We entered the largest Scriptorium I had ever seen. It took me back to the small, simple room at St. Iovan’s where I and the other Novices had originally worked at raising our Scribing skills together in what seemed a lifetime ago. Neither St. Iovan’s nor St. Caradan’s came close to the size of this grand hall and its row upon row of work desks. Some of those desks were occupied by Mournful Brothers. Were they going through the motions of training their Profession and Illumination skills? They were intent upon work before them and fortunately our entrance had not been noticed. Then, I heard a hollow voice speak aloud.

  “We are gathered to hold witness to the coming of the Doom Heralds; they who will cast down the armies of the False! Those who have been led astray shall know the Salvation of Xat!”

  I swallowed a lump of bile burning at the back of my throat. The voice filled me with a sense of dread and I felt my very soul shiver in response to the terrible sermon. The candles in this room were all lit by purple flames that gave off an eerily familiar scent. Ord, the smell reminded me of Shadowmurk! Shadows played upon the walls and desks and I shuddered in revulsion over the pantomime I was witnessing, for I spied now that these Mournful Brothers spirits had no eyes! Gaping black pits that stared sightlessly at the manuscripts laid out before them, their hands scribbling furiously runes and sigils onto the pages that when I stole a glance burned my mind to look upon.

  Shaking the foul images away as I muttered a calming prayer, I looked back to the sermon giver. They stood upon a lectern lit by more of the purple flame candles, observing and sermonizing with a sinister smirk fixed upon dead lips. This creature appeared to have once been human, but was now a twisted thing with skin stretched tight over bones, jaundiced eyes and lacking a nose. Were it not for Lore Sight, I would never have guessed whom it was I truly looked upon.

  Prior Sandoval

  Race: Murk Mutant

  Class: Void Deacon of Xat

  Level: 18

  HP: 286

  MP: 1336

  Lore: Prior Sandoval of Ord is second in command of the Abbey of Twilight and Keeper of the Forbidden Treasury. Sandoval, disgusted with the current Abbot’s lack of true faith, gave in to the temptation to release an ancient evil that had been locked away for centuries within a forgotten relic in the Treasury.

  Advanced Lore: Sandoval is responsible for embedding fel shards into the corpses of his former Brothers and Novice charges. The monk souls are trapped in body and in soul. The souls are slowly being merged with Void Infestations, while the Fel shards are gathering large amounts of ambient mana via the corpse hosts. Shadowmurk Event imminent! Void Portal Countdown: 45:11:23 remaining!

  As a Murk Mutant, Prior Sandoval is weak to Positive Energy Holy Magic. He possesses the Haunting Visage Active Skill.

  Haunting Visage Lore: When attacked with this skill, the victim suffers a penalty to their Wisdom attribute saves and have an increased chance of acquiring the Fear debuff.

  “Oh no,” I moaned. Octave shot me a look. “That’s the Abbey’s Prior. He’s become a Murk Mutant and he’s going to release Shadowmurk into the area using Fel shards. They will mutate everyone and everything it touches!”

  “Well, he’s likely the Boss of this Dungeon, so as long as we get rid of him we should be fine! That Mutant thing is just a Mana Memory, after all.” Octave said with a grin and a wink. I shook my head vehemently.

  “No, if only that were true! I have encountered these Fel shards before. They are somehow able to communicate with one other. There is likely a Fel shard hidden somewhere in the Abbey that will connect to the Fel shards in here. If that happens a Void Portal will be created! I can see a countdown clock. Thank Ord, we have some time.” Octave shot me a blank look.

  “I’ve never heard of such a thing!” Octave whispered harshly. “Are you sure you aren’t hallucinating again like you were earlier about speaking with Sul? A crystal substance that exists within a Dungeon that is somehow able to connect with a crystal substance outside the Dungeon? That’s not how Dungeon Cores work! Dungeons are their own separate partition, independent from anything that happens outside of them. What sort of twisted imagination is scrambling that mortal brain?” The Cherub shook his head and made a pouty face. “This is what happens when rare classes are given to those who are not mentally equipped to handle the honor the Gods have given them.”

  This must be why Cherubs were made to look like flying babies. No one would punch a baby.

  “Octave,” I said patiently. “That we need to put this Boss down is a given. However, I count ten Mournful Brothers at Level 14 and Prior Sandoval is Level 18. We know what the Brothers are capable of, but we have no idea of all the Prior can do, save an ability I should be able to counter with Harvest Moon. We need a plan to win this and then we need to find where the Monks are buried in the Abbey and destroy the Fel shards imbedded in their corpses before they start leaking Shadowmurk and open the Void Portal!”

  “Ugh, alright.” Octave made a face. “I shall entertain the fantasy as it coincides with our goals. With Ord’s strength, we will win through. Trust in that!”

  “I do,” I replied calmly. “Just let me renew my buffs and just do a quick check of my Active spells…” I blinked. The moment I felt Caretaker’s Guidance settle over me, I was able to see through the room’s hidden secrets.

  You have gained +10 Faction with Hul!

  Spawning from the ceiling above and connecting to the head of each Mournful Brother was a single thread of Mana. The thread writhed like a thing alive. I felt a bead of sweat run down the back of my neck when I read what it was.

  Limbus Murk Worm Silk

  Lore: ERROR! {Unable to establish positive Purgos ID}

  Advanced Lore: This {EsdkERRORs78} is routed through the Purgos Root System via an unsecured Sector breach! Outside subroutines are rewriting parameters and Seeding orders! WARNING! Any outside attempt to open a Dungeon Breach will be met with swift and lethal countermeasures!

  Administrators have been notified! Current Wait time is {Undetermined}.

  “By all the songs of Celestia, what is it now?” Octave whispered. “Why do you look like you’re about to have some sort of weird, Human, emotional breakdown?”

  “I…I’m not…”

  He won’t believe you. I’m not sure what those notifications mean either, but I know what a Murk Worm is! It must be in hidden somewhere in the Abbey and trying to breach the Dungeon for the Shards to connect! Ord, grant me strength.

  “Ord is with us!” I snarled, shoving away my hesitation. I could almost imagine Sul laughing at me. I cast Harvest Moon dead center of the room where the highest concentration of Mournful Brothers worked and let Mir’s light shine down upon them. Prior Sandoval reacted the moment my spell’s faux moon appeared and I felt my heart leap into my throat as he fixed his burning gaze upon me.

  “Witness the heresy of the False!” Prior Sandoval screeched. His mouth split into a horrid grin and terrible epitaphs poured forth from between yellowed, broken teeth my ears could not bear to hear. Were it not for my recently increased Wisdom and Harvest Moon’s protection, I’m not certain I would not have run from the room screaming.

  Prior Sandoval has used Haunting Visage!

  You have resisted Haunting Visage!

  Nearly half of the Mournful Brothers began to moan as they rose from their desks and turned to fix me with baleful gazes while the other half trembled and began to split in half, leaving half conscious Monk Spirits and writhing, black spawn abominations. Spawn of Xat roared even as the Prior’s eyes began to glow a deep purple as he cast another spell. I didn’t panic and cast Lesser Barrier of Light with one hand to protect Octave while using my staff to summon my Bell shield to protect myself.

  A bolt of pure darkness flew from Prior Sandoval’s hand to smash against my barrier, targeting the Cherub. Octave responded with a Piercing Arrow that pinged off a barrier the Prior had raised about himself.

  “You will know pain!” the Prior screeched, enraged by the attack. I grit my teeth as several Spawn clawed at my shield, taking damage as they did. The spell would only last another moment before it fell!

  “Sunburst!” I shouted. I cast Congruency Darts and directed each dart into a separate spawn. There were too many spawn to target and I backpedaled as my shield went on cool down.

  Then, a bright flash of light exploded in the room and I heard the spawn hiss in pain. Prior Sandoval also cursed and I took the opportunity to fall back to the archway we had entered from.

  “Fall back! Let them funnel themselves to us!” I called to Octave.

  “No, we need to focus on the Boss! I can’t target him from back there!” Octave fired another arrow, but this one also could not penetrate the Prior’s shield. Yet, I sensed the shield was weakened, but not from the arrows.

  “Another Sunburst and fall back, Octave!” I commanded.

  Ord! Can this Cherub be any more stubborn?

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  Fortunately, Octave complied with my order and another great burst of light set off another round of screeching from the spawn, wailing from the Mournful Brothers who had resisted Harvest Moon and curses from Prior Sandoval. My hunch had been right! The holy light of Sunburst had done damage to the Mutant’s shield and taken it down.

  Before the Prior could react, I cast Minor Mana Tap upon him and Minor Sanctified Ward upon myself. I hadn’t personally tested Ord’s spell with myself as the target yet, preferring not to place myself in reach of melee strikes, but with the amount of enemies we were currently facing I knew my barriers would eventually fail. Besides, it was time to put my higher Strength attribute to the test. Gripping the Staff of the Stone Bishop in both hands I swung it as hard as I could at the closest Spawn. The maw of the creature seemed to grin mockingly at me as I awkwardly swung at it, but I’d like to believe it regretted its attitude for a split second with what happened next.

  The Spawn’s head exploded.

  When the staff connected with the spawn’s head, an oily black goop splattered everywhere including upon my face. I stood frozen in shock as Xat Spawn blood(?) dripped down my face. The Spawn’s torso tipped over and splattered onto the floor a moment later. The rest of the Spawn in the room paused and while they possessed no eyes or discerning features besides their tooth filled mouths, I’d like to think if they did have eyes they would be staring at me with new respect, if not fear.

  “Ord’s Fist, that’s the way to do it, Mortal! At them!” Octave giggled and I couldn’t help but smile as well, wincing as a bit of spawn goo dripped into my mouth. I spat and cast Congruency Darts then followed up with another swing of my staff at another Spawn, exploding it as I had the first.

  “They’re weak!” I called to Octave.

  “No, you’re just stronger than you thought!” The Cherub quipped and this time when he shot a Piercing Arrow at the Prior, it connected. Prior Sandoval snarled as he gripped the arrow shaft protruding from his chest and tearing it free while he cast another purple bolt with the other, this attack aimed at me. A Spawn swiped at me from another direction in the same moment. I made a split second choice. Lesser Barrier of Light blocked the Prior’s bolt, but the Spawn’s claws racked my chest, drawing blood. I cried out, but grit my teeth against the pain. The Spawn snarled as thanks to my ward spell, it took damage too. A quick cast of Greater Heal and my wounds began to heal.

  Slow down. I’m running low on Mana despite the Mana Tap on the Boss. I can’t let myself fall too low!

  My mana was at 18% and my Harvest Moon spell chose that moment to finish running its course and I cast Fade to give myself some space, but dropped myself down to 10% Mana remaining as a result.

  The seven remaining Spawn looked confused as I disappeared from their view and I raced past them to get closer to the Prior. Two of the Mournful Brothers stood between myself and the Boss. Had I the mana I would have recast Harvest Moon. I didn’t want to fight the monks as they were, as doing so would have conflicted with Mir’s wishes that I rescue their souls. Attacking them while Xat Spawn still possessed them was out of the question.

  I looked past the monks and found the set of narrow stairs leading up to the lectern and Prior Sandoval. I stole a glance up at him. His eyes darted about, searching for me. I would have one shot at this. I glanced back at Octave and saw the Cherub had wisely flown himself higher than the Spawn or Monks could reach him. He alternately fired from his seemingly inexhaustible supply of arrows into the Spawn or at the Prior. Another two Spawn fell and Octave giggled each time one of his arrows made a Spawn cry out. I shook my head.

  If all Cherubs are as bizarre as this, I wonder what the more powerful Angels are like?

  That important question put aside for now, I crept up the stairs to the lectern. I positioned myself just behind the Prior and gripped my staff. I would smash it over his foul head and send the heretic to his final judgement before Ord. I raised the staff, but froze as the Prior turned his head and looked directly at me, eyes blazing.

  “Did you really believe I couldn’t see you?” Faster than I could react, Prior Sandoval snatched out with one clawed hand and gripped my arm painfully, jerking me forward. “I only needed you close enough so that I could give you this!” I felt something pass into me through Sandoval’s hand and I felt my vision swim. Next, my legs gave way beneath me and I sank to the floor before the cackling Mutant.

  “Kenric!” I heard Octave shout, but it was too late.

  You have been infected with Tier IV Shadowmurk Sickness!

  “Now, you shall be yet another host for Xat’s Truth! Your very soul shall be the fuel that opens the doorway to the Void! The False will be cast down and the Mana returned to the Lords of Hell!” Sandoval threw back his head and laughed and I could only croak in impotent rage as Murk Sickness raced through my body, twisting all that I was into something horrible.

  “Ord…damn you!” I coughed weakly and Prior Sandoval sneered down at me.

  “Fool! I have been shown the truth. The Abbot was also a heretic clinging to the lie. There is no Ord! There are no Gods! There is only Xat!” The Mutant cried out in rage as an arrow thudded into the side of his skull and he turned to glare at the angry Cherub. He slowly reached up and ripped the golden arrow from his skull and cast it away.

  “Little pest! You too are nothing but a creation of lies!”

  “I’ll show you who is a lie!”

  I couldn’t see what Octave was up to, but I was running out of time and could only think of one thing to do. Only one chance remained to me to avert disaster. With eyes leaking tears of mucus and black blood running down my lips I opened up my Status and toggled off Lore Sight and toggled on Purgation.

  You are about to set Lore Sight- Tier VII as Inactive. Doing so will set the skill on cool down for 48 hours. All experience gained towards the next Tier will be lost and reset to the beginning of the current Tier.

  Reset Yes/No?

  “Grace of Ara…,” I croaked and willed my decision to the Purgos System.

  I reached out and gripped Prior Sandoval’s skeletal leg as tightly as he had gripped my arm. The Prior looked down at me in surprise, barely registering it as another arrow thudded into his chest. Could nothing harm this Mutant, I thought?

  “You dare?”

  “Be cleansed with Ara’s Light!” I shouted and cast Purgation.

  Light was exactly what I got. It erupted from both my body and Prior Sandoval’s. The Prior screamed in pained shock as golden light poured from his eyes, nose holes and mouth. At the same time, I felt the Shadowmurk being scoured from my body by the golden energy. Again, I felt something being drained from me and this time, a notification showed what it was.

  Your Luck attribute has been permanently reduced by 1.

  I stared blankly at the notification as I continued to grip Sandoval’s leg until the Mutant fell upon me, his clawed hands grasping at my throat. He began to choke me.

  “Not…real…it can’t…be real!” The Prior’s hands were no longer claws. Human hands now gripped my throat, but they were not as strong as they were moments before. I grabbed Sandoval’s forearms and forced his hands from my throat and shoved him violently back. I was the stronger. I stared in amazement as the monster that Sandoval had become slowly began to melt away to be replaced by the man he had once been.

  “No…no…NO!” Sandoval stared at his hands. “What have you done? The Truth. You have denied me my Ascension!” Sandoval leaned back against the lectern as he stared at me with hatred, blood leaking from his mouth, his strength and power spent. Octave’s arrow was still buried in his chest and I recognized the wound as fatal. “Master…destroy my enemies!” Prior Sandoval pointed a finger at me and I tensed, but no spell came forth. His arm flopped down at his side and he groaned as he gripped the arrow in his chest.

  “Mortal, are you alive?” Octave floated above me, concern on his face.

  “I’m alive,” I breathed in relief. A new notification made me smile, albeit sadly.

  Tier IV Shadowmurk Sickness has been cleansed!

  You have now used Purgation a total of [3] times and have paid the price each time with your Luck attribute. Further Luck being spent at this point may result in negative consequences. Purgation cannot be toggled off until at least 1 point of Luck is restored or an additional Shard of Ara is absorbed. Sacrifice of Dungeon Cores upon sacred altars may increase the Luck attribute.

  “Master, do not forsake me now! We are so close! So close to revealing the Truth!” Prior Sandoval, now looking restored to his non-mutated state stared at me with glassy eyes. I climbed groggily to my feet and looked around. The Spawn of Xat were reduced to puddles of black filth upon the ground and the Mournful Brothers I had successfully freed from their Spawn raised their hands skyward in supplication. The rest of the Brothers stood still as statues, staring at Prior Sandoval with undisguised loathing in their gazes. I glanced down at the Prior. He looked like a such mousy, angry little man to me now. Spiteful and ignorant he may have been, but I pitied him as he continued to rant to himself in his final moments.

  “Octave, is he just a Mana Memory? When we leave, will all this just be reset and begin anew?” The Cherub responded by pointing above the lectern and I turned to see a glowing sphere the size of a fist floating in the air above me.

  “The Dungeon Core,” I breathed in abject wonder.

  “Take it…quickly!” Octave hissed. I reached out and plucked the Core from the air. It was warm and the moment I touched it, every purple flame in the Scriptorium turned to gold. The remaining Mournful Brothers groaned. One stopped forward, an older monk, who gazed at me sadly.

  “There are more of us, Brother! In the Library! Free them!”

  “I will, Brother.” I said firmly. The monks faded away and I received a quest update.

  Part 1: Exorcise the tormented spirits of the monks within the Abbey.

  Monk Spirits Exorcised: 20/40

  Spawn of Xat Eliminated: 20/40

  Part 2: Locate and use Purgation to destroy the Limbus fel shards growing within the Monk corpses!

  Monk Corpses Purged: 0/54

  “Curse you, whoever you are. Curse you!” Prior Sandoval spat and coughed a wad of blood onto his already ruined monk’s smock. “You don’t know what you have done!”

  “I am freeing the souls of the Brothers you have killed. Why, Prior Sandoval? Why would you do this? Why would you turn from Ord? Spare me your lies about false Gods! These are your final moments before Ord judges you. Confess why you would harm so many and doom this place to Shadowmurk!”

  Prior Sandoval’s eyes lolled in their sockets, but he suddenly grinned through bloody teeth. “Judge me? Judge me? I devoted my life to a lie! Everyday, I prayed and prayed to Ord and the Gods of Light to deliver us from the evils of this world. Yet, every year the Bishops came and all they did was tax us to fund their lavish lifestyles in Caer Purgoth and their selfish wars across the Sea! When one day I asked them why the Holy Father spent more on his wine cellar than on feeding the poor, I was censored! They threatened me with excommunication!”

  I took a step back. Sandoval was ranting and bloody spittle ran from his lips. His eyes burned with an intensity that bordered on madness.

  “Then I discovered their secret!” Sandoval hissed and he pointed at my chest. “One of the Bishops carried a sacred relic of Ord as you do. A finger of Ord! He was secretly using it during the initiation ceremony to grant classes to our Novices who pledged themselves to Ord. Oh, such a holy and sacred moment! Ha! He always made sure to grant the most powerful classes to those who expressed the most fanatical loyalty to the Pope’s secret desire for a new Crusade! Tricks and subterfuge! Why would a God allow such a thing? Why would he allow such petty men to wield such power? It was then I heard the call! The Ancient One below revealed the Truth! There is only Xat!”

  “Ancient One? A demon you freed?” I asked calmly, but inside my emotions were in turmoil. How could someone fall so far? Whatever this demon was, I was certain it was responsible for everything that had happened in the Abbey of Twilight.

  “He awaits you through the Red Portal. You cannot stop him. He will reveal the Truth to all…” Prior Sandoval’s voice trailed off and he finally died. Like the other monks, his body faded away and the Dungeon Core I still clutched firmly in my hand pulsed.

  You have successfully cleared the Haunted Scriptorium!

  Ding! You have reached Level 11!

  You have received two Green Nodes!

  Ding! You have acquired a Dungeon Core! Your choices are as follows:

  1) You may reactivate the Dungeon Core. It will reconstitute into a different Dungeon after the Core has a complete reset. It will repopulate with new random mobs and Boss. Note that this will create a Permanent Dungeon. New items and opportunities to gain unique skills may become available.

  2) As a Priest of [Multiple Factions Available] you will be able to offer up the Dungeon Core as an offering of Faith. Unique rewards, Faction gain and special Quests may be granted.

  3) There are ongoing Guild Quests for all acquired Dungeon Cores. See Guild postings.

  4) Absorbing the Dungeon Core yourself will grant 25 Green Nodes, 8 Blue Nodes, 3 Red Nodes and 1 Silver Node.

  Do you wish to exit [The Haunted Scriptorium] and return to Sector CL560T The Abbey of Twilight? {Note: Once exiting this Dungeon, it will become a redundant sector and be permanently closed}

  Yes/No

  My eyes nearly leapt out of their sockets when I saw the last option. By all the watching Gods that was a lot of Nodes! I licked dry lips and placed the Dungeon Core into my Inventory. The first option was out of the question, of course, as allowing a new Dungeon especially a permanent one to grow within the Abbey would have been crazy. Still, it made him wonder if the Dungeons near Ordheim had been created this way?

  Completing a Guild Quest sounded important, but he knew nothing of Guilds so that was out too. That left acquiring a treasure of Nodes or a generous helping of Faction from whichever God he chose to offer the Core too.

  A decision I’ll make after we get out of here.

  I looked over at Octave who put his bow away and unequipped his armor.

  “One down, two to go, right?” I said with a grin, but Octave winced.

  “I need time to rest and I want to talk to you about something too.” I nodded my head, but eyed the Cherub curiously. He looked like he had something on his mind by the way he chewed his lower lip.

  “Let’s go then. I need to make some decisions as well.” I selected the option to leave the Dungeon and we were gone a moment later. Mana Memory faded into darkness and all that had happened within the Haunted Scriptorium was gone as if it had never been.