The early evening air was getting colder now, about 6:30 PM and twilight was starting to creep in, Temperature had dropped to 14°C and Alucent could see his breath making little puffs when he exhaled, The golden light from before was fading into that purple-orange glow that came right before dark.
They were in a clearing now on Eryndral's outskirts, and it looked like something bad had happened here recently, The Runepaths were scorched, their usual amber glow flickering weak and inconsistent, Glowroses were wilting all over the place, their petals brown and curled up like they'd been burned from the inside.
This place feels wrong, like something poisoned it from underneath.
Steamcottages dotted the clearing, their brass chimneys still putting out steam at around 70°C, making thick columns that looked ghostly in the twilight, There was a Runewell in the center, about 1.5 meters across, probably worth 120 Silverweaves if it was working right, but it was just flickering on and off like a broken light.
"We should make camp here" Sir Vorn said, dismounting from his horse "The night brings dangers we're not prepared to face while traveling"
Alucent looked around at the damaged clearing and nodded, At least there was shelter, and one of the Steamcottages looked empty, probably abandoned when whatever happened here went down.
"That one there" he said, pointing to a cottage on the edge of the clearing "Looks like nobody's home, We can use it for the night"
The cottage was small but decent, maybe 100 square meters with a working Forgepit glowing orange in the corner, There was even a Steamsewer still active, which meant hot water and basic comfort, Not bad for free lodging.
Gryan parked the Steamcart next to the cottage, his enhanced mechanical arm still humming with power from the dual-rune, "I'll need to do some maintenance on the cart" he said "That fight with the scout put some strain on the systems"
They'd barely gotten settled when Alucent felt something wrong with the air, Like electricity before a storm, but darker and more twisted, The Voidshard they'd found was still in his pack, wrapped in cloth, but he could feel it pulsing with that bad energy.
I need to do something about this thing before it makes everything worse.
"Sir Vorn" he said, pulling out the wrapped crystal "This Voidshard, it's getting more active, I think it's trying to connect to something"
The weave leader looked at the dark fragment with concern "Voidshards grow stronger when they're near their source" he said "If this one's becoming active, then we're getting close to whatever's been corrupting this area"
Raya was cleaning her Weaveblade by the Forgepit, but she looked up when she heard them talking about the shard "Those things are dangerous to carry" she said "I've seen what they can do to people who hold them too long"
What does she mean by that? Sounds like she's got experience with this stuff.
Alucent pulled out his Runequill, feeling those borrowed memories stirring again, showing him something new, A sealing rune, way more complex than anything he'd tried before, designed to contain corrupted energy instead of just disrupting it.
"I think I can seal it" he said "Make it safe to carry, at least for a while"
"Sealing work requires Thread 2 mastery" Sir Vorn said "Are you certain you're ready for such advanced inscription?"
Honestly? No, I'm not sure at all, But we can't just leave this thing loose.
"Only one way to find out" Alucent said, getting out a small brass plate he'd bought from Gryan for 5 Copperweaves "I'll etch the sealing rune on this, then bind the shard to it"
The pattern was really complex, about 6 square centimeters of intricate lines that had to connect in exactly the right way, As he started working, he could feel his Runeforce flowing different, more controlled but also more intense, The borrowed memories were guiding him, but it still felt like walking a tightrope.
Tavin was sitting by the fire, still holding that Glowrose he'd picked up earlier, His eyes went distant again and he started talking in that whispered voice "The visions are clearer now" he said "I can see him, Eloha, working with something called the Void Rune, It's like a master key that unlocks all the corruption"
A Void Rune? That sounds really bad.
"What does this Void Rune look like?" Raya asked, moving closer to hear better.
"Dark crystal, bigger than a person, covered in symbols that hurt to look at" Tavin's voice was shaky "He's using it to corrupt the Loom of Threads itself, trying to rewrite how Runeforce works in this world"
The Loom of Threads, that's the foundation of everything magical here, If someone's messing with that...
Alucent kept working on the sealing rune, the lines glowing white as they formed on the brass plate, This was way harder than the dual-runes from before, requiring precise control of his Runeforce, One mistake and the whole thing would backfire, probably badly.
The warmth in his chest was building again, but this time it felt different, more focused but also more dangerous, He could sense the Shadowcage Taboos lurking at the edge of his awareness, ready to cause problems if he pushed too hard, Vision distortion was one of the risks, and he really didn't need that right now.
Almost there, just a few more lines to complete the pattern.
When he finished the sealing rune, the whole brass plate blazed with white light, then settled into a steady glow, He carefully placed the Voidshard on the plate, and immediately the dark energy was contained, no more of that crawling feeling on his skin.
"Excellent work" Sir Vorn said with approval "Thread 2 sealing, that's advanced technique for someone who just achieved Coppermark level"
Actually feels good to accomplish something like this, Maybe I'm getting the hang of this magic stuff after all.
But their moment of success got interrupted by sounds from the forest edge, Footsteps, but different from the heavy mechanical march of the Rune-Armor scout, These were lighter, more fluid, like someone trying to be sneaky but not quite managing it.
"Shadebinder" Raya said, standing up quick and grabbing her Weaveblade "I can smell the corruption from here"
The figure that stepped into the clearing was tall, about 6 feet, wearing a tattered cloak that seemed to absorb light, Red eyes glowed from under the hood, and in one hand it carried a whip made from what looked like pure Voidshard energy, about 1 meter long and crackling with dark power.
This is bad, really bad, That whip looks like it could cut through anything.
"You have taken what belongs to the Void" the Shadebinder said, its voice like grinding metal "Return the shard, and your deaths will be swift"
"I'm afraid we must decline your generous offer" Raya said, her Weaveblade already in guard position "The shard remains with us"
The Shadebinder didn't waste time talking after that, It lashed out with the Voidshard whip, the energy weapon moving fast enough to blur, The strike would have taken about 3 seconds from start to finish if it had connected.
Gryan's enhanced mechanical arm moved to intercept, the dual-rune giving him just enough speed to deflect the whip, Sparks flew where the Voidshard energy hit brass, and the impact sent vibrations up his arm, but the deflection worked, taking about 2 seconds.
Now's my chance, while it's recovering from that attack.
Alucent knelt quick, etching another sealing rune directly on the ground where the Shadebinder stood, This one was smaller, designed to disrupt the connection between the creature and its whip, The inscription took him about 5 seconds, his hands moving fast while the fight continued around him.
Raya was already attacking, her Weaveblade cutting toward the Shadebinder's cloak, The crystal edge found its mark, slicing through the dark fabric and drawing some kind of black blood, The creature hissed and stumbled back.
"The corruption runs deeper than I thought" she said, breathing hard "This thing used to be human"
Used to be human? That's horrifying, What does this Eloha guy do to people?
The sealing rune activated just as the Shadebinder tried to use its whip again, The connection between creature and weapon flickered, and the Voidshard energy dispersed, leaving the thing holding just empty air.
"Impossible" it snarled "The Void cannot be contained"
"Apparently it can" Alucent said, standing up from his inscription "And we just proved it"
Without its whip, the Shadebinder was way less dangerous, Raya pressed her attack, her Weaveblade finding gaps in the creature's defenses, The fight lasted maybe ten seconds total before the thing decided it had enough and started retreating toward the forest.
"Let it go" Sir Vorn said when Gryan moved to pursue "We've learned what we needed to know"
The Shadebinder disappeared into the trees, leaving behind only some drops of that black blood and the memory of its red eyes, But there was something else too, a small pouch that had fallen from its cloak during the fight.
Alucent picked it up, finding 15 Silverweaves inside, Real money again, seems like these corrupted things always carried payment for something.
"More payment" he said, pocketing the coins "Starting to think this corruption is pretty profitable, at least for us"
This brings me up to 35 Silverweaves total, That's decent money for someone who got here with nothing.
Raya sat down on a wooden crate near the Forgepit, her green eyes looking tired in the firelight, "I've fought Shadebinders before" she said quietly "Back when they first started appearing, before we knew what they really were"
She sounds like she's got a story there, Wonder if she'll actually tell it.
"They were people once, weren't they?" Alucent asked, sitting down across from her "The way you looked at it when you said the corruption runs deep"
Raya nodded slowly "My younger brother Marcus was one of the first" she said "Disappeared during a trading mission to the eastern settlements, We found him three weeks later, changed into something like what we just fought"
Her voice was steady, but Alucent could see the pain in her eyes, That scar on her face probably had something to do with that story too.
"I had to fight him" she continued "Had to use my Weaveblade on someone I'd grown up with, taught to use a sword, The worst part was that he recognized me, even after the corruption, He begged me to end it"
That's horrible, Having to fight your own family because of some magical corruption.
"I'm sorry" Alucent said "That must have been really hard to go through"
"It was" Raya said "But it's also why I'm here, why I fight these things, Nobody else should have to make that choice"
Tavin was still sitting by the fire, the Glowrose in his hands pulsing with soft light, but his eyes were unfocused again, looking at something the rest of them couldn't see.
"The visions are getting stronger" he said "I can see the Void Rune more clearly now, It's massive, maybe 3 meters across, and it's connected to dozens of smaller shards scattered through the forest"
3 meters across? That's huge, How much power would something like that have?
"Eloha's using the shards to map the runefoce currents" Tavin continued "Like nodes in a network, feeding information back to the Void Rune, He knows where every Runewell is, every magical creature, every person who uses Runeforce"
"A surveillance network" Sir Vorn said grimly "Using corrupted shards to monitor magical activity across the region"
That means he probably knows we're here, knows what we're doing, We're not hunting him, he's watching us.
Gryan was working on his Steamcart, but he looked up when he heard them talking "If that's true, then every shard we find and seal cuts off part of his network" he said "Makes him a little more blind"
"Precisely why we must continue" Sir Vorn said "Each sealed shard weakens his ability to coordinate attacks"
The Voidshard they'd sealed was sitting on the brass plate, its dark energy contained but still visible through the white glow of the sealing rune, Looking at it, Alucent could almost feel the connection it used to have, like phantom pain from a severed limb.
I wonder if I could trace that connection somehow, figure out where it was connecting to.
"Sir Vorn" he said "Is there a way to trace the Runeforce connection these shards have? Like following a thread back to its source?"
"Theoretically, yes" the weave leader said "But such work would require Thread 3 mastery, Silvermark level, That's advanced indeed"
Thread 3, that's way beyond where I am now, But maybe there's another way.
As if responding to his thoughts, the sealed Voidshard pulsed once, and for just a moment Alucent could sense something, A direction, like a compass needle pointing toward magnetic north, pointing deeper into the forest where the corruption was strongest.
"I felt something" he said "Just for a second, like the shard was pointing toward its source"
"The corruption calls to its own kind" Sir Vorn said "Even sealed, these fragments retain some connection to the Void Rune, That could be useful for tracking, but also dangerous"
Dangerous how? What's he not telling us?
Before Sir Vorn could explain, the air around them started changing, The temperature dropped another few degrees, and there was this pressure building, like the atmosphere itself was getting heavier, The scorched Runepaths began glowing brighter, but with an unhealthy purple light instead of their normal amber.
"Runestorm approaching" Gryan said, looking up at the sky "Can feel it in the metal of my arm, The Runeforce currents are going wild"
Above them, clouds were gathering fast, way faster than natural weather, and there were flashes of violet lightning crackling between them, Not normal lightning, but something charged with raw Runeforce.
A Runestorm, great, Just what we needed on top of everything else.
"Everyone inside the cottage, now" Sir Vorn ordered "Runestorms can kill anyone caught in the open"
They grabbed their gear quick and ran for the abandoned Steamcottage, The first drops of rain started falling just as they got through the door, and where the water hit the ground, it left little scorch marks, like acid.
The cottage was basic but solid, One main room with the Forgepit still glowing, providing heat and light, There were some old furnishings, a table, couple of chairs, and sleeping rolls stacked in the corner, Previous owners left in a hurry by the look of it.
Outside, the storm was getting worse, Violet lightning struck one of the damaged Runepaths, and the whole line blazed with corrupted energy, The sound was like thunder mixed with breaking glass, loud enough to make their ears ring.
"This is no natural storm" Raya said, looking out through the small window "Someone's using the corrupted network to amplify it"
The sealed Voidshard on its brass plate was reacting to the storm, the white glow of the sealing rune flickering like it was under pressure, Alucent could feel the strain through his connection to the inscription.
The storm's trying to break the seal, I can feel it pulling at the rune.
"The sealing rune is holding, but barely" he said "This storm is putting stress on all the magical inscriptions"
Tavin was sitting in the corner, the Glowrose in his hands now pulsing in rhythm with the lightning outside, His eyes were completely unfocused, lost in whatever visions the storm was bringing.
"He's coming" Tavin whispered "Eloha knows we're here, The storm is his calling card, his way of announcing himself"
His way of announcing himself? This whole storm is just a message?
"How long do these storms usually last?" Alucent asked Sir Vorn.
"Natural Runestorms, perhaps an hour" Sir Vorn replied "But this one... I fear this may continue until dawn"
Great, trapped in a cottage all night with a corrupted storm trying to break our magical defenses.
Gryan was examining his mechanical arm by the Forgepit light, The dual-rune was still working, but the storm was affecting it too, making the gears move a little jerky, "The Runeforce interference is playing havoc with my enhancement" he said "If this keeps up, the inscription might fail"
Raya sat down at the table, her cloak folded beside her, The scar on her face looked deeper in the firelight, and she seemed to be thinking about something painful.
"You know" she said after a while "Fighting that Shadebinder brought back memories I'd rather forget"
She's thinking about her brother again, the one she had to fight.
"Want to talk about it?" Alucent asked, moving his chair closer to the table "Sometimes it helps to get these things out"
Raya looked at him for a moment, like she was deciding whether to trust him "Marcus was my twin" she said finally "We did everything together, learned to fight together, even started studying Rune magic together"
Twin brother, that makes it even worse.
"When he disappeared, I thought maybe bandits had taken him, or wild animals" she continued "The corruption was still new then, we didn't understand what it could do to people"
Outside, another bolt of violet lightning struck, and the whole cottage shook with the impact, The Forgepit flared brighter for a moment, then settled back to its normal glow.
"When we found him, he was still wearing the same clothes, still had his sword, but his eyes were red and he moved like a puppet on strings" Raya's voice was getting quieter "He attacked our search party without warning, nearly killed two of our friends before I could stop him"
"How did you stop him?" Alucent asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
"I didn't" Raya said "He stopped himself, The corruption hadn't taken everything yet, and when he saw what he was doing, he begged me to end it before he lost control completely"
She touched the scar on her face unconsciously "This was his last gift to me, A reminder that sometimes the only way to save someone is to let them go"
That's really heavy, No wonder she's so serious about fighting this corruption stuff.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that" Alucent said "But you saved him from becoming something worse, That took courage"
"Did it?" Raya asked "Or was I just too weak to find another way?"
There probably wasn't another way, Not with corruption that advanced.
"You gave him peace" Alucent said "Sometimes that's the most courageous thing you can do"
Raya looked at him with something like surprise "You speak as though you've faced such choices yourself"
Have I? Not exactly the same, but I've lost people too, back in my world.
"Different circumstances" he said "But yeah, I've had to let go of people I cared about, It's never easy"
The storm outside was getting worse, Violet lightning striking every few seconds now, and the cottage was starting to feel like a ship in rough seas, creaking and shaking with each impact, The sealed Voidshard was pulsing faster, the sealing rune working hard to contain its energy.
"The seal won't hold much longer" Alucent said "This storm is feeding power to every corrupted thing in the area"
"Then we must be prepared to flee when it breaks" Sir Vorn said "A free Voidshard in the middle of a Runestorm could be catastrophic"
Just then, Tavin made a sound like he was choking, His eyes rolled back and the Glowrose in his hands flared bright enough to hurt, When he spoke, his voice was different, older and more commanding.
"The Void sees all, knows all, Your defiance only delays the inevitable" the voice said through Tavin "Eloha extends his invitation one final time, Join willingly, or be consumed"
That's not Tavin talking anymore, something else is using him as a mouthpiece.
"Tavin!" Raya shook his shoulder "Fight it, don't let it take control"
The possessed look faded from Tavin's eyes and he blinked, confused and scared "Did I say something?" he asked "I felt like I was falling, like something was pulling me down into darkness"
"You're alright" Alucent said "Just stay close to us, don't let the visions take you too deep"
But even as he said it, he could feel something changing, The storm outside was building to something bigger, and the sealed Voidshard was pulsing in rhythm with the lightning, like it was part of some larger pattern.
We're not just hiding from a storm, we're sitting in the middle of something planned, Something that's been building for a while.
The violet lightning struck again, closer this time, and through the window they could see other lights moving in the forest, Red glows that could only be more Shadebinders, drawn by the storm or maybe summoned by it.
"Sir Vorn" Alucent said "I think we're about to have more company"
The weave leader looked out the window and cursed under his breath "A full hunting party" he said "At least six Shadebinders, maybe more"
Six of them? We barely handled one.
"The storm's not just weather" Gryan said, his mechanical arm sparking as the Runeforce interference increased "It's a beacon, calling all the corrupted things in the forest to this spot"
The sealing rune on the brass plate flickered dangerously, and Alucent could feel his connection to it straining, The Voidshard was fighting harder against its containment, feeding off the storm's power.
"I can't hold the seal much longer" he said "The storm's too strong"
"Then we must prepare to fight" Sir Vorn said "Or find another way to survive the night"
Outside, the violet lightning was striking constantly now, and the red glows in the forest were getting closer, The abandoned cottage suddenly felt a lot less safe, more like a trap waiting to spring.
As the storm built to its peak and the Shadebinders closed in, Alucent realized they were about to face their biggest challenge yet, With a failing seal, a corrupted storm, and enemies surrounding them, their chances of seeing dawn were looking pretty slim.
The real test of Thread 2 mastery was about to begin.