The sunrise barely cut through the lingering dampness of the Songstress Village air. It was a cold morning. Made colder by the sudden, brutal reality of three more deaths.
Jack and his group left the safety of the Stave's house quite early in the morning. They needed to assess the situation before the gossip metastasized into panic.
They headed straight for the village church. The site of the priests' death. The scene was already a cluster of horrified villagers. Whispering and pointing.
Father Minnow, the timid local priest, looked like a hollowed-out skull. Stress had painted deep. Bruised circles were under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. Grief mixed with a potent frustration on his face.
"Father!" Jack greeted him. His voice flat.
Father Minnow turned. His eyes were bloodshot. "Mr. Night. They... They wouldn't listen. Too arrogant. Too sure of their divine protection."
He gestured vaguely at the covered bodies. "Now they're dead. Three good men. Wasted. And now I have to explain this to the Church's higher-ups. Piles of trouble." His voice cracked.
Jack sighed. He didn't offer platitudes. They would have been meaningless. "Any new information?"
Father Minnow shook his head. "None. Just like the others. No wounds. No poison. Just… dead. The village physician, old Mrs. Willow, checked them. Nothing. Not even a trace of fear in their faces, strangely enough. Just… sudden absence of life."
Jack scanned the scene. The villagers kept their distance from the bodies. The village guards were mostly directing traffic away. It was a chaotic mess. Driving the villagers with more panic and fear.
The bodies of the three priests lay sprawled near the stone steps. Their faces were mild. Showing bafflement, rather than pain. The pale blue energy of their divine protection was entirely absent. They looked surprisingly mundane in death.
"What a mess..." Jack muttered. Adjusting the collar of his thick coat.
Beside him, Reina radiated controlled elegance. Her dark eyes were sharp as she surveyed the scene. Observing the terror on the villagers' faces with natural calmness.
"At least, they did us a service, Dear." Reina said in a low and composed voice. "They proved that transcendent defenses are useless against this effect. Confirming that the attack is instantaneous and systemic, and likely non-physical in origin."
"The cause is likely related to sound. Or silence." Jack added. Looking toward the distant northern hills.
"We need more ground covered." Jack stated. Turning to his group. "Dividing our efforts should be logical here."
He looked at Reina, then Alenna, then Nick and Harold. "We'll all meet back at the Stave's house before sunset. No need to take risks. Understood?"
Everyone nodded. The raw display of power that killed the priests had sobered them completely.
"Alenna! Love!" Jack said. Addressing his woman and Mr. Keener's daughter. "You two investigate the mute parrot's death. And talk to the kids involved in that fight. Gather every detail. Any strange sounds. Any odd behaviors from the parrot or the children."
Reina gave a sharp nod. "Understood, Dear." Her black hair swayed. Alenna, though still a student, composed herself with a determined expression.
"Nick! Harold!" Jack continued. "Go to Farmer Drumbell's place. Examine the lightning-struck tree. See if anything unusual remains. And ask around about the minstrel. What kind of songs he sang. Who he talked to. Any specific dates or times."
Nick adjusted his glasses. "Right. The minstrel is an interesting lead. A stranger arriving just before everything started."
Harold, ever practical, simply grunted in agreement. Already pulling out a small notebook.
"I'll check the Northern Caves." Jack concluded. "The hunters mentioned going there for Dusk Bats. Could be a starting point for something related to the local wildlife or some other anomaly."
With the plan set, the groups dispersed.
Jack retrieved his Steamrune Hoverboard. He hadn't used it for a long time after he acquired his [Lightning Hoverbike]. But the hoverboard was still functional. And it was even better than before.
It hummed softly as he stepped onto it. Rune, his fairy companion, zipped around his head. A tiny beacon of light. A magnificent guide.
"Can you guide me to the source of this Twilight Death, Rune?" Jack asked. Without much expectation.
Rune glowed a dull grey. Then immediately shook her head.
Jack sighed. Already expecting it. "Not direct, then. Fine." He knew her limits. She was a guide. Not an omniscient oracle. "Alright, lead the way to the Northern Caves. And once there, guide me to the greatest point of interest. Can you do that?"
Rune brightened. She nodded as a vibrant green glow pulsated from her core. She zipped forward. A tiny, glowing guide pointing the way.
She was not just a fairy companion. Her design incorporates the Compass of Fortune and Compass of Desire. Guiding is her main feature.
Jack kicked off. And the hoverboard lifted smoothly. He glided over the village. Past the fields. Towards the rugged hills that marked the beginning of the Northern Caves region.
The wind whipped past him. Cool and clean. Rune danced ahead. Her light was a constant beacon to follow.
He covered ground quickly. The Northern Caves were a series of jagged rock formations. Riddled with countless entrances to subterranean networks. It was a known hunting ground. But it was also rumored to hold ancient, forgotten things.
As they reached the first cavern entrance, Jack slowed. Rune hovered. Glowing steadily with her emerald light. Indicating this was their entry point.
Jack dismounted his hoverboard. Putting it back into his Spatial Backpack. He pulled out his upgraded Steamrune Shotgun. Now with great silencer attached on it.
He stepped inside. The cave air was cool and damp. Natural light quickly faded. Jack's eyes quickly adapted with the darkness. The cave interior appeared very clearly in his sight.
Rune's glow provided some localized color as she continued guiding in front.
They didn't move far before they encountered the first inhabitants. A swarm of cat-sized Dusk Bats. Their leathery wings beating furiously as they descended from the ceiling.
Their eyes glowed faintly in the dimness. They shrieked. A high-pitched sound that grated on the nerves.
Jack didn't hesitate. He raised his shotguns. Pffft. Pffft. Two silenced scatter-shots. The fragile bats, despite their size, exploded in a shower of black fur and bone fragments.
He moved with brutal efficiency. Leading the spread of his pellets. More bats came. Screeching. Pffft. Pffft. Pffft. The cavern echoed with the sound of their death. Soon, the cavern was cleared. Dust and bat remains settled on the damp floor.
Rune continued to guide him deeper. The tunnels twisted and turned. Forming a natural labyrinth. Some passages were narrow. Forcing Jack to squeeze through. Others opened into wider chambers.
Deeper still, they encountered Cave Spiders. These were grotesque, multi-eyed arachnids. With even bigger size than the Dusk Bats. Their legs were thick and covered in coarse bristles. They scurried from crevices.
The silenced shotgun breathed its quiet death song. The spiders burst apart. Spraying ichor and segmented limbs. Jack moved through them without much emotion. They were obstacles. Nothing more.
Rune led him through what felt like hours of winding passages. Each seemed identical to the last. Save for the occasional monster. Her luminescent form never wavered. A constant, silent guide in the oppressive darkness.
Jack must adnit that without her, he would have been completely lost.
Finally, the tunnel opened into a truly massive cavern. Jack even struggled to encompass its full scale. His internal map and compass indicated that they were far beneath the surface. Deep within the earth.
Stalactites like colossal fangs hung from the ceiling. Their tips were dripping water that echoed in the vast space below.
And there, in the center of the cavern, was something impossible. The colossal skeleton of a... well, it should be a dragon. With that skull, horns, and other bones.
The size of the skeleton though... It dwarfed anything Jack had ever imagined. Its ribs formed a cathedral of bone. Spanning tens of meters long. Its segmented tail disappeared into shadow. Its skull alone was the size of a small house.
And within that gigantic skull, nestled in the empty eye socket, blazed a pearl. It was not merely glowing. It was blazing. A pulsating, searing light that cast dancing shadows across the cavern walls.
It hummed with raw energy. Radiating heat that even Jack could feel from a distance. The pearl was a miniature sun. Trapped in bone.
Jack approached cautiously. His shotgun was still ready. Though no threats seemed to emerge from the awe-inspiring scene. The air around the pearl shimmered. Distorted by its intense energy.
He stopped a respectful distance away. His eyes were fixed on the magnificent, terrifying relic.
"Rune!" Jack murmured. His voice was hushed. "Is this pearl related to the Twilight Death?"
Rune hovered beside the blazing pearl. Her own light dimming slightly in comparison. She shook her head. Her glow pulsed a soft, dull grey, indicating a 'no'.
The pearl was an anomaly. A power core. But it was not the cause of the villagers' demise.
Jack frowned. Not the Twilight Death. But what, then, was it? And why was it here? This discovery was significant. But it diverted from his immediate goal.
And this dragon... Was it the 'Singing Dragon' in the story? The one in the folk story Mr. Keener told them just yesterday? Was the story actually based on truth?