After a brief discussion, a decision was made. They would move to the abandoned dark elven village.
It was a pragmatic decision. The Shadow Palace was too close to their current base camp. There was no way for them to know for sure whether the danger in that location was contained there only. Or whether it could move out and endanger them.
If the shadowlings they had purged from the cave were just a small part of whatever hierarchy ruled that dark structure... it would be troubleso. Staying there was a gamble with bad odds.
"We leave at first light." Jack said.
There was no real, celestial light source in the Purplesky Realm. No sun, no moon, no stars. The sky was permanently bright and purple without any indication of the light source. However, they kept ti by their pocket watches.
Leon Drake and the other hired guards agreed. The professors, though hesitant to leave a secured base, couldn't argue with the logic. The Shadow Palace indeed seed to be a disaster waiting to happen.
The next morning, the expedition packed their gear. Jack stood at the mouth of the cave. He was the tallest and biggest among everyone in the group. But, his human form seed lean and unassuming compared to the hulking rakshasa he had been days prior.
Reina stood beside him. Her long black hair was tied back. Her eyes were vigilantly scanning the red grassland.
"The abandoned village is a two-day trek, Dear." Reina said. She had calculated the silver hawk drone's last recorded coordinates and the safest route. "The terrain near there is soft. It will slow the students down."
"They'll adapt quickly. It's fine. Just another lesson for them." Jack replied. "Rune! keep you vigilance."
The small fairy guide humd. Her body was glowing a soft, rhythmic green. Indicating no danger nearby. She drifted into the air. A silent sentinel that only Jack truly understood.
The expedition didn't waste ti. They quickly moved.
The Purplesky Realm was a monotonous place. Without a sun, the passage of ti felt strange. The sky remained a bright purple, streaked with veins of green light that slowly changed but never faded.
The tall red grass crunched under their boots. Slling faintly of copper and fresh lavender.
Jack led the way. His [Eyes of Judgnt] were occasionally activated. Scanning over the surrounding. He saw the world in ways the others couldn't. Flows of data flashed in his sight... mana concentration, hidden characteristics of the flora, the lingering heat signatures of things that had passed by hours ago.
He didn't activate the ocular ability for long. The flood of data would be too overwhelming otherwise. That was already the case, even when he had filtered them, by only observing potential danger.
By the end of what they called the first day, the red grassland began to give way to patches of damp, grey moss. The air grew heavy with moisture. They made a camp on the way.
The students were tired. Their faces were smudged with dirt and the stress of the continuous vigilance. Jack watched them. They were getting better. More disciplined. More vigilant. But they were still underage kids in a world that wanted to eat them.
The second day brought the only real excitent of the trip.
They were crossing a transition zone where the grass t the edge of the northern swamp. Suddenly, Rune glowed red. Signifying danger.
It was quite useful. Everyone in the group was prepared for battle when out of the tall, swaying stalks, six shapes blurred toward them.
They were black, ostrich-like monsters. Nearly three ter tall, with long necks, powerful-looking, legs and beaks that looked like serrated shears. Their feathers were matte black. A color that seed to absorbing the purplish light of the realm.
"Ready for contact!" Leon Drake shouted. Black, draconic armor instantly covered his whole body.
The students reacted well. Harold Mason, Nick Glaiver, and several other students scattered. Casting defensive wards and [Vicious Taunt]. The others observed and prepared offensive spells.
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Jack didn't move. He stood back with Reina. Watching the skirmish. Ready to assist whenever the students required help. The other guards were also watching and preparing to interfere.
"They're fast. It might be too troubleso for the kids." Reina observed. Her hands were resting on the holsters of her two handguns. "Should I?"
"No." Jack said. "Let the kids handle it. We'll only act when they are in danger."
The ostriches charged with terrifying speed. Letting out low, vibrating hisses. One leaped. Aiming a kick that could have shattered a man's ribs.
Harold t it with a shimring [Lesser Ward]. The ward instantly broke during contact. But it succeeded in deflecting the attack.
Nick followed up from further away. Casting [Vicious Taunt] to provoke it to abandon Harold. When the beast turned its body to Nick, piercing spells of [Magic Missiles] struck the creature in the back of its head. Sending it tumbling awkwardly in a cloud of black feathers.
Not far away, Chloe coordinated her ability [Shadow Walk] and the cantrip spell [Vicious Taunt]. Trapping another ostrich in confusion. Turning it into an enraged beast that was unable to find the one that provoked it.
The battle didn't last long. The students handled the six hostile creatures with plenty of different creative ways. They weren't powerful enough to end the battle quickly though. So, the guards imdiately joined in after they were satisfied enough with the students' performance.
After the hired guards acted, within three minutes, the skirmish was over. Six carcasses lay in the red grass. No casualties on their side.
"Good work!" Jack praised them. "But keep your vigilance. We'll take a ten minute break. And then, we'll continue."
...
As they pushed deeper, the ground turned into a treacherous mixture of mud and subrged roots. The trees began to change.
They were the amber-leafed trees of the central forest. But, these trees were titans. Massive, gnarled giants with dark, violet barks that throbbed in regular pulses.
The tree roots there weren't planted into the ground carpeted with red-colored moss and grass. Instead, the gigantic tree roots were dipped into bubbling, orange-colored water. One that gave off a faint, strange floral fragrance.
Then, they saw it... The Dark Elven Village.
It was nestled high in the branches of the titan trees. A suspended settlent made of violet wood. A sight alien to their common sense.
The structures of the tree village were still solid and strong. But they seed to be long abandoned. The winding walkways were still elegant but they lacked the life of their creators. Everything was draped in a layer of damp moss and slight decay.
"Let's take the hub tree." Jack quickly decided. Pointing to the largest tree in the center of the cluster.
The trunk of that tree seed wide enough to house a small mansion. And its lowest branches were reached by a series of spiral stairs carved directly into the living wood.
They climbed. The wood felt solid despite the slight rot on the surface. When they reached the main platform, they found a sprawling residence. One that must have belonged to a chieftain or a high-ranking official.
The rooms there were spacious. Filled with the thick dust of abandonnt.
There were no bodies there. No signs of struggle. Just a profound, heavy silence.
"Set up the wards." Dr. Crafton told the students, who imdiately followed the instructions.
Not far away, Leon Drake led the hired guards. Assigning them their tasks and guarding responsibilities.
"Reina, help the professors settle in the central hall." Jack said. "I'm going to scout the periter of this level."
"Be careful, Dear." Reina said. Her eyes were lingering on him for a mont before she turned to assist Dr. Crafton.
Jack spent the next hour walking the wooden walkways of the settlent. He moved silently. His boots made no sound on the rotting wood.
He checked the houses. They were all the sa. Abandoned in a hurry, perhaps, but not in a panic. Belongings were still there. Pots, pans, furniture. It was as if the entire population had simply walked out one day and forgotten to co back.
When he returned to the main house, he found the group gathered in what used to be a large library or study. Allena Keener was holding a small, leather-bound book.
"I found this in one of the smaller houses." She said. Her voice echoed in the large room. "It looks like a diary."
Professor Enderson and Dr. Crafton hovered over it imdiately. Their eyes were wide with scholarly greed.
"This is Crowelpe again." Professor Enderson muttered. Pushing his spectacles up his nose. "The language of the Dark Elves. It's been ages since I've seen a physical text in this language that was this well-preserved."
"Can you read it?" Jack asked. He had his [Omni-linguistic Sense] spellcard if they couldn't understand the text. But if they could, he wouldn't bother with the card.
"Slowly." The professor admitted. "Dr. Crafton and I do not specialize in elven language. We've learned the vocabularies and grammar, but we aren't fluent. The idiomatic expressions and the script variations... it will take ti. Hours, maybe days, to get a clear translation.”
"You should start translating it then." Jack said. "Information is as good as a weapon in this place."
While the professors hunched over the diary, the rest of the group set up the basecamp. Sleeping mats were rolled out. And small portable stoves were lit to boil water. The orange swamp water wasn't toxic. But they still decided to rely on their supplies. And whatever purification spells or rituals the students could manage.
Jack felt a tug of curiosity. He didn't like sitting still. He signaled to Reina, who was organizing the dical supplies.
"I'm going down to the lower levels." Jack said. "Checking the situation."
"I'll co with you." Reina said instantly.
"Stay here. Keep an eye on the kids. We are hired for that, after all."
Reina nodded. Though her lips thinned in a slight pout.
Jack descended the spiral stairs. Rune followed him. Her glow shifted to a watchful orange. Incidentally matching the swamp's ambient light.
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If you, dear readers, enjoy the story and are willing to support my work, please visit and join /Alkrishna. It should be about 15 chapters ahead there.
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