Chapter 9: Echoes of the Statue
Crags' ravines twisted under a gray sky, glyphs flickering on spires as Jason followed Voren's runners, the Farthalin's crimson glow heavy. Its whisper grew: Farthalin. The colossus vision—Kaldor silent—clung to him, scar throbbing. We're close. The system's hum—[Resolve Points: 2250%]—felt alive. 2150% Resolve Points—I'm at the edge. Lynn clutched the manuscript, her rune stone casting green light, her green eyes sharp. "The statue's ahead," she said, voice taut. She feels it. Celia scouted, her dagger a shadow, violet eyes scanning. Ren's warhammer gleamed, his red hair a flag, his sister's dream unyielding. Voren's runners flanked them, blades ready.
The ravine opened to a plaza, a massive statue looming, stone carved into a rune-lord, its glyphs pulsing blue, eyes hollow. It's ancient. Lynn knelt, tracing the sigils, her runestone glowing. "This channels Kaldor's power," she said, pulling a second manuscript from the base. Another key. "It's a ward map, tied to the rune war's end." She's unraveling it. She spread the manuscript on the ground, her fingers tracing the glyphs, her voice low. "It warns of a guardian… something tied to the colossus. If we activate the statue, it'll wake." A trap. Jason's Farthalin pulsed, a vision striking: a colossus moving, Kaldor's glyphs flaring, a voice roaring: You're mine.The colossus—it's here, its presence tied to the statue.
Rogues attacked, their glyphs red, blades glinting. It's a swarm—more than we've faced before. Jason counted twenty, their leader's rune stone unstable. "The statue!" he roared, charging. Jason parried, blade slashing, instincts fluid. Celia struck, her dagger slicing wards, her violet eyes lethal. "Like my brother's last stand," she growled. Ren roared, warhammer crushing armor, his voice a vow: "For Kaldor!" Lynn's rune flared, green light shielding her glyphs like a wall. Voren's runners fought, their blades sharp, but rogues pressed, glyphs cracking stone. They're desperate.
Jason ducked a blade, slamming a rogue into the statue, its glyphs flaring. Lynn's rune cracked the second manuscript, sigils aligning. "It's a lock!" she shouted, her voice rising. She's got it. The statue hummed, glyphs brightening, but the Farthalin burned, its whisper a scream: You're mine.It's fighting. Jason slashed, felling a rogue, his scar searing. The leader's rune exploded, shattering stone, and the rogues fled. We held. The system pinged: [System Insight: Secured status. Reward: 300 Resolve Points. Resolve Points: 2550%.]
Lynn clutched the manuscript, her eyes wide. "This unlocks Kaldor's grid," she said, her voice trembling. A step closer. But the plaza trembled, glyphs dimming, a shadow moving in the mist. Not rogues. The statue's hollow eyes flared red, stone cracking as a glyph-beast emerged—a wolf of rune-etched stone, its growl echoing with the colossus's voice. It's awake. Jason gripped his blade, the Farthalin's crimson light flaring. Celia darted, her dagger aiming for the beast's joints, violet eyes fierce. Ren swung, warhammer cracking stone, his roar unyielding. Lynn's rune pulsed, green vines binding the beast's legs, her voice sharp: "Aim for the core glyph!"
Jason lunged, the Farthalin guiding his strike, blade piercing the beast's chest glyph in a burst of blue light. The creature shattered, stone fragments raining down, the plaza stilling. Kael, the scarred runner, panted, his blade bloodied. "That's the statue's guardian," he said, his voice grim. There'll be more. The Farthalin's whisper surged, a darkness coiling tighter in Jason's mind, pulling him toward the statue's hollow eyes, where Kaldor's secrets and its dangers waited.