When the darkness dissipated, Senani no longer recognized his surroundings. He knew he had been moved out of his land grant and Deviant Home; however Senani was surprised to see that the area he was in looked nothing like the portions of Orion he knew. All around him he could see great trees in all the colors of the rainbow whose height extended far beyond the clouds. Senani could not see or even imagine how tall these trees truly were.
Senani began to consider Grishnar's last words. "The surprise may kill you." Wherever he now was, that must be a part of the surprise. But where was he? He was now truly and completely lost.
Generally speaking, the higher up one was, the more they could see of their surroundings. Senani was unsure if this would be the case here, as all around him he could not see out of the trees, but he did know, that flying would be faster than walking. Senani summoned Maximus and Argent and requested that Argent bring them as high as he could fly.
Argent agreed and quickly brought Maximus and Senani high above the clouds. As they appeared above the clouds, Senani still could not see the tops of the trees, he could however see the light from the two suns way up high in the sky. One sun appeared a bright blue while the other stood a deep orange. They bathed everything that they touched in a rusty light. This provided an interesting contrast to the appearance below the clouds. Below the clouds everything looked bright, colorful, and vibrant. Above everything was tinged with a rusty appearance, that made everything look ancient and dying. As a necromancer that could absorb the life force from all living things, that still tried to protect life, Senani thought this was perfect. He did not know where he was, but he realized that this was a place in which he would carve out a home for the Deviants.
The light from the suns felt strange to the trio. One wouldn't say that the light burned, yet it did feel different from the sun on Orion. It was as if the sun understood its appearance and that of Senani's existence. As the sun shone on the trio, they began to feel more energetic. It was as if the rusty light contained a bit of the power of undeath. The more Senani considered this possibility, the more he was sure it had to be true. The longer they hovered in that light, the stronger they felt. This of course had the most impact on Senani. With his absorption ability, he could gain far more than the others.
Senani then remembered that he had just gained the power to create ability stones. If he were to create absorption ability stones for Maximus and Argent, would they know grow stronger in the light of this sun? Would he not by means of their bond grow even stronger as well? This was an opportunity; he could not pass up. Senani reached deep into his system and requested 2 absorption ability stones to be created.
"Creating ability stones will deplete your stored energy. The higher the grade of stone created the more energy depleted and the stronger the ability granted. Your current energy levels will be more than sufficient to create the stones you desire. Choose from the options below in order from weakest to strongest. A Grade S stone is the highest you can create for the absorption ability now. It will be only slightly less powerful than the ability which you yourself possess."
· Grade F stone.
· Grade D stone.
· Grade C stone.
· Grade B stone.
· Grade A stone.
· Grade S stone.
Senani chose to create 2 Grade S stones and he placed them in the bodies of Argent and Maximus. The stones combined with the bones of the champions until they were hardly noticeable at all. As the bodies of Maximus and Argent gained more affinity with the stones, Senani could feel the energy he began to gain increase exponentially. Where before it felt like a strange tickle, now it felt more like a small stream flowing into a vast ocean.
The ability stones he had created thus far were so successful, Senani decided he would create an illusion ability stone for each of them as well. He hoped this would allow the three of them to be less noticeable if they managed to find any settlements.
"Creating ability stones will deplete your energy sourced. The higher the grade of stone created the more energy depleted and the stronger the ability granted. Your current energy levels will be more than sufficient to create the stones you desire. Choose from the options below in order from weakest to strongest. A Grade A stone is the highest you can create for the Illusion ability now. It will be only slightly less powerful than the ability which you possess."
· Grade F stone.
· Grade D stone.
· Grade C stone.
· Grade B stone.
· Grade A stone.
Senani chose to create 2 grade A stones and again inserted them into the bodies of Argent and Maximus. When the stones combined, Senani made the request that they create the illusion of life. They would all appear as they had before they had become Champions, or in Senani's case an Ancient Anomaly.
With that issue settled, and the energy flowing into the trios' bodies, they quickly flew among the trees. Occasionally they could see large nest like bulges on the branches, but no creatures stirred. They were able to fly freely throughout the day and into the night. Unfortunately, the moon did not have the same effect. As the suns went down, the stream stopped flowing. Yet they would continue to fly into the night. Argent and Maximus were undead, they could see in any lighting, and they did not require sleep or food. Senani, however, did require sleep. He allowed Maximus to hold him securely in place as they flew on Argents back through the night.
The night passed much as the day had, with nothing but trees to fly over. This began to change as the suns began to rise and the energy began to flow into their bodies again. The trees began to grow closer and closer to the height of the clouds. Then suddenly, they could see nothing at all. Reluctantly, the trio descended back below the clouds, and what they saw surprised them even more than the increase in their energy from the sun had.
As they descended through the clouds, the trio could see a large cluster of buildings. This cluster of buildings was unlike anything they had ever seen on Orion. In both size and quantity, it dwarfed every city they had ever seen on a map. The buildings were metal and glass monstrosities of varying sizes. The smallest would have been considered a mansion in Yebin, the tallest nearly touched the clouds.
Once the initial shock had passed, the trio began to descend toward one of the smaller buildings. Senani hoped this would enable them to discover not only where they were but what manner of creature lived in this settlement.
As they arrived closer to the ground, they began to see creatures scurrying about the city. The closer they got; the more Senani was sure these creatures appeared to be humans. Though something was not quite right with their eyes. The eyes of these humans looked completely vacant. The closer they got the more Senani was sure, something was not quite right with the inhabitants of this city.
As they moved closer to the ground, the humans began to swarm toward them. Senani commanded Argent to rise back into the air. Something did not feel right about these creatures. As Argent rose back into the sky, what appeared to be a large chunk of dirt could be seen on the horizon flying toward them. Senani had Argent fly to a medium sized building in the path of the dirt, and then he had Argent shift into his humanoid form. The trio all utilized the illusion of a human appearance. Senani hoped this would make them blend in.
As the dirt approached, a rope ladder was thrown down to the trio. They began climbing the ladder and were quickly surrounded by humans in all shapes and colors with a wide array of weaponry aimed at them. These ranged from ancient swords to modern rifles and everything in between.
"Do not climb any higher until we know more about you. Where is your platform? Zurin, come inspect these people. Make sure they are not tainted."
After the voice spoke, a lovely woman with cinnamon colored skin leaned over the "railing" of the dirt and began to stare at them. Apparently, she stared a bit too long as the voice again echoed. "Zurin, are they tainted or not?"
Zurin spoke in a voice that rivaled the angels. "They are not tainted. You can allow them onto the platform Percival."
Senani was now assured that the illusion had worked, and he confidently replied, "We do not have a platform, and we do not know where we are. We were teleported here from the city of Yebin on planet Orion. Can you tell us where we are and what is wrong with the people below?"
Percival replied, "I know not of Orion. You now stand on planet Greshem. This is the city of Grishnar the Ancient Anomaly. It is said that his candle lies in the darkness far below the pyramid in the center of this city. As to what is wrong with the people here. No one has figured that out in the millennia they have been here. We call them zombies, and to be touched by one is to become infected. Before Zurin joined us, we lost many of our people to them. Now we can scavenge supplies from the city freely. She can keep them distracted and prevent them from attacking us."
To which Zurin replied, "Percival it is not a true ability. I just found something that distracts their senses and prevents them from attacking us. Talk is cheap though, why don't I take these three into the city to scavenge? Since clearly, we will be helping them, they should prove themselves useful first should they not?" She then began climbing down the ladder toward Argent, Maximus and Senani.
The trio began climbing back down to the rooftop with Zurin right on their tails. Once they all stood on the rooftop, Zurin placed down a large circle. The circle became transparent, and a rope descended from the new hole to the floor of the room underneath them. Zurin reclaimed the hole she had placed to allow them entrance into the room and immediately began shoving all the items inside the room into a bag she pulled out from her waist. Seeing the surprise on the faces of the trio, she explained. "This bag was a gift to my family from one of the Ancient Anomalies. It is a portable secondary dimension. It can fit a ridiculous amount of stuff in it without ever gaining weight.
Now which abnormality are you and what type of creature's are your servants? Do not bother lying. I have the ability of true sight and I can see through the illusions you have created. The power emanating from your bodies is rather extreme and completely unmistakable.
Do not think us simple folk just because we are human. Many of the old and New Anomalies have tried to figure out how to penetrate the pyramid to destroy the candle of Grishnar. When they failed, many of the male abnormalities gifted our ancestors with their seed. The children born from the seed of the abnormalities possessed a wide variety of abilities and those abilities have been passed down from generation to generation."
Senani found himself extremely surprised at his group's discovery. He exclaimed, "I am Senani, and until recently the illusion's you see are what we looked like. I am unsure what species you should call me now; however, I was once human myself. I have the powers of absorption, illusion, and necromancy. By my side stand two of my champions, Maximus the Death Knight, and Argent the Draco-Lich. If you knew we were not human and could see our true appearances, why did you not tell your people?"
Senani could see the lines of thought clearly across Zurin's face. His words seemed to trouble her greatly. "Senani, my ancestors spoke of one with your powers. He was called the nameless one and he tried to absorb everything. He was far more terrifying than the zombies we currently face. The goodly Ancient Anomalies formed an alliance to fight him. Do you serve the nameless one?"
Senani quickly replied. "I absorbed the nameless one and in turn gained his alter and all of his abilities. In a sense I suppose you could say that I am the nameless one reborn. However, I seek to aid the living. I only kill and absorb those that seek to harm my allies. Were that not so, I would not have bothered with disguising myself or my champions."
Zurin again was clearly troubled. While Senani's words rang true, how could she truly trust one with his abilities? "What you say makes sense. But I will be keeping my eyes on you. I am the only one in my sanctuary that possesses the true sight ability. There are many other sanctuaries on Gresham and each sanctuary should have at least one with True Sight. Not all sanctuaries are as friendly as ours is, and some are massive. If you travel Greshem, you will be discovered by a guard's true sight. If the members of the other sanctuaries do not kill you, the creatures that live here will. There are many varieties of creatures that roam this land. Heck, even the direct sunlight will kill you. Never venture beyond the treetops. Your safest course of action would be to stay with me."
As Zurin spoke, zombies began to enter the room. Zurin reattached the bag to her waist and began to dance with a grace that surpassed all Senani had witnessed. As she moved her hips the creases in her dress straightened and revealed windchimes that had been hidden within. Each movement of her body emitted a wonderfully melodic sound. As she began to sing along with the music her dancing created the zombies stopped moving and began to stare at Zurin. They became completely entranced as though she had cast a love spell on them.
Senani found himself in a similar state to the zombies. He could do no more than stare at Zurin's movements and listen to her beautiful song. Zurin continued to dance and to sing, around and around she danced and spun. Aside from Zurin, the room remained still. As she spun around again, she happened to catch Senani's eye. Until now she had not realized how intently he watched her dance.
As Zurin grew distracted by Senani, she faltered in her dance. As she faltered, the zombies began to charge at her.
As Zurin grew distracted, Senani quickly realized the danger of her situation. Immediately, he charged at the zombies. As they were about to grab Zurin, he grabbed the head of each in his hand and began to absorb their lifeforce.
· Parasites absorbed. Affinity with Parasite keeper increased.
· Quest Updated. Defeat Grishnar. "You chose this battle, now win it."
o Optional tasks
§ Claim the Parasite keeper.
§ Destroy the Parasite keeper.
· Quest Reward depends upon decision made.
As the zombies approached Zurin, she knew she would become a zombie herself. The last thing she expected was for Senani to grab the zombies that charged at her. Even abnormalities were susceptible to the zombie plague. That is the main reason they stopped trying to get to Grishnar so many years ago.
Zurin did not have long to contemplate the events that had just occurred before more zombies charged into the entrance of the room. Argent, Senani, and Maximus charged back at them. Maximus used Soul Splitter and his absorption ability, Argent used controlled bursts of his deadly purple fire, and Senani merely reached out and absorbed all that came near. The zombies and the parasites they possessed were quickly absorbed.
As Zurin watched the trio absorb the zombies, she found herself amazed at their efficiency. To date, no one had been able to so much as injure any of the zombies, yet here the trio were turning them to dust by the hundreds. Though, what had originally started as amazement, quickly turned into fear.
As the trio absorbed the parasites, Zurin began to see the same glow around them that the zombies possessed. In her experience, once an individual had been touched by a zombie and the glow began to appear, they had mere minutes before they would also become zombies. Seeing the trio battle, that prospect scared Zurin more than anything else could. If the zombies were able to utilize the powers of Argent, Maximus, and Senani, then the sanctuaries would have no hope of survival.
Zurin found herself in a bit of a pickle. Senani had just saved her life, and yet she feared he would be the one to take it rather soon. She did not bother to go to the exit. With the speed the trio had shown in defending her, Zurin would not make it to the exit before becoming absorbed if they were to turn into enemies. All she could do is to wait and watch as the hordes of zombies turned to dust at the trio's feet.
· Parasites absorbed. Parasite keepers' location revealed.
· Quest updated. Defeat Grishnar. "You chose this battle, now win it."
o Required tasks
§ Go to the Parasite keepers' coordinates. With the quantity of parasites, you have absorbed you will be drawn to it. If you fail to find the Parasite keeper, you will become one of the infected.
o Optional tasks
§ Absorb the Parasite keeper.
§ Claim the Parasite keeper.
§ Destroy the Parasite keeper.
Seeing the quest, Senani no longer felt he had a choice. He would have to find the Parasite keeper. "Zurin, return to your people. Come back for us in 7 days' time. We intend to cure the infection in this city. You will know if we manage to be successful."
Hearing Senani's words, Zurin fled. She was unsure whether to fear the zombies or Senani more.