As they had all previously discussed, they searched the surrounding city for an hour, but when everyone regrouped, no one had found Nolvi. The girl was gone, and frankly Lance was relieved to hear it. According to Hoplite, Nolvi's eyes had become spirals… a sign of Lifia's cursed blood. It was hard to believe that slip of a girl was a descendant of the original Spiral Queen, the Custodian of Death. Maybe Hoplite had been mistaken? Nolvi had been so easily forgotten about, so small, so quiet, like a mouse staying out of sight. Lance just couldn't picture her as being a monster.
Yet, she knew that Hoplite wouldn't have given incorrect details. His mind was a steel trap, if that's what he saw, then that was it. She was glad they didn't find Nolvi, hopefully she wouldn't be found again any time soon. Their glare could bestow the curse without having to inflict any pain whatsoever, they spoke prophecies that could twist minds into darkness, and worst of all, they all wanted to free Lithia. If the Spiral Queen were awakened… that could be just as disastrous as a Godling War.
She sighed as she walked beside Hoplite, seeing Twindil and her companions lagging behind, their eyes still searching for their lost friend. The paladin looked miserable, the pained grimace on her face constant. It was clear as day that she loved Nolvi like a little sister, same with the others. The only one from Twindil's group that seemed not to care was Theopalu, who led Hoplite as he pulled the wagon.
"What is a Spiral Queen?" Hoplite asked her, "You made it sound like she was dangerous. Is Nolvi infected?"
Lance shook her head, "I only know about the legends, nothing more. Not a single one has been confirmed to exist in Decuma."
"Why not?" Hoplite asked, "No one has come forward claiming to have met one?"
Lance shook her head, "No, in many nations contact with a Spiral Queen can be enough for a death sentence, even the Faewood forbids it."
"Excessive." Hoplite remarked, "Why."
"If one hears a Spiral Queen's prophecy, it can drive someone mad." Lance said, "At least that is what I heard. That, and the more people hear a Spiral Queen's prophecy, the more likely it is to become true. That's why those who interact with them are killed, as their prophecies often describe unfortunate events."
"You just said that there have been none so far this age." Hoplite said, "How do you know to execute these people if they don't even exist in this time period?"
Lance shrugged, "It is one of those things that managed to survive the Godling Wars of ages past, a legend yes, but one so strong that it hasn't become too distorted from the passage of time."
Theopalu snorted, turning around to look at her, "Lancela, time corrupts all records eventually. The Spiral Queens have been around since the First Age, do you really think that silly legend is completely true?" He asked.
She stared at her elder, shocked that he had even asked the question, "Well… I'm not sure." She said honestly, "But Spiral Queens are dangerous, I know that much."
"Yes." Theopalu told her with a nod, "They are dangerous indeed, but I feel that they are misunderstood…" He said with a sigh, "I've been around for a long time, longer than you might dare to believe; I know what time does to history better than anyone. You do not know for sure that a Spiral Queen's prophecy is always ill-willed, you don't even know if everyone who's ever talked with one has gone mad."
Lance narrowed her eyes, "Theopalu… are you saying that you've…?"
"The tunnel nears." Theopalu said, turning around, "Look there, see the big round building? That descends into the depths, this particular one should lead out of the city, but it will be a long journey."
"Estimation on travel time." Hoplite said flatly.
"Hmm…" Theopalu considered, "I would have to say, at walking pace, about three days? Assuming we don't run into trouble that is."
"Theopalu." Lance said, "Did you talk with a Spiral Queen?"
Her elder turned again, and glowered, "And what if I did, Lancela? What would you do?"
She clenched her jaw. She knew what he was trying to say. Even if he did talk with one, she could hardly execute him right now… not that she would even be able to do so. Not because she doubted her abilities, but because Theopalu had been in the Watch longer than she'd been alive. She struggled to imagine trying to kill him because of that, he was a comrade.
"Nothing." She said honestly, "I'd do nothing."
Theopalu glared for a long time before he said, "I did, once, long ago. Let us leave it at that…" He finished, turning back to the tunnel, "I don't suppose you will want to go at a walking pace once we enter the tunnel."
"Negative." Hoplite said, "A sprint will get us through faster."
"That's true, but if you go your full speed down there it may end up destroying the wagon. That is not eternally smooth Setstone down there, it is old rocky cobbles, the wheels would be destroyed if you ran that fast. Might I suggest going at a gallop, so to speak?"
"Elaborate."
"Move as fast as a horse does, a horse running at a cozy speed, nothing crazy like back on the bridge. We can't afford to lose our wheels." Theopalu explained.
"...Affirmative." Hoplite said in a begrudging tone.
They said other things as well, but Lance couldn't exactly hear them over her sheer shock at what Theopalu had just claimed. He'd spoken with a Spiral Queen? There hasn't been one recorded instance of one appearing in Decuma…Did that mean… were the rumors about Theopalu true? Was he a survivor of past Godling Wars? She had always wondered about that, but it made sense. Surely there were other elves out there who had outlasted the ages, perhaps Theopalu was one such person.
Suddenly, Cat spoke up from the wagon, "What does any of that even mean?"
"Losing our wheels?" Theopalu asked, "You must have hit your head hard if you cannot grasp that concept."
"No-" She replied sharply, "What the hell is a Spiral Queen?"
"Ah, well you see, it all began with Lifia, the original Spiral Queen, back in the third age." Theopalu said, "There is not a Pillar-God of Death yet, so the Pillars saw fit to put someone in charge of death until a proper deity could be raised to take the reins… A mortal, one they thought they could trust."
"Why would they do that?" Hoplite asked as they continued to walk.
"Because someone needed to be in charge of Death, Lifia was appointed as Custodian back in the first age, and had done a good job at managing it up until the third age. She had gone mad, and had sought true godhood with her gifted abilities. She was causing all sorts of problems for Ahkoolis until the third Godling War, when the Pillar-God of War, Darax sealed her right here, somewhere in the Fiendwood. He was not a proper god then, but he had been on the cusp of ascension… he was just as insane at that point. Poor boy…"
Lance found herself goggling at her elder. The way he spoke of it made it sound like… he made it sound like he had been there to witness it firsthand.
"Theopalu." Lance said, "I know this is rude. But how old are you exactly?"
"Now we must be going down into the depths, young Michael!" Theopalu shouted, "Keep that flashlight on! There is nothing but blackness down there!"
Lance frowned at the clear dismissal of her question. He was avoiding it… maybe this really did mean he was ancient. Perhaps he was even born during the third age, based on how he was talking about Lifia and Darax in such a familiar tone. Her mind raced with the possibilities as she observed her elder. If that was true, then he was around eight-thousand years old… no wonder he had wrinkles. She shook her head at the silly thought, wrinkles should have been the furthest thing from her mind.
A tie to link the ages was right here, leading their little wagon through Akan-Var. Lance's curiosity nearly drove her to ask Theopalu again, but that lack of tact may make him more secretive. She'd need to try and tease out more details subtly, like how she wanted to slowly de-program Hoplite.
They were at the mouth of the tunnel now, a cobbled slope leading down into Akan-Var's depths, or as Theopalu called it, the Akan-Dark. She turned to gauge Michael's reaction, seeing that the boy had gone pale at the sight of it. He seemed to get a hold of himself however, jaw clenching as he turned on his helmet's flashlight. He seemed to be getting braver these past few days, she suspected that he wanted to get over his nyctophobia, and quickly.
Twindil and the party still seemed despondent, clearly saddened by the loss of their friend. Lance was not sure they'd ever see Nolvi again, and perhaps that would be for the best. The thought of being underneath her glare sent shivers up Lance's spine. She'd rather face another horde of Fiends down in the tunnels than see Nolvi again… but Theopalu's earlier words made her question if her fear was necessary.
Well that hardly mattered now. If they found Nolvi she would figure out how she felt then. She took a deep breath and looked at Hoplite.
"You ready?" She asked him, "I'm not sure what's going to happen down there, but we have to take it slow or we'll lose everything."
"I understand that." Hoplite replied, "But the longer we take the more supplies we'll use up. I won't go full speed."
"Alright, well my stomach will be grateful at least." Lance said, checking the dark bandages she'd wrapped around her forearms.
They were nice and secure, not tight enough to cut off blood flow and not loose enough to fall off as soon as she began swinging. She'd needed to wrap herself up like this because, as it turns out, chains chafe horribly… and pinch. The bandages mitigated these annoyances at least.
"Halm isn't back yet." Michael said, "Think he'll catch up?"
"Let's wait for him." Alistair said, tired eyes still scanning the streets.
"Yeah," Kid'ka agreed, "Nolvi might be with him too…"
Everyone fell silent. Lance didn't want to dash that thin hope, but it just wasn't likely. She was proven right as Halm rounded a corner, alone as he jogged towards the wagon. His massive fists had been bloodied, likely he had been disabling more of his fellows during his scouting.
"Alright then," The cursed orc said, "We ready to go? I'll lead next to the old timer, in case things get… cramped down there."
That made sense, Halm couldn't be cursed twice and he was difficult to injure due to his Zodd-blessed flesh. No one objected to this, and after everyone loaded into the wagon, they all descended wordlessly into the depths, Hoplite pulling them along silently. It took them an hour for the slope to flatten out, Michael holding his helmet in his hands and illuminating the wagon.
Hoplite's own flashlight was on as well, shining across the wide tunnel and illuminating Theopalu and Halm's backs. The tunnel was so wide that Hoplite's light did not reveal the walls. Lance had a bad feeling about this… something was down here with them, and knowing the nature of the Fiendwood, that was likely the truth. They would all need to stay on high alert, there may not have been Fiends yet, but she was sure there were dozens down here. Yet, her gut told her that something far worse awaited them, though she knew not what could possibly be worse than that.