scattered boulders, a blip disappearing behind a ridge, and stray gravel that seemed to shift and tumble without reason.

Eventually, he spotted the beasts themselves. Strange, goatlike reptiles that clambered up rockfaces like they were standing on flat ground; dull grey birds the size of dogs that nested in hard to reach alcoves; even large lizards that just lay out in the open as their grey, uneven scales allowed them to masquerade as boulders. A quick use of Truesight confirmed that the goat-reptiles were the ridgechargers Kenva had mentioned.

He could see what she meant — getting attacked by a flock of those when they were hanging a hundred longstrides above the ground would be a nightmare. Porkchop wouldn't be able to do a thing, Kenva would be limited to a single knife, and he would be forced to rely on his spells alone.

A good thing they had another option, then.

"Good thinking," he said, inclining his head to the ranger.

"If you've got a route, should we get going?" Porkchop asked. "I'm starting to get hungry, and it would be nice to bag some fresh game before we make camp. Variety is the cornerstone of a balanced diet."

Kaius laughed, but didn't see any reason to stay.

They readied themselves quickly and set off down the ridge, cold alpine air blowing down at them from above.