"Good day, welcome, is there anything I can help you with, let me know" Will, voice sounded from the counter as a new costumer entered the shop. It was still morning and it was rare for someone to come this early, but as the tall figure walked in front of him, his enthusiasm died out "Oh, it is you Master Blue, good to see you are alive still"
The tall man in front of Will, smiled at the clerk "Well, that is a heartwarming welcome if I ever heard one, good to see you are alive as well Will" he said with a big smile. Will wanted to bite his tongue, he did not like Blue that much, be he was good, he should have been more polite.
"I am sorry, Mr. Blue, I was just surprised to see you, it's been how long, three years?"
"Yeah, something of that matter Will, how's been business?"
"We haven't closed which should be considered a victory"
"That bad?"
"This last months have been what's killing us, since the vanguard had been controlling the entrance to the Vault, and checking for a minimal level before entry, our map sells how drop a lot, and that is our steady income" Will explained with a concerned face, and Blue nodded.
"Well that sucks, but I have brought some good stuff" as Blue spoked, he took several books from his bag of holding, and placed them on the counter, Will eyes lit up, and started inspecting them.
"You manage to find some of the request, 'Runecraft by Night', and 'Enchanting Charms', incredible, with this two alone, we could secure this months expenses" Will said happy as he took the books from Blue, but stopped when he saw one "You found 'Curse in Place'?" the clerk asked surprised, he had send the name of the book to Blue, just over a month ago.
"I had it with me by chance, who wants it?" Blue asked curious, he had the book for over a year, it was the record of a warlock about curses tide to locations, it a was a very detailed work.
"A scholar, miss Aura, she comes here rather often, looking for different things, but most of them related to magical theory" Will explained as he checked the last books Blue placed on the counter.
"How long has she been in Neverglenn?" Blue asked curious
"Well over a year, perhaps two already, she does not talk much, but from what I know she works with the Mage Quarters, and she works runecraft, and spell scribing" those were some good news, he needed to talk replenish some of the spells he just used.
"You think with these books will help?" Blue asked as he noted how Will had finished checking the books and made his mental calculations.
"Yeah, you came at the right time Blue, it was about time we made some more money" Will said happy "You will use your usual room? I have the reports since you left" the clerk had a small key on his hand already and offered to Blue, he went to the small office behind him, and came back, with a lot of parchments, like the ones Ereski had given him, at the adventurers guild.
"Yes, thank you" Blue grabbed the key and the rest of the papers, and was about to head to one of the rooms on the back, they were there to consult the books, but before he went further, he noticed, how Will seemed much more confident, he used to always be a bit nervous when he was around "Did you leveled?"
"You noticed?" Will face look proud "I did, I had been stuck for a while, but finally my studies have paid up" the clerk said with a grin.
"Well congratulations, Will, keep up the good work" Blue patted his shoulder, and went his way to the last of the small rooms, on the back, next to the counter. For all that Neverglenn had changed, at least this place has not. 'Guides and Tales' was a curious bookstore, located relatively near the adventurer's guild and the mage quarters.
The bookstore originally was two houses, that were brought and repurposed, the bookstore had opened, just as Neverglenn had been secured after the Vault opened, it was well known though not that many visited it.
Blue opened the last room on the far right, there were three others like this one, but Blue always took this one. The room was small, it had a large window that led the light inside it, it had a big table and a just four comfortable chairs. Blue took from his bag, the records that Ereski from the adventurer's guild had given him.
It was a lot of information, and he intended to review it, the inn, was not the best place for discretion, so he had decided to come to here, he also wanted to bring the books he had gathered, so he killed two birds with one stone. He sighed at the amount of information, and without giving it much thought he began going through the guild records.
The oldest ones were from almost four years ago, a just a few months after he had left Neverglenn. They were all about the advancements of the retaking of a part of Midy. It had taken an incredible effort to establish it, and the adventurers had been dispatched in the surrounding area, a systematic culling of the loose creatures had been already in motion, but it became much more aggressive. Adventurers over platinum, had been send inside the Vault, and the watch secured the area, the lower rankers were sent to secure the surrounding areas.
New farmlands had been regained, and the adventurers were finding easier to deal with the monsters, as no new ones were coming from the Vault. It took three years after establishing the vanguard post inside Midy, to control the Outskirts and one entrance to the Vault. The ruined city had become rubble, and it had sunken in several parts, two more entrances to the Vault had already been discovered, so the priority was securing those, and trying to direct the monsters to the north, away from Neverglenn.
The last year, had seen a considerate drop in monster coming from the Vault, the adventurers than went inside had already reached the 8th and 9th floor, but the monsters had drastically changed from what they used to be, only adventurers over platinum would be allowed inside those floors. The twilight labyrinth had originally 12 floors, but as the 9th had been reached, the floor had been warped, and turned into something different, even the third floor had many differences, so there was no telling what would they found.
There were fewer reports from inside, as there were few parties venturing that deep, some of the high leveled parties which had helped secure the place, had left Neverglenn, the Vault was dangerous, and many felt burnout of it. That is why the new influx of adventurers was welcomed, the watch had organized a few dungeoneering squads, but they were made with the idea of culling dangerous monsters, they were not that well equipped, to explore, but they were slowly doing it as well.
The latest reports centered in the areas around the ruined city, and the parties cleaning it and looking for fortune among the ruins. The lower leveled parties were already spreading across the areas around Neverglenn and Midy, they were managing the monster population which had been left since they had been focusing in the Vault, every once in a while, big nest or herds of something were found, and raid teams were organized to deal with them, or higher ranking parties.
Blue had been reading the latest reports more carefully, and he began noticing what Eriski had already told him as well, there had been appearing more and more energy or spiritual monsters, which were not common here. There had been several failed quests as adventurers are not prepared for them, a particular case the Nishi Dak, that he was asked to deal with. He read more into it, and he was sure the higher ups should have noticed already this changes, he expected warnings to be issued soon, the adventurers guild in Neverglenn, was one of the best, but they also did not like to overreact.
The curious thing was the one Ereski mentioned, there had been changes in the monsters, and it was expected that after what occurred, the original fauna and balance in the areas near Midy and Neverglenn would be change forever, there were no druids in Neverglenn, or professions more entuned with the natural balance, than could study this changes, but he guessed the adventurers guild must be already looking for some.
He also believed there were other entrances to the Vault, he had gone to another dungeon than experienced something similar to the Vault, the western desert, Sirocco Valley. It used to be a relatively small dungeon, but then a series of sandstorms appeared, and along the desert, several caves were discovered, a series of tunnels than led to the dungeon, but almost the entire Sirocco Valley was now connected to it. It was no longer considered a dungeon, but a cradle for monsters, no one knows what had happened, and the extend of it. The dungeon was away from any city, so its changes were seen by adventurers, and even though more monsters were coming to the places around the valley, they seldom went outside, so it became a dangerous but rich land.
Blue did not know what could be happening inside the Vault, the original Labyrinth still held secrets, before it changed. The meteorite was something that made his danger sense feel itchy, he did not like it one bit. He would need to know how thorough the watch and the adventurers guild were being about the surrounding area, the possibility of other entrances to the Vault had always been there, but the vast majority of ideas did not expect them to be near Neverglenn, even he had doubted, but the Meteorite had fallen, even farther than Neverglenn. Were there a series of tunnels like the ones in the Sirocco Valley, or something more complicated.
The increase in spiritual and elemental monsters pointed to mana changes in the ambient. He still needed to read the reports of the mage quarters, and there was a more reliable source still. The bookstore 'Guides and Tales', had been made by three people, the elder mage Aneveus also known as the Mana Recorder Mage, the late scribe Henry Owen, and Blue. Aneveus, was a very old mage who had spent his entire life, researching fey lines, and its implications with the world. He had come to Neverglenn, before the calamity of Midy happened. The ley line stopped at Midy, so for Aneveus it was more important to study it as it flowed, that is why he had stayed in Neverglenn. To this day, he still continued to study it, and he kept a detailed record of well many things about it, all of them were kept in the book story, the mage quarters form time to time, came to consult on them, and Will, kept a copy of them for Blue, he had already given them to Blue, but he sighed at the large amounts of information he still needed to verify, but he knew something big was happening, he was only half fae, but even him felt the changes in the mana ambient, they were very faint to him, but if he had noticed them, it meant there was something else.
He considered reading them, but in the end, the best way to understand them would be to talk to Aneveus, he sighed, he was called and elder mage, because, well, he was old. He did not remember how old he was, mages of any race, aged differently after they reached a certain level, even low leveled ones aged if just a bit differently. He considered his options and sighed; it was the best bet. He started rearranging everything carefully and went outside the room.
"Done already?" Will was still checking the books Blue had given him, he would restore their covers if they were damaged or make a copy of blurry texts, and add them to the books, so they could be completed, he was scribe and a mage after all.
"I only revised the adventurer's guild records; I figure it would be easier and faster to talk with Aneveus about his findings" Blue said as he placed the records carefully on the counter.
"More thorough clearly, faster and easier… I don't think so, old Aneveus seems to be more disconnected lately, but then again, he also said he was onto something important" Will explained, as he grabbed the records from Blue, and place them on a place inside the small office behind him, after a moment he came back "You will be staying for a while Blue?" the clerk asked, Blue smiled, he was used to seen Will always on the edge when he was around, but he had grown.
"I am, Will" he simply answered
"Good, I need to talk to you about several things regarding the store, I've been trying to talk with Aneveus about them but, well, we could not reach an understanding" Will said with an apologetic tone.
"Do you mind, if we talk about them some other day, I do intend to talk with Aneveus, and I do not know how long that will be, or is it really important?" Blue asked in a gentle tone, Will was a loyal employee, debt servants were for the most part, and he had been working in the bookstore for a long time.
"No problem Blue" Will answered and was about to go back to work
"How long has it been Will?"
"Thirteen years"
"Thank you for your service" Blue replied, and left, Will did not said anything else either, sometimes. Blue went outside the bookstore, and started walking for the building in front of it, a crooked house, that looked to be tilted to the right, it was a small house, smaller than the other houses around it at least, but they or were built at least a meter form the crooked house, as if giving it space, and rightly so, Blue thought, as he left Will behind, he smiled remembering when he first met him.
He quickly found himself in front of the door of the crooked house, a bright orange door. He knocked on it hard.
"WHO IS IT?" a squeak more than a voice answered from inside the house.
"Tell Aneveus is Blue, Rasmus" he answered, and a caw came back as an answer. After a few minutes, the door opened, and Blue went inside the familiar place.
"MASTER IS DOWNSTAIRS" another squeak came from a big raven, resting on a marble post near the door. Blue nodded at the bird and scratched his head. The thing was massive for a raven, but many of his feathers were grey, and some of them had begun to turn white.
"Good to see you, old pal" Blue patted the raven, and continued to an open room, to the right there was a small living room, and to its side a dining room. The kitchen was on the left, and a small room as well, it was made for guest, and in front of him, a set of stairs, they were made with marble, and the walls than led down, were made of it as well.
Blue walked downstairs it was a deep descend, but Aneveus said, the ley lines flowed better deeper on the ground, and it was a safety measure, he was a professional researcher and with it came the responsibility of fucking up very badly, according to the elder mage. He could collapse his entire laboratory, if he made a mistake, Blue just hoped it would be enough if something bad really happened, but for the most part the work Aneveus made was theoretical, still safety first.
He had reached the end of the stairs, and they opened up to the mage laboratory, a grand space, covered with bookcases of his records. Every once in a while, Will came to pick them up to the bookstore. There were several tables, with vials, and spells. The entire room was made with the same marble, and it was covered in runes and spell incantations. There were only two more doors to the sides of the open space. The mages bedroom, and bathroom, because for all their incredible abilities mages still needed to poop. Well according to Aneveus, one could cleanse itself and avoid the trouble, but he said it was important, it made one humble, for everyone had to poop, he sometimes wondered if daemons pooped, but well it was a topic the old mage hoped to one day had the time to research.
The place was well lit, a magic chandelier hanged from the middle of the room, and on a very comfortable couch, a very elderly man rested and smoked a pipe. He always dressed in bright colors, and today he wore a lime tunic, his mage hat, had a chair of its own, next to him, it looked beige, but Blue believed it was originally brown, but most mages, witches, warlocks and the like had a concerning relationship with their hats. Aneveus, only wore his when he went outside, and that was rather, so for the most part, the hat sat next to him, always.
"Good morning how goes the search, elder mage" Blue spoke in a load voice, and waited just passed the entrance to the grand space. He waited there standing, after a few minutes, the old mage slowly began focusing on him. His beard reached below his waist, and it was grey, Blue believed his hair would be the same color, but the old mage had lost it, a magical tragedy as he told it, so there was nothing to do about it, he kept his beard and eyebrows and he considered that a victory. The old mage was already looking at Blue, and he took another long sip of his pipe, before he answered.
"It goes well, Rasmus told me a friend had come, but I did not expected a real friend to have come" the old mage smiled, revealing a complete set of teeth, which other mages his age could not presumed, or so the old man said.
Blue was surprised, the old mage had reacted to quickly, he smiled as well to his old friend. The old mage must have really found something interesting if he was smiling "You have discovered something?"
The old mage smile went wider, but he did not answer, he moved his hand, and a chair moved close the one the mage was sitting. Blue went to sit in front of his old friend.
"Something grand, my friend" the old mage said in a low voice, once Blue was in front of him, his smile still from ear to ear, it made Blue startled, he opened his eyes wide, and stood up "The wards are already in place, my friend, no one can hear us" the old mage said and Blue sat again.
How long had it been since he had seen Aneveus so woken, what had the old mage really discovered?
"Ever since the calamity occurred, the flow of the ley line, has been changing, and there is a surplus of mana in the ambient" the old mage began with explaining with his scholarly tone, Blue already knew that, but it was better to let the old man talk "I had been keeping track of those fluctuations, and for a long time other than recording them, and figuring their compositions, I could not found a relation on them, but this last year I finally found a relation" the old mage, had his grin on his face, and Blue was surprised. Ever since he had known Aneveus he had not been to make a breakthrough.
"There are places where the flow of natural mana is being tapped" Blue felt nervous about what the old mage had just said, and he notice the change in Blue "Most of those happen naturally, Blue, the world breaths with its ley lines, I had always thought that but could not prove, but alas I can now, I managed to identify these subtle changes that prove my suspicions, but that is not all" Blue did not like that, and Aneveus smile dwindled.
"I told you, I managed to identify where the ley line breathed mana back into the world, but there was a discrepancy, something different was tapping into the ley line as well, but I do not know what it is, but is not natural, I have been trying to identify it" good job old man, Blue nodded at his old friend "The problem was, a few months ago, the tap ended abruptly, I am sure that within a year I could have known the location, but it stopped suddenly" the old mage, was now frowning, his eyebrows practically touching each other, his dark skinned hid some of his wrinkles, but they were too many to not be seen.
"I was a bit frustrated about it, I was going to focus my research on the natural phenomena, but then I noted by mistake, a strange flow of within the ley line, out of desperation I tried the same method I was using to identify the unnatural tapping on the fey line, and to my surprise, there was a reaction, and my magic was directed to a place not far from where we are" the old mage stopped, Blue guessed he was frowning as the mage had been a few moments ago, he did not liked where this was heading.
"The strange flow of mana was acting as a beacon" Blue froze as he heard those words, the old mage in front of him, looked troubled and nervous.
"Where did it lead to, Aneveus?" Blue interrupted his friend, but the old mage eyes shone when he asked about it.
"When did you arrived at Neverglenn?" the old mage replied to his question, and Blue though he knew where this was going.
"Two days ago" Blue replied, and the old mage nodded slowly.
"Then you already know the answer, my friend" the old mage replied, and Blue felt a chill run down his spine, similar to what his danger sense did.
"The meteorite" Blue said, and the old mage nodded.
"Whatever made that flow of mana, it served as a beacon" the old mage said with a worried tone, and Blue could understand it, did someone summoned the meteorite?, the thing was still and unknow in itself, and this old mage had evidence of it falling where it had, was no mere coincidence, Blue looked at his old friend, and saw he was still thinking.
"What else have you found old friend?" he asked the old mage, who focused once more on Blue.
"Nothing exactly, the flow of mana stopped, after the thing fell. The problem is the entire ley line flow is changing, I do not know if it's a result of impact, or something else, but there is a serious concentration of mana in the ambient, I suppose even you could feel it, right?" the old mage asked, but he was right, Blue indeed could feel it, he nodded back.
"Do these changes seem similar to what happened back then?" Blue asked in a low voice, and the old mage entire attention went to Blue, he denied with his head very slowly.
"No, but these overflow of mana, is not dispersing as it should be, I am unable to understand what is happening with it, I am looking for the release areas, now that I know how to look for them, but I am still unable to say anything, but something does not feel right" the old mage said and Blue felt the same. He looked at the old mage, and he noticed he seemed thinner than last time he had seen him.
"Have you eaten or slept, since the meteorite fell?" Blue asked gently, and the old mage smiled.
"I guess, I should have, but I can't be certain" the old mage replied, and he leaned back on his chair, from time to time you could really see the mage was very, very old.
"Well let's get you something to eat then, my old friend, for once I believe your research needs to be encouraged, but I does not feel right, to ask an old man like yourself to push to hard, without at least feeding them" Blue said calming himself, Aneveus research had not only discovered something important for the arcane in general, but he could a different view to what was going on.
"And who is going to cook, you? No, my friend, I do not wish to spend my valuable time in the bath pooping" the old mage replied
"I thought you enjoyed the deed, that is why you did not approve of cleansing it" Blue answered as he stood up.
"I certainly do, my friend, but the volatile poop your cooking creates, is something unnatural, so no, I'll pass on it" the old mage denied with a grumpy tone, and he got up as well, he was shorter than Blue, but only because he was a bit hunched.
"What do you propose, then?" Blue answered offended by the old mage comment.
"I will send a message to a lovely dinner nearby, I figure you still like your chunk of cow, right?" the old mage asked, as both of them started walking towards the stairs.
"I still do, old friend" Blue said smiling, and the old mage sighed "Congratulations on your discovery, Aneveus" the old mage stopped, and Blue did as well.
"Thank you, Blue, is good to see you again" they nodded at each other, the discovery the mage had made, would have called of for a large celebration, but they both were worried, about what would happened, they would have a chance to celebrate it properly later "I guess, I need an assistant" the old mage said, with a very long sigh, and they continued towards the stairs.