The Satyrs had polished off every last drop of honey in the jar and were currently licking their hairy arms of the bits of honey still stuck to them. Rather than sicken myself by observing them, I decided I would instead survey my surroundings. To my surprise, the Satyrs after knocking me out had obligingly carried me in the direction I had wanted to go. I could see a large, stone edifice perched precariously over a cliff an estimated few hours hike from where I was now.

  How else but with magic could they have created such a place? Otherwise it would have slipped right off that cliff long ago! Again, how have I never heard of such an impressive place like this before?

  The Abbey looked as it had in my dream. A dark cloud hung over top it and a veil of shadow made its stone walls look black and foreboding. Its windows were dark and lifeless. From the outside, it appeared to be abandoned. I could just barely hear the waves of the Orichalcum crashing against the cliff in the distance.

  Not a hint of Shadowmurk, thank the Gods. No, some other curse has befallen the place. What has become of the monks? Ord help me, I don’t want to tangle with whatever that presence was I sensed. If only I had more Nodes I could use, if only my Faction numbers were higher, if only…

  I shook my head angrily. This was no time for self pity over what I didn’t have. What I did have would have to be enough, simply put. I would have to find my own way in, I surmised. Marching up to the front gate and asking to be let in, as I had originally intended, now seemed like asking for trouble. Whatever had befallen the monks I did not want happening to me. Therefore stealth would be my best option.

  Stealth, however, was not my strong suit.

  “Human! I bring a missive from Lord Gor!” I glanced over my shoulder and saw Draflough trying to put her entire fist in her mouth.

  You have received the Quest: Reunite the Quartet!

  Success: Locate Curmlough and reunite him with his brothers and sister. +200 Faction Gor.

  Failure: Curmlough remains lost. -200 Faction Gor.

  Duration: 7 days

  “If your brother is in the Abbey, I’ll find him.” I said to Draflough kindly. She belched and smacked her lips.

  “Lord Gor says you are a fool,” Draflough said with a sticky grin. “He said you let yourself get tricked onto a path that’s going to get you killed. He said to tell you that both he and Wik have tried granting you alternatives.” I stared at the Satyr for a moment until she belched again then walked back over to her brothers who were both fighting over who got to try and stick their entire head into the too small opening of the honey jug.

  “Alright, that wasn’t at all upsetting to hear.” While it was true that Gor had offered me an Advanced class before I was offered the Prophet path it never would have occurred to me that the Lord of Beasts had been trying to do me a favor. Wik had meant to help me as well? Why would they do that? It was all water under the bridge now, anyway. I had chosen my path and I would walk it. Hopefully with Gor’s help, if not approval, eventually.

  “Would any of you know of another way into the Abbey other than the front gate? How would Curmlough have entered?” I asked after walking back over to join the remnants of the Quartet. The er…Trio. The Satyrs all shared a look, then harrumphed and cleared their throats loudly.

  “He wants us to share our secrets,” Turlough whispered in Draflough’s ear, but I was able to hear regardless. They were standing right in front of me.

  “No, he wants us to give our secrets…for free!” Sendough growled in her other ear, shooting me a suspicious glance.

  “Quiet.” Draflough stroked her beard as she appeared lost in thought. She then pushed back the unruly mop of hair on her head revealing the nubs of two horns sticking out of her forehead.

  I am negotiating with magical creatures right now, aren’t I? Gor, Lord of Beasts, Father of the First Children of Aramyr, I may be a fool, but I am grateful for your intervention and sending your Chosen to aid me.

  Draflough’s eyes unfocused for a moment, then she blinked and focused upon me once more.

  “Very well. There is a cave where the monks have nets they use to catch fish. There are some stairs leading up through the mountain and into the Abbey.” I nodded in understanding. It made sense that the monks would need a sustainable source of food and with the ocean so close they would naturally harvest as much as they could from it.

  “Thank you. If you will point me in the right direction, I’ll be on my way.”

  “We will wait for you here,” Turlough said. His sticky fingers were twirled in his beard making the hairs on his face resemble a porcupine’s quills.

  “No! We will wait for you at the cave!” Sendough had created twin spikes out of his beard resembling the horns on his head.

  “Quiet! We will take you to the cave, then we will wait 7 days,” Draflough said with finality. The other two quickly nodded. “If you have not found Curmlough by then…”

  “I understand,” I said. There was no sense in arguing and I was eager to get going. I could feel the shard within me pulse. It was adding to my sense of urgency.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  I struggled to keep up with the Satyrs as we walked. Despite their short statures and possessing hooves instead of feet, they were all nimble and quick. The forest was their domain and it showed. They didn’t speak to me, but would mutter to one another from time to time. I didn’t resent them for avoiding me. I had a lot to prove to them and to Gor.

  I just pray Curmlough isn’t dead. Or that he attacks me like the others did.

  Turlough led the way and I noticed he was leading us on a slanted path towards the cliff, but one that also veered towards the ocean. We exited the tree line and the Orichalcum came into view. I tried to ignore the bits and pieces of old shipwrecks I saw washed up on the beach, but it was a melancholy reminder of my lost Brothers. I muttered a prayer to Hul that he would guide the lost souls home.

  The cave was easy to find. It was at the bottom of the cliff directly below the Abbey. The mouth of the cave had formed over eons allowing the Orichalcum to flow into and under a part of the mountain creating a natural sea cave where I took note of where the monks had constructed a dock from which they could cast their fishing nets and lay out their oyster traps. I wondered at first how I would reach the dock, but the Satyrs brought me to a stretch of rocks that extended out a short ways away from the beach and into the ocean. They had a small coracle hidden between some of the rocks a human could fit inside with one other. Draflough indicated she would paddle me to the dock. From there, I deduced I would be on my own once more.

  “I thank you for bringing me this far,” I said, bowing to each of them in turn.

  “If you find our Brother, we might let you share more of that honey with us,” Turlough said.

  “No! You will gift any more honey to me as thanks for sparing you!” Sendough said then he and Turlough started shoving one another.

  “Quiet! Wait here until I return. We will share any honey the Human gifts us.”

  I stifled a grin and nodded solemnly. I didn’t have any of the Firebeetle honey left, but they didn’t need to know that.

  I climbed into the coracle and Draflough climbed in after me. Turlough and Sendough pushed us further into the water away from the rocks and Draflough started to paddle. I waved goodbye to Turlough and Sendough. Sendough waved back enthusiastically until Turlough shoved him again, almost sending him into the ocean.

  “Idiots,” I heard Draflough mutter, but I sensed a warmth in her voice when she said it.

  “Is Curmlough like your other brothers?” I asked. Draflough grunted.

  “Curmlough is a sot and a layabout. He never does as he is told! He took something from our Grove he wasn’t supposed t…” Draflough shut her mouth with a snap and I turned to regard her.

  “He took something he wasn’t supposed to? What was it?”

  “Never you mind, Human! Just find him and tell him I’m going to wack him good for causing so much trouble!”

  “Um, okay.” I turned around again and didn’t ask any further questions. I had picked up on the concern in Draflough’s voice and determined that one way or another I would find out what happened to Curmlough. Family is important. I was still agonizing over how my family would react when they learned about the Eagle’s Talon sinking.

  I wonder if there is a spell that would allow me to send them a message? I wonder which of the Gods would even offer such a thing? Come to think of it, why is the magic being offered to me by each God so different? Priests of Wik can heal. Likewise, Priests of Mir can cast offensive magics. Why is the Faction Web Terminal so static in what it offers? It is as if each spell on the web so far is a simplified version of which each God represents at their core?

  I felt like I was on to something with that line of reasoning, but there was no time to consider it further. Draflough steered the coracle up to a ladder set next to the dock. I grabbed the ladder with both hands and pulled myself up hand over hand to the dock.

  “Seven days, Human.” Draflough whispered. Voices carried in the cave and she was mindful of the echo. Without another word, Draflough quickly paddled away without a backward glance. I was sorry to see her go. I prayed that rescuing Curmlough would grant me enough Faction with Gor that she and her brothers would be more friendly the next time we met.

  If there is a next time.

  I sighed as I took in my surroundings. Oil lamps sputtered and flickered in dirty glass casings throwing dim light across the cave. I examined one of the lanterns more closely and found the oil within nearly spent. It smelled greasy and foul. The lamps had not been filled in some time and would soon gutter out. Before that happened and I was in darkness, I wanted to enter the Abbey proper.

  I made my way down the dock, the warped wood creaking with each step. It sounded loud to my ears, but I was alone and in a hurry. There was a wide opening where the dock ended with a set of stone steps leading up. The moment I placed my foot upon the first of the steps a soul window flashed before my eyes and I jerked backwards in surprise.

  Quest Complete!

  Find the Lost Abbey of Twilight.

  Success: +100 Faction Light and Shadow Pantheon.

  Bonus: 12 Green Nodes, 3 Blue Nodes, 1 Red Node

  Quest Updated!

  Part 1: Locate Prior Sandoval

  Part 2: Locate Abbot Caspendeau

  Part 3: Locate the Shard of Ara

  Success: TBD

  Failure: Loss of all Faction

  My jaw dropped. Ahh, I remembered! Saint Caradan’s. I had used Lore Sight upon a strange man who had caught my eye and received a Quest from doing so. A unique occurrence that had been pushed to the back of my mind while dealing with more immediate concerns. So, this was the Abbey of Twilight? Fate was both my Holy Domain, but it also felt like a hand upon my back pushing me down a route I could scarcely comprehend. Now Fate had brought me here and it was clear to me now from the moment I had absorbed a Shard of Ara, my destiny was decided. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Did I surrender my free will when I accepted the Prophet Class too?

  ‘Lord Gor says you are a fool…’ Draflough had said. Doubts were creeping around the edge of my mind, but I pushed them away for now.

  The steps went up three flights and exited into a larder. I paused to take a breath after all those steps and glanced around. The fireplace in the kitchen was cold. The herbs and garlic were rotted where they were hung. I poked my head into a side room and found the still active Cold Rune functioning, but several haunches of beef and pork were black and green with age regardless.

  It’s so quiet. Even Monks aren’t this quiet.

  I had a host of new nodes to spend and I had felt the mana within me shift in response to the influx of Faction I had been awarded. I wanted to spend it immediately, but that would have to wait until I found a safe place to do so. Everything felt so eerie and I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being watched. On instinct, I cast Caretaker’s Guidance to pierce any illusions, but all was as it appeared. I also cast Congruency Darts and held them at the ready, the rotating needles around my wrist granting me a small amount of confidence I could protect myself.

  Finally, I found a door which led into a large room I identified immediately. The Refectory was where all the monks would have gathered for their meal. The Abbey of Twilight had a very spartan version as compared to Saint Caradan’s or even Saint Ioven’s. The wooden tables looked ancient and were held together with rusted iron fittings. Even the pulpit above where a monk would have recited prayers and holy readings looked like it was about to collapse, its gilded paint flaking and the wooden frame cracked.

  Have the Gods abandoned this place too?

  Despite my growing sense of foreboding, I was heartened to see Ord’s symbol displayed prominently everywhere. In fact, Ord’s symbology was the only symbology I found. Nothing of Mir, Hul, Qas or Tek and nothing to aid me in recognizing which Saint blessed the Abbey, as was tradition.

  I decided my best course of action was to try and find Curmlough first. Yet, where to find a Satyr in an Abbey? Monks didn’t keep prisoners. There were no dungeons or jails. It may have been that Curmlough wasn’t even a prisoner, but hiding somewhere. Where would he hide?

  Searching blindly would get me nowhere, 7 days or not. I needed a strategy while avoiding as much danger as possible. I exited the Refectory through a door opposite where I had entered. If this place followed the same layout…

  No, I was in a hallway now overlooking a garden below. Overgrown and dark, my eyes were able to trace a path through the garden until there was a gate and then…

  The Abbey graveyard. My heart sank. In the middle of the graveyard was a Dungeon portal, this one emanating a swirling red light indicating it was the most dangerous variety I could have come across.

  I really hope you aren’t in there, Curmlough.