One of the first things I did as we started walking was that I used Lore Sight on both my captors.

  Name: Sneed

  Class: ?

  Profession: Miller-26

  Lore: Miller Sneed is considered by the townsfolk of Goodlabor to be an overbearing man who usually can be found grinding the town’s millet for a fee. When a Stranger came down from the Abbey and gifted him a Fel Shard, bizarre changes began to occur around Goodlabor.

  Name: Leif Welmer

  Class: ?

  Profession: Farmer-4

  Lore: Leif is the youngest of the seven Welmer children. He spends his days helping his mother tend the wheat fields. He loves his dog Pal.

  Ding!

  Lore Sight has reached Tier III! Some additional Lore may be provided.

  Tier III, but I can’t see what their Classes are? Lore Sight still has a way to go, I suppose. A Miller and a Farmer? That can’t be right. Is there something wrong with my Skill?

  I could hear Leif tromping behind me, crushing the ground beneath his feet with great strides, which forced me to trot at a quick pace. This was a child? That clearly wasn’t right either. Something was wrong with Lore Sight. My eyes were not seeing what the skill was telling me I was looking at. And what was a Fel Shard?

  The further we walked, the more I began to notice a strange scent in the air. It was faint at first, then it became a mix of cinnamon, brine and rot. Sweet mixed with decay. It was altogether unpleasant. Then Lore Sight, which I had continued to use, sent me a terrifying message.

  You have entered a Tier III Shadowmurk, Sector 13AX4 (Goodlabor). WARNING! Shadowmurk Mutation time increased by 12%. 25 hours, 59 Minutes, 55 Seconds remaining. Exit Sector 13AX4 immediately or risk permanent mutation! Mutation will be randomly determined from Blight Map Sector list.

  Shadowmurk! I froze in my steps so suddenly that Leif grunted behind me and I fell forward onto the ground when he bumped into my back. I spat dirt and wiped my lips, but even on the ground I could see it now. Wisps of purple mist was seeping up from the ground before my eyes.

  How much have I already breathed in? Ord’s Mercy, I cannot stay here!

  Shadowmurk. It had always seemed like someone else’s problem. Ordheim was blessedly removed from the strange mist that always seemed to appear from nowhere and mutate anything that fell within its borders. Beasts, animals, plants even people and wandering monsters didn’t escape the horrifying results of wandering within the purple fog for too long. It changed, warped and blighted everything it touched and always to a terrible result. Men might grow extra limbs, Elves might develop scales and weep acid tears, Dwarves might grow beards of living snakes. The one commonality? Madness. The affected always lost their minds and would turn upon loved ones or anyone else who crossed their path. Now, I was trapped within its borders.

  There was no time to ponder my flesh melting off my bones or growing another arm as I was lifted effortlessly to my feet by Leif. The big brute grunted and I discerned he wanted me to continue walking. I hurried forward, not wanting him near me. He smelled like a privy that hadn’t been cleaned in weeks.

  Sneed had not stopped walking and we soon reached an old stone wall that at some point in the past must have had a uniform height of over eight feet, but was now riddled with broken stones, cracked supports and in some places had gaping holes. As such, waiting for the sturdy gate to open seemed more an act of irony than necessity. I could have easily slipped through one of the gaps. I would remember that. Leif stepped forward and unbarred the door, his muscles bulging. I swallowed the lump in my throat and followed him and Sneed into the town Goodlabor.

  Why bar the door from the outside?

  The town looked to have been painted in shades of purples, reds and blacks. The ground itself was obscured by the now omnipresent Shadowmurk and the homes seemed to droop like rows of old men standing shoulder to shoulder with bent backs and weatherworn skin. The people were not much better off, and I saw men, women and children out in the street. All appeared Human, or at least I saw no outward mutations. Everyone I saw was dressed in drab gray clothing and wore blank expressions that looked through a person rather than at them. I shuddered and not from the chill in the air.

  “Welcome, welcome!” Sneed cried out, upsetting the silence of the town and startling me with how quickly he whirled about to smile that overly large smile of his. I heard Leif replacing the bar over the door from the inside this time. Despite the gaps in the wall, I still felt trapped all the same. Sneed ignored the rest of the townsfolk, who ignored us in turn and went about their mindless business. His attention was only for me.

  “Brother Kenric, I shall escort you to our modest Chapel. Leif, run and fetch the Mayor. The Town Crier must be summoned to let all of Goodlabor know that Lord Xat has sent us another sign!” Leif grunted and lumbered away while townsfolk quickly moved out of the giant’s path without comment or complaint of any kind.

  “I hope I do not inconvenience you or the fine folk of this town overmuch with my presence,” I said, desperate to break the uncomfortable silence between myself and Sneed. The way he never stopped smiling was stretching my nerves to their limit.

  “Follow,” he whispered, leaning close and never breaking eye contact.

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  The Chapel was the epicenter of Goodlabor and the only structure made of stone, the others I had seen being all of wood. What immediately drew the eye was that it was clearly a Chapel dedicated to Mir with architecture one would find in most villages. Where larger, Ord dedicated churches were more soaring towers and sharp, gothic angles Goodlabor’s chapel was a more blockish structure with a rounded dome top. Weathered, yet still possessing a semblance of the archaic wonder it had once been. Within, I was shocked to finally find a space bare of Shadowmurk. Could the poison not enter? Perhaps, I prayed, there might still be some holy presence here keeping it at bay.

  Sneed paused at the doorway, as if hesitant to venture within. Two black pits stared into my eyes and didn’t blink. “Dear Brother Kenric, I can see the changes swirling within you. It will not be long before you become one of us fully.”

  “Friend Sneed, I don’t know what you mean?” I tried and failed to keep my voice from shaking and failed. For the first time, Sneed’s smile slipped.

  “You will soon receive the Gift of Xat. Do not pretend that you can lie to me as you have been, boy! Whether you are from the Abbey or not is irrelevant. The Gift cannot be denied. Whatever Class you now possess, once Xat’s Gift takes hold it will change to one more suited to your new task.”

  Is he suggesting Shadowmurk can mutate Classes as well? Ord’s Mercy!

  “What task might that be, Friend Sneed?” I asked, my blood cold. Sneed’s smile reappeared, but now there was no mistaking the sneer, the malevolence that lurked behind it.

  “Why, to become our new Chaplain, of course! Unlike you, I am not a liar of the False Ones. I speak only the truth, Xat’s Truth, and so it shall be! You shall aid us in finally being able to reconsecrate this Chapel fully to Xat, driving out the stench of the False Ones that yet linger!”

  I took a step backward into the Chapel and Sneed made as if to follow me, but something held him back and as his foot attempted to cross the threshold of the Chapel a brief look of pain flashed across his pale face and he drew back. “Yessss, it won’t be long before you are one of us. I must be patient. Just a few hours more, I sense. The Mayor and I must prepare for this momentous occasion. You shall remain here, dear Brother. Yessss. Remain here and let Xat’s Truth purify you within and without!”

  Sneed slammed the Chapel doors shut with a loud crash that shook the building causing clouds of dust to rain down upon my head, but I ignored them. I knew what Sneed was waiting for. I pulled up the most recent notification.

  WARNING! Shadowmurk Mutation in 25 hours, 9 minutes, 32 seconds! Exit Sector 13AX4 immediately or risk permanent mutation!

  Somehow Sneed had been able to sense or perhaps hypothesized that I would be infected as anyone would be by the Shadowmurk and now seemed to believe that instead of turning into a monster or going insane that I would instead become a willing follower for his heretical worship of his make-believe God, Xat.

  If only I still had that Weak Cleanse spell! I’m sure that would drive the sickness away.

  I still didn’t know which God had granted me that spell within the Spiral of Ara dungeon, although I suspected Mir had done so. The problem then became having enough Faction and available nodes to get the spell when and if it became available. I saw no immediate path to achieving that and it was fruitless to search the Web Terminal since areas I couldn’t yet access were behind a fog. I had to focus upon what I could accomplish in the here and now.

  Fists clenched, I took in my surroundings. Thankfully, it was well-lit with torches set along the walls. Closer examination revealed them to be small mana stones, which explained how they still burned when Sneed and likely the others of this town were unable or unwilling to enter. The Chapel had clearly not seen any worshippers in some time. It broke my heart to see such a beautiful old place of worship treated so.

  The floor of the chamber were uniform blocks of giant grey stones. The walls were covered in a white plaster, which in turn were painted over with bright scenes, caricatures of domestic animals and farm life. A far cry from the more structured, militaristic art one found at Saint Ioven’s or Saint Caradan’s.

  Surprisingly, I discovered I was wrong about this being a Chapel dedicated solely to Mir. Statues of other Gods had been set upon pedestals and placed around the room, but they had been severely damaged, as was evidenced by heavy stones and rocks scattered around them. In my mind’s eye, I could see Leif standing at the entrance to the chapel hurling the rocks at the statues without having to enter the Chapel itself.

  I looked up at the curved domed roof above and I could just make out the cobwebs stirring in a breeze. The pews were completely destroyed, and I had to pick my way carefully over and past their wreckage to avoid tripping. How was I to escape this fate? I knew with certainty that there was no way, even if I could escape Goodlabor, that I would find my way alone out of the Shadowmurk in time to stop the mutation. Sneed, Leif and likely the rest of the townsfolk could no longer be counted on as being human any longer or willing to listen to reason. They were certainly Murk Mutants now. Soon, it would be the same for me. I crossed the Transept and approached the altar. At least one part of the Chapel seemed to have survived any damage.

  I approached the Nave where the altar rested and looked upon its smooth surface, behind it and below it for anything that might help me. A healing potion? A scroll? Nothing. Not even a prayer book that I might hold for comfort. I’m not sure what I expected, but I had thought there might be something here that could help me. Had I been relying too much upon providence? I have always just done what others have told me to do. Now, I was in charge of my own fate and the consequences of my actions had led me straight into a village full of Murk-mad heretics. Finally, feelings of despair nearly overwhelming me, I dropped to my knees before the altar palms held upward in supplication. My eyes dropped to the sides of the altar where stone carvings of monks knelt in prayer. Lore Sight revealed something interesting when I saw a slight depression in one of the carving’s eyes.

  Leaning forward, I poked a finger into the depression and was rewarded when it slid backward with a click. The sound of stone grinding against stone came next and a corner of the altar slid aside revealing a staircase leading down. At the bottom of the steps sat a portal of swirling, green colored energy.

  “Another hidden staircase under a floor. This is becoming a habit.”

  Congratulations! You have discovered the entrance to the Monk’s Faith Test [CORRUPTED] Dungeon! Monk’s Faith Test is designated as [Tier 1].

  Lore: Monk’s Faith Test is a single-use dungeon for PRIEST classes only. Last cleared in {121 cycles}. Portal Decay at {100%}. Challenges are random, but will be selected according to Classes involved, Levels and Divine favor(s). Current Mana density suggests Monk’s Faith Test {Sub-sector 13AX42} has a [Void Energy] infestation.

  Possible Rewards: Rare Weapons and Armor, Semi-Precious Gems, Advanced Skills, Secondary Power Node.

  “Gods above, I know I said I would never enter a Dungeon again, but this is my way out of this mess, isn’t it?” He tried focusing his Lore Sight on what it meant by Corrupted, but this time the skill gave him nothing. Perhaps it wasn’t important?

  You know better than that, don’t you?

  He also focused upon the Secondary Power Node that was one of the possible rewards for clearing the Dungeon. Saying the reward was ‘possible’ meant that the reward wasn’t certain, but guaranteed or not, he knew he wanted it when he read the lore.

  Secondary Power Node

  Lore: Attach one Secondary (Clear) Node to any unlocked Spell node to grant it a Secondary effect. There are no restrictions for where a Secondary node can be attached, however the effect will augment the selected spell. Some spells can receive more than one Secondary Node attachment.

  “I’d say that settles it. If the Gods are giving me an out for the Shadowmurk sickness I have to believe this is it. Besides, if I stay here until the timer runs out I’m finished. At least with this I have a chance.

  I hurried down the steps until I stood before the green portal. I raised a hand and the portal seemed to swirl as it recognized someone was finally coming to challenge it after so long. Before I could enter, a soul window interrupted me.

  Scanning Challenger Class and Level…PROPHET…LEVEL 5…

  Parameters set. Selecting Dungeon Map…

  …

  …

  Should I be nervous over how long this is taking?

  Dungeon Map location(s) determined. Please proceed through Dungeon Portal. At any time you will be able to exit the challenge via Status Map, but if the challenge is abandoned prematurely it will no longer be available for access for 48 hours and Dungeon will not be considered clear and decay will continue. Timed Challenge: 24 hours.

  I equipped my staff and took a deep breath. I did it once. I can do it again. I proceeded through the portal and felt myself yanked through space and time to somewhere else.