[Cass]
Morning broke without sunlight. In Rootwater, "morning" meant lantern fungi brightening, water running louder through cracks, and Warbles climbing from burrows to begin work.
Cass sat in the council hollow, blueprint fragment unrolled before him. His hands still trembled from the Guardian fight, lungs raw with spore burn, but he kept them steady over the parchment.
The fragment glowed faint green, veins of spore-patterns etched across it.
[Blueprint Fragment – Spore Ward (Rare)]
Function:Creates a barrier that reduces infection spread within settlement bounds.
Requirements: Guardian Core, fungal resin, master crafter (alchemy/wards).
Beside it pulsed the Guardian Core — soft blue light, like a heartbeat that wasn't his.
Eshna paced tight circles. "It hums, Cass. As if it wants to be used."
Torv scowled. "Or as if it wants to call more of its kind. Things that glow down here never bring peace."
Cass tapped the parchment. His voice was rough but steady. "Peace doesn't matter. Survival does. This can hold the infection back."
The council argued. Some feared corruption, others begged him to bury the Core in stone. Cass let them speak until their voices blurred. Then he stood.
"You've smelled sickness in the water. You've seen animals limp and die. If we wait, Rootwater rots. This ward is our chance. We take it — or we die."
Silence followed. Even Torv's jaw shut tight.
Eshna exhaled, eyes hard. "I'll attempt it. But we'll need fungal resin from the deep groves. And a crafter skilled enough to shape it."
Cass nodded once. "We'll find both."
[System]: Quest Unlocked – Building the First Ward.
Objective: Gather fungal resin (0/12). Recruit master crafter (0/1). Install Guardian Core.
Reward:Rootwater gains Infection Resistance (Major).
Failure: Infection spreads unchecked.
By midday, whispers had already spread through the hamlet. Warbles glanced at Cass as he passed. Some bowed. Some made warding signs. "Child of Propervy," they murmured, half-fear, half-prayer.
Cass ignored them. Belief he could use. Worship would drown them all.
[Forum – Global Noise]
[StoneSeeker]: "Rumor from the deep: someone unlocked an anti-infection ward. Any proof?"
[Nocti]: "Saw a blurry screenshot. If true, game-changing."
[GuildBroker]: "Auction prices for fungal resin up 400%. Panic bids incoming."
[MetaWatcher]: "If this 'Ghost Lord' really has it, surface guilds can't afford to ignore Rootwater."
[Skeptik]: "Another fake. Grow up."
[Cass]
That night, Eshna led him to the crafting hollow. Warbles shaped clay, fungus, stone. One hunched elder worked apart, fingers stained in resin.
"This is Meriv," Eshna whispered. "Best ward-crafter we have. But—"
Meriv coughed, spores clinging to his skin. His eyes were clouded, half here, half gone.
Cass crouched, showing him the parchment. "Can you shape this?"
Meriv's fingers trembled across the lines. His lips curved faintly. "Guardian Core… haven't touched one since before your kind came. Yes. If I live long enough."
[System]: Sub-Quest – Save Meriv.
Objective: Acquire Purity Sap (0/3). Source: Glowtrees, Deep Tunnels.
Reward:Crafter restored; blueprint craft enabled.
Failure:Meriv dies; ward-craft impossible.
Cass closed the interface, jaw set. Another race against time. Another debt.
That night, alone by the Dawn Hole, he stared up at the thin shaft of air, the faint shimmer of unseen stars.
On his HUD, the broadcast window flickered.
[World's Dawn Chronicles]
Anchor: "Eight months in, the world grows darker. Rumors claim a so-called Ghost Lord killed an underground Elite and uncovered a defense against infection. Truth? Or just clever PR? Our analysts debate after the break."
Cass chuckled once, bitter. They didn't know him. They didn't need to. Not yet.
What mattered was Rootwater. What mattered was the ward.
Tomorrow, the hunt for Purity Sap would begin.
[System – Chapter Update]
Rootwater Stability: Fragile.
Food Reserves: 11 days.
Morale: Rising (Hopeful).
Threat: Infection encroaching.