TS5: Chapter 32 (Patreon)

Ursa noticed Thorn’s movement, and with a smirk, he cracked his knuckles.

"I'll give you one chance to stand down," he said. "Otherwise, I'll beat you all within an inch of your life and leave you here for the beasts to consume while we enjoy the spoils of Urmag’Tal's Puzzle."

For a tense moment, silence reigned as Guardian Adini tried to figure out what to do. Though Ursa was stronger than him, he would have been fine fighting against the god-beast alone, secure in the knowledge that he could escape if needed. But it was an entirely different matter considering how many people from the Temple of Man were here. If Ursa the Tyrant decided to target them instead, he would be hard-pressed to keep them alive.

"So what'll it be?" Ursa asked, stepping forward as his aura swelled around him.

"I have another suggestion," a calm voice said from near the door. "Why don't you honor the bet and let the winners proceed first?"

Spinning, Ursa's pupils dilated rapidly, as if he was undergoing an intense shock. Guardian Adini had the same reaction, confusion and a fair amount of terror filling his eyes at the thought that someone had managed to appear without him noticing. Standing next to the door was an elderly elf with a long white beard and a pipe clutched in his hands.

"Master Keadore," Thorn said, stepping forward and bowing.

"Hello, Thorn," Master Keadore said with a smile.

Hearing the exchange, fury flashed across Ursa's face.

"Are you breaking your word?" he said, his voice heavy. "I thought you said that you would not care about the life and death of your disciple."

"Oh, I don't," Master Keadore replied. "I'm not here for him." Turning away from Ursa, he waved to Velin, who was standing behind Thorn. "It's nice to see you, Lady Velin. I've come to see you off into the puzzle."

Despite the intense scrutiny sent her way, as everyone turned to stare, Velin remained calm and undisturbed, bowing towards the steward with a slight smile.

"That's very kind of you, Steward Keadore."

"I'm just doing what I should," Keadore replied.

Sucking on his pipe, he blew out a cloud of smoke, his eyes drifting back towards Ursa.

"You know, I've been hearing reports that you god beasts have been getting out of hand," he said. "And from what I've observed, it seems that this is true. The rules exist for a reason, and it would be better not to break them."

"Why, are you going to do something about it if I do?" Ursa asked, his expression ugly.

"Me? No," Master Keadore said, removing his pipe from his mouth and pointing into the air behind Ursa. "I'm not the one in charge of enforcing the rules."

It was only after Master Keadore pointed it out that anyone realized a figure had been standing there the entire time, watching them. As soon as they saw the mask on the figure's face, everyone knew who it was, and even Thorn couldn't suppress the chill that ran down his spine. He had seen the Arbiter once before, when Elmvina Tardoff broke her seal and used power of the tenth tier. Both then and now, Thorn had felt suppressed by the terrifying feeling of inevitability that surrounded the masked man.

Only Master Keadore seemed unaffected, and with a smile, he spoke to the Arbiter.

"So what do you think?"

[THE TEMPLE OF MAN HAS WON TWO OUT OF THREE MATCHES. THEY MAY PROCEED THROUGH THE DOOR.]

With an angry grunt, Ursa turned away, leaving Galeri to crawl after him. Gratified, Guardian Adini bowed towards the Arbiter, who showed no response.

"Gather up," he said, turning to speak to Thorn and the others. "The puzzle will open soon. Remember, the only way to succeed is to support each other. Though it doesn't seem like it, the puzzle can be exceptionally dangerous, and I will honestly be surprised if all of you make it out alive. But the rewards that can be gained from it are equally great, and should you succeed, you will undoubtedly become the powerhouses of the next generation."

Fired up by the short speech, Kitsek and Joresh both bowed, pledging loudly that they would succeed. Even Muras and Tolariah seemed as if they had been energized, and they led their teams forward to crowd around the stone doorway. Thorn brought his team forward as well, and with a crack, the door began to open, calm blue light spilling out of it. Through the hazy field of energy that covered the door, Thorn felt as if he could make out a simple valley. When it was his turn and he stepped through, he found the scene before his eyes becoming clear.

An endless blue sky stretched overhead with soft white clouds scattered about as if by the brush of a painter. Lush green vegetation stretched in all directions, wide meadows and tall pine trees providing a picturesque landscape. They had emerged from a stone doorway, sitting on the top of a hill at one end of a long valley. Mountains rose up on every side, and as his eyes scanned the horizon, Thorn could see the tall spires of buildings placed atop the mountains. He counted seven such structures, each one unique in its look and the feeling that it gave off.

"That must be the village," Mina said, pointing towards the center of the valley.

Turning his gaze from the mountains, Thorn spied a quaint country village that looked as peaceful as it was empty. The other teams had already begun to walk towards it, and after a moment, Thorn gestured for his team to follow. The valley was absolutely beautiful, and everywhere Thorn looked, he found picturesque scenes that brought a sense of peace to his heart. It was hard to describe, but there was something about the air that just felt so familiar to him, and after glancing at Velin, it was clear that he wasn't the only one who felt it. Watching as she trailed her fingers along the leaves of a bush they were passing by, Thorn couldn't help but smile.

"There's somebody up ahead," Corvo reported, as the team in front of them came to a stop.

"Stay here," Thorn said.

He made his way forward, passing through the other teams to join the Prime Ascendants, who had all stopped in the middle of the path. Facing them was an absolutely stunning woman, her face so beautiful that it nearly took Thorn's breath away.

"Welcome, challengers, to the Valley of Elements," she said with a smile that caused both Joresh and Kitsek to go slack-jawed. "Here you will find many challenges. You will be able to challenge yourselves as a party and as individuals. Each of you who participate in the challenges will be rewarded according to your level of achievement, and when the valley closes, you will be returned to the land from which you came. My name is Metra. I am the overseer of the valley. I'm here to answer your questions and to introduce you to the amenities that Old Iron Village has to offer. If you'll please follow me."

Turning, Metra walked up the road toward the village, and the others fell in behind her. In a voice that easily carried over the crowd, Metra began to explain the structure of the valley and the village they were about to enter. According to what she said, the challenge was divided into two parts, team fights and individual fights, both taking place in the seven shrines scattered around the valley. As its name indicated, the valley was a place to test elemental affinity, and each of the shrines corresponded to one of the seven primary elements. When they arrived in the center of town, Metra gestured to two large walls that were currently blank.

"These are the leaderboards," she said. "Here you will find the names of those who have successfully challenged one of the shrines. They will be ranked according to how far their challenge has proceeded and how many shrines they have challenged. When the valley closes, the rankings of these leader boards will be used to determine the rewards each individual receives."

"Excuse me," Thorn said, raising his hand. "Can you tell me how long the valley will be open?"

"That's a good question," Metra said, smiling at Thorn. "The valley will be open for exactly one year from tomorrow. Now, as I was saying, these leaderboards will display the rankings of each individual and each team that is participating."

"And is challenging the shrines the only way to rank on the boards?" Muras asked.

"No," Metra replied. "There are also requests given by the townsfolk that you can complete. Each includes a reward, and based on the difficulty of the task, will contribute to your overall score. Are there any other questions?"

"What if two people tie?" Mina asked. "I mean, what if two people have both successfully completed the same number of shrines?"

"The speed at which you complete each level of the shrines is also taken into consideration," Metra said, "and that will be used to determine who wins in case of a tie. As for the shrines themselves, their structure is simple. Each contains six levels. They get progressively harder. Starting from the first level and ending at the sixth, a special reward is given to anyone who is able to successfully complete one of the shrines. Obviously, the more shrines you complete, the better your reward will be."

"Are there dangers in the valley apart from the shrines?" Velin asked, causing Metra to chuckle.

"There are," she said, "bandits and monsters in the mountains and wild beasts in the valley. There is very little safe about the Valley of Elements. The one exception to that, of course, is the village itself. There is no violence allowed in the village proper, so if you can make it to the village, you will be safe. However, each of the shrines is difficult to get to, and if you would like to challenge one of the shrines, you will have to forge your own path."

"I see. Thank you," Velin said, bowing.

"Of course. I'm happy to answer any other questions you have, but since it seems like there's nothing pressing, allow me to show you to the inn."

Leading the group through the central square and down a wide street, Metra pointed to a large inn with a golden sign.

"This is the Golden Meadow Inn," she said, a hint of pride in her voice. "As you won the right to enter the valley first, your accommodation has been provided for here. However, bear in mind that you will need to pay for it after the first week. The various requests given by the townsfolk will include rewards of denari, the currency used in Old Iron town. You’ll need to collect denari if you wish to continue staying in the village. There are other ways to secure a room as well, but I’ll let you discover them on your own. That’s half the fun of the puzzle, after all."

"What of the others who will come after us?" Muras asked. "Where will they be staying?"

"That will be up to them to figure out," Metra replied with a smile. "They can either wait for one of you to vacate your accommodations, or can find accommodations elsewhere in the village."

"What about outside," Thorn asked. "I mean, can we stay outside the village?"

"It's certainly possible, though generally discouraged," Metra replied, "as it would leave you open to attack from the bandits and beasts."

"That makes sense," Thorn said, glancing at the mountains in the distance.

"Before I show you to your rooms, however, allow me to introduce you to the rest of the town."

Leading everyone through the empty streets, Metra pointed out Felmer's General Goods, the town's supply store, as well as the Rusty Cauldron Potion Shop, whose sign was a large cauldron that had been out in the elements so long it had rusted through in spots. Hearing a faint clang of metal and smelling a hint of coal smoke, Thorn asked Metra if there was a forge nearby, to which she nodded and led the team down a narrow alleyway to a simple forge building.

"This is the forge," she said. "If you have need of repair for your weapons or armor, you can come here."

"Thank you," Thorn said, his eyes sweeping over the neat yard and lingering on the door for quite a while before following Metra and the others back to the main streets.

They had not yet seen anyone else on the street, and when someone mentioned it, Metra chuckled.

"You'll see the true valley tomorrow," she said. "Today exists so that I can show you around, but after you sleep tonight, you'll find the village is rather well-populated."

As they walked along behind Metra, Velin slipped her hand into Thorn's. "Do you want to ask her about Urmag’Tal?" she asked. But Thorn shook his head.

"No, we can leave that for later," he said. "And besides, I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going to find him."

It only took a moment for Velin to realize what Thorn was saying, and with a glance back at the alleyway they had come from, she nodded. Metra took the teams to the inn, where rooms were provided for them, along with a simple, though delicious meal. Once everyone had eaten, Muras called the Prime Ascendants together to share the information that Guardian Adini had given him. It largely contained the experiences of the previous saints who had entered the puzzle, and included notes about each of the elemental shrines, the dangers present in the wilds, and a bit of information about the various villagers who could be found in the town of Old Iron. According to the Guardian's information, the people in the town changed every time the valley was opened, with a single exception. Metra, the proprietress of the Golden Meadow Inn, remained unchanged through every iteration.

Late that night, after everyone else had gone to bed, Thorn found himself unable to sleep. He had been delighted to find that the bed in his room was large enough to comfortably fit him, and the sheets were soft and warm, but after lying in the darkness for close to an hour, he was no closer to drifting off than when he first laid down. Carefully sliding out of bed to try to avoid waking Velin up, he went to the window, staring out into the moonlit night.

“Thorn?”

Hearing Velin’s sleepy voice, Thorn walked back to the bed and sat down on its side, reaching over to take Velin’s hand.

“Is something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Thorn replied, his voice calm. “I’m just going to take a little walk.”

Blinking at him in the dark, Velin nodded and snuggled back down into the sheets, her breathing quickly evening out as she drifted back to sleep. After a few moments of sitting in silence, Thorn rose and put his boots on, his clothing rippling as the nanites shifted into a casual pair of pants and a simple shirt and a few minutes later he was outside the Golden Meadow Inn, soaking in the stillness of the night.