Rune Seeker

Chapter 84: Second Seal

“That’s the seal?” Hiral asked as Odi walked over to join the party.

“And you went to get it while we were dealing with the Mid-Bosses?” Nivian asked.

“Yes,” Odi said to Hiral. Then he looked at Nivian. “And, since they seemed to be monsters, I figured you could handle them. What good would I have been hiding?”

“You could’ve at least said something,” Nivian said.

“It’s fine, Nivian,” Seena said. “Saves us some time, and we can use it to recover before we go deal with Ur’Thul.”

“Can I see those?” Hiral asked, holding out his hands, and Odi passed the small discs over.

Dynamic Quest Complete

Seal Located: 1/1

Congratulations! Achievement unlocked – The Flametastic Four (Three?)

You defeated the guardians and retrieved the second seal.

Please access a Dungeon Interface to unlock class-specific reward.

These are definitely the second seal, then…

Dynamic Quest: Update

Secure the two seals.

Seals acquired (2/2)

Seal the Urn of Ur’Thul.

Urns sealed (0/1)

Bonus Objective: Defeat Ur’Thul the Undying

Quest updates mean just one step left. Then what? Will we actually be stopping the undead?

Since Hiral didn’t have a real answer to his own question, he asked Odi the next best thing. “Do you happen to have a book on these?”

“No,” Odi said. “I didn’t build them. Don’t know much about how they function, other than their purpose.”

“How do we know they’ll work?” Wule asked.

Odi shrugged. “We have to pray they do. My seal, based on what the Ancestor used, will only deal with the energy of the Urn. Based on what little I know of these, they will physically restrain it, making it impossible to access. Somehow.”

“And we’re sure there’s no way we can just outright destroy the Urn?” Wule asked.

“None that I’m aware of,” Odi said. “The seals are our best bet to take it out of play. We activate my seal to steal its power, then place it with the Urn and activate the humans’ seal to lock them both away forever.”

“Pretty sure it won’t be that simple,” Yanily said. “Never is.”

“We’ll deal with whatever comes up,” Seena said. She looked over at Left and the golden banner in his hand. “You okay keeping that out a bit longer?”

“Absolutely,” Left said.

“It really saved us against the Dracolich,” Hiral said to his double. “Thanks.”

“Sorry it took so long to fend off the fear effect before I could shape it,” Left said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Hiral said. “You made it in time.”

“Okay, folks,” Seena interrupted, “we’ve got one more thing to deal with here. The biggest thing. Rest up for a bit before we move out. And, yes, Hiral, you can study the seals until it’s time to go. Just, if you feel like you’re going to explode, put them in your ring for later.”

“Fine.” Hiral sat down with the others and reabsorbed Right to help get him back up to full energy. He’d get Left while they were moving. “Hey, Odi, you said these were made to trap the Fallen?”

“Or so I was told,” Odi said.

“Do you know how powerful the Fallen are?” Hiral asked, his eyes tracing the sinuous runic script within the crystals. It wasn’t the same as his runes—single concepts—but closer to a combination between the runes and the double helix across his body. Entire sentences or equations twisting in on themselves over and over.

“I don’t,” Odi said. “All I know is the humans were afraid of them. Just as afraid of them as they were the squids, and that tells me they’re terrifying.”

“Any idea how many?” Hiral asked, but Odi shook his head again.

Okay, he doesn’t know much about the Fallen, or I’m asking the wrong questions. But the Lizardmen would’ve gotten these seals a long, long time ago. Does that mean we captured some? Wait, didn’t one of Dr. Benza’s assistants talk about captured Fallen? The seal must’ve worked. That just leaves the question of where the captured Fallen are.

“Interesting stuff?” Seena asked, sitting down with her sister beside Hiral.

“Stuff that’s way beyond me, at least right now,” Hiral said. “It kind of feels like I’d be able to figure it out, given enough time.”

“The one thing we don’t have,” Seena said.

“Yeah,” Hiral said, shaking his head at the complicated script within the crystal before threading solar energy into his Interspatial Ring to absorb the seals. “Guessing that’s not what you came to talk to me about, though.”

The sisters shared a look. “No, it’s not,” Seena admitted. “Wanted your opinion on something.”

“What’s on your mind?” Hiral asked.

Seena looked at Odi, who’d gone over to chat with Nivian and Wule. “Given the last few Mid-Bosses we fought, I’m a little worried about what Ur’Thul is going to throw at us. I talked to Li’l Ur about it”—the lich was floating above her shoulder—“and he says what we fought in the necropolis was just a small fraction of the lich’s power.”

“Ah,” Hiral said with a nod. “You’re worried about Odi getting caught up in the fight before he can activate the seals. Do you think the dungeon would let something happen to him?”

“We’ve had escort quests, and we’ve seen NPCs get attacked,” Seena said. “End of the day, I don’t want to rely on what the dungeon may or may not do to protect him.”

“And your plan has something to do with Seeyela?” Hiral asked as he looked at the other woman, who’d taken her spider-eyed helmet off. “A portal out?”

“Yes, and maybe a bodyguard,” Seena said. “If we get him out of harm’s way, we need to make sure he stays out of it until we’re ready for him.”

“Seena wants me to stay with the Lizardman instead of helping the rest of you with the Boss,” Seeyela said, obviously not thrilled about the idea.

Hiral wasn’t sure he was either. “Her venom could be really useful against Ur’Thul. He’s bound to have a lot of solar energy, which would make her daggers even more effective.”

“I know,” Seena said. “But if something else comes along to bash Odi’s head in when he’s out of sight?”

“We might have to risk it,” Hiral said. “If Ur’Thul is as strong as he could be, we’re going to need her. I agree getting Odi away is a good idea, but Seeyela should come right back. The sooner we kill the lich, the sooner it’s safe to seal the Urn, and that’s better for everybody.”

Seena thought it over for a few seconds, then nodded. “I guess you two are right.”

“Apparently her older sister’s opinion isn’t good enough on its own anymore,” Seeyela said, gently elbowing Seena in the ribs.

“How are your injuries? Both of you?” Hiral asked. They’d said they were fine, but…

“We’re both good,” Seena said. “You were hurt worse than us against the behemoth, and look at you now.”

“Wule patched us right up,” Seeyela said. “The new healing abilities he got are effective.”

“Then I guess it’s just a matter of getting enough solar energy, and it’ll be time to end this,” Hiral said.

“After we get out of here, maybe at the next Asylum, I’m really going to need to sit down and try to wrap my head around everything that’s happened,” Seena said. “Did we really take part in making all this happen when we stole the Urn from the Forge? Or what we did in the necropolis?”

“Great questions,” Hiral said with a shrug. “I’m kind of putting off thinking about it, like you.”

“We all are,” Seeyela said. “But we’ve made good time, all things considered. When we get to the Asylum, we’ll have some wiggle-room for downtime before we need to rush to the jump point. Plus, with the advanced classes, Dr. Benza should tell us what we need to do to save Fallen Reach without having to reach C-Rank.”

“Don’t say downtime too loudly,” Seena said, looking over at the twins. “Nivian will plan a feast.”

“And Wule will complain the entire time,” Seeyela agreed. “Then again, I wouldn’t mind a small feast to celebrate making it that far.”

“He practically carries a feast around with him in his ring,” Hiral pointed out.

“Still not the same as when he gets his apron out,” Seeyela joked.

“I half-think it’s a magic apron,” Seena said. “It’s like it adds a level of flavor just by him wearing it.”

“How much you want to bet he’ll get some kind of ability evolution before we get back home?” Seeyela asked.

“With how much he loves cooking for us, no way I’m taking that bet,” Seena said, and the two sisters chuckled.

Seeing them together like that, for once not thinking about life or death—even if just for a few seconds—they really did look alike. The way their mouths curled up at the corners, the sparkle in their eyes, and how each’s laughter fit perfectly with the other.

Even considering how much had gone wrong since they’d come down to the surface, at least they’d been able to do that one thing right—saving Seeyela. But, seeing the two sisters like that reminded Hiral of the third girl who also shared their resemblance: Favela, Seeyela’s daughter. Just one of the many people they needed to save.

“Uh oh, looks like somebody is thinking about the serious stuff again,” Seeyela said, her laughter dying down as she looked at Hiral.

“Sorry,” Hiral said. “I ruined the moment.”

“At least we had one,” Seena said. “Even though I don’t know what you’re thinking, you’re probably right. We should get going. You both doing okay on solar energy?”

“Cycling has made a huge difference,” Seeyela said. “Plus the banner. I’ll be good in a few minutes.”

“How about the rest of you?” Seena asked louder to the others. “Almost ready to go?”

“Ready when you are, boss,” Nivian said, his brother and Yanily both nodding.

“Okay, then, break’s over,” she said, standing up and clapping her hands together. “Odi, let’s see if that amulet of yours really works.

“It’s time to go smack a lich.”