[NoR] - [14] - Lost but Seeking

“The ruins are that way.”

Captain V’Nor gestured in a westerly direction.

“It always heads back before dawn. Try not to die too quickly.”

The Elvish captain smiled down at them as he ascended back to the safety of his settlement. The gears creaked and whined as the lift abandoned them once again on the forest floor, the village resting inaudibly high above their heads. The forest seemed endless on all sides, an expanse of trunks continuing on long enough that all ways but up were hidden by the countless trees. The lowest of the branches still sat a decent height above them, many escape vines dangling from those as well as the village further up. There were no discernible landmarks; however, as they focused, the two planeswalkers felt a thrum of power from the distant ruin complex. Sudaj looked unnaturally pleased with himself as he offered his opinion.

“Well, we may as well head for the Ruins. Something that powerful is going to draw other things in the area.”

Razel nodded in affirmation and began to amble along towards their decided goal. Silence reigned for an indeterminate period of plodding. After they were safely away from the elvish establishment, Razel voiced his curiosity to his companion.

“The shaman…what did he say to you?”

Sudaj drooped slightly as he seemed less confident and immediately slunk into suspicious denial.

“N-nothing, really. He wanted to know about us, why we were here, all of that.”

The response was vague and disingenuous.

“Did you tell him?”

“What, that we were hunting something that sounded exactly like what they’re being plagued by? Obviously I did. Then he asked to see an example of my magic, which I provided him, and then he asked about you, and…”

An awkward quiet settled about the crunching of flora beneath their feet. Razel prompted the rest of the response.

“-And?”

Sudaj seemed to struggle with his words, fumbling over his response.

“…well, I…that is, the shaman… he filled me in on what’s been going on recently. Asked me to help him out. Told me to go wait outside while he spoke to you.”

“So why the smiles? You never smile.”

His response was genuine, whether it applied to the situation or otherwise.

“Do you know how rare it is anyone in authority asks me to do something? The respect alone is incentive to help out this shaman person.”

“Did you tell him my name?”

Another pointed delay in his response kept the mood down.

“Well, yeah, he was asking about you. What, should I have only referred to you as ‘That Guy’?”

There was logic in the statement. Instead of pressing further, Razel decided to turn the conversation somewhere useful. He cleared his throat loudly.

“So what else did he tell you about this ‘thing’ they’re sending us after?”

“Only that it appears to be nocturnal, and that nobody has come back. It steals children. Nothing else.”

“Does it sound like the thing you saw elsewhere?”

“I only ever saw that thing when it was dead. It fits the stories, though. Abductions, nobody returning, nocturnal activity…”

“I suppose we’ll find out for certain when we locate it. It looks like the Sun here is setting soon; we should be able to make more progress in the dark.”

Rokh was gone, leaving me to contemplate his description. Fire and ice. Glacier and volcano. I spent a few minutes taking in the monolith, running my fingers over the carvings and noting the flashes of the owners that rose within my mind. Two of them were scratched out, with a definitive animosity in doing so. I began to think about Rokh, and what exactly he expected me to do. I suppose he just expected me to succeed, and didn’t care for the methodology. I slipped away from the outpost and fell again through the world.

Searching for ANYTHING was obscenely difficult within the eternities. The now familiar smothering embrace of the space between spaces was comforting, in a way. I began to reach out to the places around me, mentally ‘feeling’ them out. Experiencing a conglomerate of their energies gave me the faintest idea of their constituencies, with some being very much more obvious than others. Faint images of the places themselves manifested within my mind’s eye, and I saw a gallery of locales separated by interminable distances yet still ‘close’ to each other. When the dull orange glow lit the glacier behind my eyes, I tore them open, stepping into the realm they depicted.

The river of molten rock was flanked by a series of spires that looked as though they had been thrust through the ground below. It poured from an opening at the base of the nearby peak. A fall over the edge of the cliff a short distance from the cave bored a hole within the glacier below, the great cavern excavated by the heat and glowing with residual warmth. The flow was visibly lit through the ice of the glacier itself, leaving a sinuous orange trail flickering beneath my feet. I followed it to the cascade, then dropped into the opening beneath.

A frigid causeway carried the boiling rock beneath the ice, while I managed to completely ignore the overwhelming heat contained within. A steady dripping echoed behind the slow rumble of the flow, the perfectly smooth walls continuing on for the length of the glacier. I took a moment to return to my mindfulness, noting the oddly alluring draw of the ice around me. The overall aura of the ice out there was entirely foreign. This frozen wasteland was intrinsically different from the one I had come from, or at least, I felt that it was. I still had troubles with clearly remembering anything before I arrived at the Academy. The lava fall chamber had a pair of doors cut out of the ice on opposite sides, one looking unfinished and half-dug while the other held a purer, white glow beyond. I stepped from one molten shore to the other, taking a shortcut between spaces. The temperature began to drop as I approached the opening, and Rokh was waiting for me within. Steam billowed from him as he sat, reclined, in the far corner, illuminated by a suspended magical lamp.

The moonlight gradually broke through the woods, heralding the ruins nestled neatly within a massive sinkhole that had opened up aeons ago. The lack of trees gave a clear view to the sky above. The edge of the sinkhole was lined with a free-hanging mess of roots, each reaching vainly for any and all it could grab while providing a climb into the hole itself. The large pyramidal complex was built with four steps, each forming a polygonal terrace at its level. The six sides met in a crumbled point, and a series of small buildings were strewn about its base. The power thrumming within it was almost tangible. Razel crouched down and looked around for any sort of clues.

“See anything?”

“There’s a lot of malevolence residing in this place. More than just whatever the elves’ problem is. I think-“

The screech into the night cut him off, drawing both of their attentions to the third level of the pyramid. A Humanoid figure stepped out of the shadows, strolling dully down the steps and coming directly towards the two ‘walkers. Razel raised two fingers to his lips and closed his eyes, prompting Sudaj to do the same as they suppressed their magical auras to avoid detection. The thing strode roughly halfway towards them, and then leapt from the sinkhole floor clear to the top of the trees above. They watched as it streaked by, unable to make out further detail. The silence following left them wondering if it had gone, their curiosity only to be dispelled by another screech deeper within the forest.

“Well, whatever it is, it moves fast.”

Razel agreed.

“As should we. Do you have a good enough view of the ground from here?”

“I can just go a few feet above. A short drop won’t hurt me.”

Razel shrugged again, turning to face the base of the Pyramid’s stairs as he appeared precisely there. The sudden openness behind him left the ‘walker uncomfortable, feelings of vulnerability beginning to creep in. Sudaj landed beside him in a loud heap. By the time he had gotten to his feet, Razel was already inspecting the seams of the stones along the stairs. A small stain held his attention as Sudaj craned over him to get a good look.

“…what is it?”

“Blood. Oil. It’s old, and it’s dark. I can’t tell right now. It could be either or both.”

Together they began to ascend the stairs, the first two levels passing without incident. A smell began to emanate from the third level as they drew near, something undeniably foul and offensive. The sound of soft weeping lilted towards them, and as they stepped into the den they were met by a grisly display. Bodies were chained to the various support pillars, several mummified as the midday heat baked them. Fluids of multiple varieties were strewn about the floor, while some showed signs of a very unsuccessful attempt to sop them up. Razel seemed less affected by the gore and more by the fact that it was there.

“This isn’t right.”

Sudaj looked at him as though he had said something painfully obvious.

“Absolutely not. Do you see the bite marks on these things? It’s as though that creature kept them alive to feed for extended periods of time. Is…Is that that thing’s? ...Awful.”

“Not what I meant. This…this is too messy. It doesn’t make sense. There’s too much unused, too much waste. Too much…”

He gestured as he tried to articulate his thoughts.

“-meat.”

Rokh stood as I came closer, seemingly surprised that I was already there.

“Very well done. How did you find this place specifically?”

“Well, like you said – it was obvious. I felt around the places ‘nearby’ and came to the first one that felt right.”

“And that is what makes me glad to be training you – you quickly learn the things that can’t be taught.”

There were many things I learned. Rokh went on to teach me small, seemingly inconsequential things that could eventually come in handy. As he showed me plane after plane, he filled me with random tidbits of knowledge and trivia. I learned to follow him from place to place by reaching into the scar he left behind, as well as the best ways to attempt to blend in. After my ‘training’ had come to a brief break, we returned to the Academy. Rokh saw me off.

“I’ll come back for you when we’re ready to start your next course. Until then, feel free to take any other classes you’d like, go to the arena, whatever strikes your fancy.”

For the first time I could recall, he reached into his pockets and pulled a small carved stone, an Idol shaved from pumice. He tossed it to me.

“This’ll let you know if I need you sooner, and vice versa. Just focus on me and say what you want to say.”

Sudaj followed his compatriot from a slight distance, his confusion growing as Razel meandered about, taking in the scene and muttering to himself.

“Completely wrong…not at all one of them…Am I really that Paranoid?”

Sudaj narrowed his eyes as realization set in.

“So obviously you know more than you’re letting on. What is it?”

“What, the thing here or the thing you found?”

Razel drooped his head as he realized he had just admitted his guilt. He sighed heavily and began to explain.

“I don’t know what the thing here is, but I have a vague idea. As for the thing you found, I have reason to believe it was a Phyrexian.”

The whimpering played the part of the cricket as Sudaj stared blankly at him, the word completely meaningless. Seeing the vacancy, Razel continued.

“I’ll give you the short version. Phyrexia is a biomechanical realm of Evil that seeks to remake the entirety of the Multiverse in their own image. They’re a disease. An infection. I had heard that the original Phyrexia had been decimated, however due to the nature of their Oil, they have probably risen again elsewhere.”

Razel’s eyes flickered with sad memory, recalling his last trip to Mirrodin.

“Oil? Like outside?”

“I thought it might be oil, but it’s probably blood. No, Phyrexian oil is a glistening black fluid that corrupts and mutates everything it touches. It is their greatest weapon. A single drop will, with time enough, rebuild Phyrexia in its entirety. I fear this has happened.”

“So how do you know this thing isn’t a ‘Phyrexian’?”

“There’s too much mess. A Phyrexian in these circumstances would be scouting for recruits or information. There would be no bodies, no blood, and no entrails. No waste. Everything would be used or repurposed. Everything. It’s both relieving and worrying that I was wrong, though.”

“How so?”

“The only way to be rid of an infection is complete removal. You’d have to get rid of literally every iota the thing had touched. Planeswalkers have a much higher tolerance for it than most things, but even we can succumb. If there had been multiple, the only way to be certain is to decimate the Plane they’re on.”

“As in…destroy? An entire Plane?”

“Think of it as triage. Excise one realm of existence to ensure the safety of all others.”

The screech drove into the room, echoing off of the open spaces. The two ‘walkers looked to each other as the rest of the noises stopped. The screech came again, but closer this time. A distant wailing began to grow louder as the creature brought another victim with it. Sudaj looked to his compatriot for suggestions. Razel shrugged.

“Guess we’ll just deal with it now.”