Chapter 4: Map of the First Flame
The vault's glyphs pulsed, casting blue light across Lynn's face as she worked, her rune stone glowing green, tracing sigils with precision. "These tie to the Rune Wars," she said, her voice steady, robe shimmering with woven glyphs. She's in her element. Jason stood guard, the Farthalin's crimson pulse unsettling, its colossus vision—You're mine—fading but sharp. It's testing me. His scavenged blade gleamed, blood from the tunnel fight still drying on its edge. Celia circled the vault, her violet eyes scanning the mist, dagger ready. Ren's warhammer rested on his shoulder, his stance iron, eyes burning with his sister's dream. The undercity's hum wavered, a tremor rippling through the stone.
Lynn's rune cracked the vault, a stone tablet sliding free, its glyphs ancient, etched deep. A relic. "It's a map to Kaldor's first statue," she said, eyes alight, fingers tracing the sigils. A key. She turned to Jason, her voice low: "The rune war started when lords pushed their glyphs too far—wards, colossi, weapons. They turned volatile and broke Kaldor. We're fixing their mess." Her robe hid scars, her exile a shadow behind her resolve. She's like me. Jason's scar throbbed, the Farthalin whispering: You're mine. He pushed it down, studying the tablet, its glyphs a maze of power—rivers of blue light, a central spire marked with a crimson rune, warnings etched in jagged lines: Beware the waking stone.
Celia's voice cut through: "Rogues." Shadows surged from the mist, their glyphs flaring red, blades glinting. Ambush. Jason moved, blade parrying a rogue's strike, his instincts fluid. Celia struck, her dagger slicing a ward, violet eyes lethal. Ren roared, warhammer crushing armor, his rage a storm: "For my sister!" Lynn's rune flared, her glyph a shield, green light holding the line. We're a unit. Jason ducked a blade, slamming his elbow into a rogue's throat, air hissing out. The rogues faltered, their leader dropping a glyph map, its sigils crude. Celia snatched it, her eyes fierce. "They're after the statue." Like her brother's hunts.
The rogues fled, their glyphs dimming. Lynn clutched the tablet, her rune stone steady. "This statue channels Kaldor's power," she said, voice firm. Our first step. Jason's Farthalin pulsed, a vision flashing: Kaldor reborn, but shadowed, a colossus looming. The vision's lying—it wants me to fear the colossus. He gripped his blade, senses taut. The system flashed: [System Insight: Secured manuscript. Reward: 300 Resolve Points. Resolve Points: 1250%.] 950% Resolve Points—how much more can I take? His mind churned, the Farthalin's warmth a double-edged comfort.
Lynn studied the map, her fingers tracing a path from the vault through glyph-lit tunnels, past a marked chasm, to a spire glowing with crimson. "We head north," she said, her voice resolute. "The statue's guarded, but the map warns of a glyph-beast." Great. Celia took point, her dagger gleaming, violet eyes sharp. Ren adjusted his warhammer, his resolve a quiet fire. Jason followed, the Farthalin's pulse steady, its shadow coiling in his mind.
The tunnel narrowed, glyphs lining the walls in a pulsing blue rhythm, their light casting eerie shadows. A low growl echoed, the ground trembling faintly. Here it comes. A glyph-beast emerged—jagged stone limbs, blue glyphs glowing across its back, eyes void-black. Bigger than the last. Celia darted left, her dagger slashing a glyph, sparks flying. "Hit its core!" she shouted. Ren charged, warhammer smashing a limb, stone cracking. Jason lunged, the Farthalin blazing crimson, striking the beast's central glyph. The impact jolted his arm, the glyph shattering in a burst of blue light, but the beast roared, another glyph flaring to heal it.
Lynn's rune stone flared, green vines wrapping the beast's legs, slowing it. "Keep going!" she yelled, her voice strained. Jason ducked a claw, pain flaring as it grazed his side, and struck again, the Farthalin's light searing through. The beast's glyphs dimmed, its movements faltering, until a final strike to its core sent it crumbling, blue light fading into dust. The system pinged: [System Insight: Defeated glyph-beast. Reward: 200 Resolve Points. Resolve Points: 1450%.]
They pressed on, the tunnel opening to a glyph-lit path, the spire's crimson glow visible in the distance. Lynn's map glowed faintly, its sigils aligning with the terrain—rivers dried to ash, a chasm bridged by rune-carved stone. "The statue's close," she said, her eyes fixed ahead. Jason's scar pulsed, the Farthalin's whisper growing: Power awaits. The undercity's hum deepened, a tremor shaking the path, glyphs flickering. Something's waking. The team moved forward, blades and runes ready, the map's promise—and the fight beyond—drawing them on.