The next week turned into a blur for Jake as they endlessly delved the same Dungeons again and again. It was bloody work, and Jake quickly found himself running the last delve or two of each day on his own.
He was fairly sure that was his Delver’s Will Trait coming into play, giving him the drive to push on and face the dangerous monotony of fighting the same monsters over and over again.
It was a grinding process, and it took its toll on all of them, but the results were undeniable.
In no time at all, Alan was at the peak of the second tier and ready to Ascend. That put three of the five of them there now, an incredible feat that they’d worked hard to achieve.
“So, not wanting to rush you,” Aspen said as they relaxed in the safehouse between delves. “But how much more do you need to get to where we are?”
“Not much, just a final second tier Dungeon, and I’m done,” Jake said with a satisfied smile. It had taken over a week, but he’d managed to make it to the tenth rank of the tier.
He’d even managed to bring his Wyrd Infusion Skill up to the fourth rank as well, improving its effects to the best they could be until he somehow advanced it further.
Between the increase in rank and relentless delving, Jake was at a new peak in his strength, and he just needed that final Dungeon to start pushing forward once more.
The problem now, though, was to decide what to do next. Jake was as ready as he was going to be while staying here, and Nepthys was the same.
Aspen, Gargan and Alan could try to start working toward their Deeds for Ability upgrades, but that would be a long process, and they’d get very little benefit in the short term.
That was, if they even saw any benefit at all. Gaining the Deeds for Abilities seemed very difficult to predict.
No, if the three of them wanted to gain any more strength, they needed to move on to the next Realm. That had become abundantly clear as far as Jake was concerned.
The problem was getting Nepthys the Deeds she needed and Jake his final Dungeon. Well, the issue was more with Jake’s side than anything.
They’d been lucky to avoid detection so far, but travelling somewhere new brought new risks, and the chance of the Triarchy or the Fatesworne catching their trail was high.
That meant that once they left, they had to act as though they were already being hunted.
Of course, the situation was more complex than all this. The Fatesworne were up to something, and Jake wanted to pay them back for what they’d done before he left. The outpost Gordon had mentioned was the key, he was sure of that.
Making all of that come together to a workable plan was a headache, but hopefully, Gordon’s return would help matters.
Once they’d achieved their short-term goals, they cut back on the delving, intending to rest and prepare for the trials to come.
Thankfully, Gordon returned two days into their rest period, bringing with him the answers to their questions.
-**-
“So,” Jake said once they were all gathered in the small living area of the safehouse. “What were you able to find out?”
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“The first thing you need to know is that Corrupter activity is rising sharply,” Gordon said with a grim expression. “There have been three more first tier Dungeons destroyed in the last week. It was a single group travelling in a roughly straight line, destroying a Dungeon every other day.”
“Was?” Nepthys echoed as Jake winced.
“They were intercepted two days ago by Triarchy forces. We don’t know the exact details, but the Corrupters were killed and the Triarchy suffered heavy casualties.”
“At least it’s been dealt with,” Jake said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Though I’m surprised the Triarchy were involved.”
“Normally, they’d lack the right people for a problem like this,” Gordon said with a nod. “This particular group was led by the classer who was called in to track you down. It seemed he broke off of your trail to deal with them.”
“That might explain why we’ve been able to stay here as long as we have,” Jake said, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully before pausing. “You said heavy casualties. Does that include the hunter himself?”
“I’m afraid not, but he will be delayed and need to find your trail again, which gives us time.”
“You said ‘us’. Does that mean your superiors decided to approve our request?” Jake asked eagerly.
“They do, I’ve been given as much information as we have on the outpost and the Triarchy activity there.”
“Wait, wait,” Alan said, holding up his hands to stop Gordon. “I don’t get it. If the Triarchy is working with the Corrupters, why hunt them down?”
“I was wondering that myself,” Aspen said with a slight shrug. “As well as what the Corrupters were hoping to achieve. The timing is suspicious.”
“We dealt with the first group,” Nepthys said softly. “Perhaps they were hoping we’d be drawn out to attack them as well.”
Jake shivered at the thought and turned back to Gordon. “You said heavy casualties, didn’t you? Just how bad was it?”
“From what we know, over a dozen first tier guards were killed, as well as several veteran hunters.”
“That sounds like a lot for a small band of Corrupters attacking first tier Dungeons,” Jake said with a growing frown. “I think you’re right, Nepthys. This was an attempt to draw us out, one that would have worked if we’d known about it.”
Silence stretched over the room for a few moments as they considered what might have been.
Clearing his throat, Alan broke the silence and brought them back to his original question. “So why would the Triarchy interfere, especially if this was a ploy to draw us out?”
“If I may,” Gordon said, drawing their attention back to him. “I think I can give you an answer to that. Perhaps not a good one, but the best we have. It’s best if I start at the beginning, though, if you don’t mind?”
Jake nodded and waved for Gordon to continue.
“First of all, the seeker that has been brought in to hunt you is called Kirn Valnacht. He is a fourth tier classer, as best we can tell. Our sources within the Triarchy say that he wasn’t invited here by the local administration, but instead arrived due to the death of his grandson.”
“His grandson?” Jake echoed with a frown, trying to remember anyone with a similar name that they’d come across.
Gordon nodded with a serious expression. “Yes. Commander Valnacht was a second-tier classer who commanded the outpost where Nepthys was being held. He died during the fighting, supposedly at Jake’s hands.”
Absolute silence followed Gordon’s statement before they all began to talk at once. Shock and confusion had them all talking over each other until Jake clapped his hands.
“Stop, let’s think about this. Nepthys, do you remember him?” Jake asked.
“I think so,” Nepthys said hesitantly. “He seemed unsure and a little upset when I was brought there. The Seeker who’d caught me forced the issue somehow, though.”
Jake nodded slowly, filing that away for the future. “Alright, so who killed him, then?”
“Not us,” Ari said from the door, a half-empty bottle of spirits in his hand. “Felix killed the Seeker, but the Commander wasn’t tough enough to push us, so we left him alive but injured.”
“So if we didn’t kill him, then who did?” Alan asked, looking more than a little confused.
“I think the Fatesworne may well be responsible,” Gordon said, drawing incredulous looks from the rest of them.
“That’s a hefty statement,” Aspen said with a low whistle. “Got something to back that up?”
“I think I do,” Gordon said with a tight smile. “Part of the information I’ve brought you is that the Fatesworne seem to be assassinating key Triarchy figures within Strovia. We didn’t realise it was all linked at first, but the growing activity has helped define the two different sides.”
“Different sides?” Jake echoed with a frown, not quite sure what Gordon was saying.
“Within the Triarchy,” Gordon said, any trace of his smile vanishing. “As best we can tell, there is a renegade faction within the Strovian arm of the Triarchy, and they are working with the Corrupters and Fatesworne to achieve some unknown objective.”
