The Source

The inside of the shake was even more cramped than it looked from the outside. And Kieran wasn’t sure how that was even possible.

From the outside, it had looked barely large enough to fit a bed and a table in it. Yet, somehow every wall was covered in shelves, hanging fabrics and various magical trinkets. Some of them glowed faintly in the dim candle light while others seemed to twitch whenever someone brushed against them. Colorful ribbons hung from the ceiling, swaying gently from the breeze blowing between the slats of wood.

In the middle of it all, the girl known as a Catastrophe-class mage sat on the edge of the folded up futon she used for a bend. Her staff held tightly against her chest as she rubbed her check against the jewel at the top affectionately. She was happier than she had any right to be.

“Thank you for returning my precious staff,” she purred gently.

Kieran stood a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest, watching her carefully. “You’re welcome.”

The mage hugged it a little tighter, “And I thought the big mean old man was going to take you away forever,” she cooed to the staff like it was her child.

Kieran’s brow twitch. “Don’t make me have to take it away and give it back like I did last time.”

The mage instinctively ducked for cover. Kieran could only sigh as he took his weapon lightly into his hand, looking over it before turning his attention back towards the mage.

“Just remember your half of the deal.”

The mage’s face grew solemn as she nodded. She rose softly and pressed a hand to her chest while she held her staff out toward her side in a grandiose pose.

“I, The Great Celestia the Magnificent, swear that I shall no longer use my largest spells during my performances.” With that she took a bow, raising her head up just enough to give a wink, “You have my promise.”

Kieran’s hand met his face with more force than he had expected. “Just no using spells large enough to rattle the mountain and scare off the monsters, OK?”

“But that was only one time,” she huffed with a pout.

Kieran fixed her with an intense glare.

“...this week,” she finished with a gulp, unable to meet his gaze anymore.

Kieran could only release a defeated sigh, “Just as long as we are clear.”

“As long as we are being clear,” she planted her staff in front of her, “I must say my spells aren’t simply spells. They are an integral part of my performance.” She swept one hand through the air as though presenting herself before a roaring crowd far more numerous than the four that barely fit in her makeshift shack. “Every explosion, every flash of light, every grand gesture. They are all part of the show.”

Kieran remembered the enormous circle of crimson light spreading across the sky. He remembered the mountainside exploding. And he remembered the singing. That final one made him shudder in fear.

“That’s… certainly one way of describing it.”

Celestia seemed to take it as a compliment as she gave another bow to all, causing the others to clap in response. He wanted to scold them for feeding her delusions but held his tongue to prevent further conflicts.

“Why are you living all the way out here anyway?” He decided to move on bringing attention to the hovel they were all standing in. The boards rattled with each passing breeze like it was going to collapse as soon as the first inconvenient movement happened.

Celestia’s expression changed though just slightly. The sparkling in her eyes faded and the smile became more wry as she glanced a little to the side. “I was politely asked to leave my hometown.”

“You got kicked out?” Kieran asked and Celestia nodded in reply. “For being too destructive?” He asked next and a tear came to her eye.

“Makes sense it would be safer for you to live far from people,” glancing around the leaning wood scraps that made up her walls and ceiling. “Though your lodging is quite lacking.”

“An artist strives for beauty in her work first.” She answered with a wagging finger in the air, “Comforts come second.”

Kieran wanted to argue, but the sound of her rumbling stomach caught everyone off guard, except Celestia who acted as if no sound was heard by all as sweat beaded on her forehead.

Not wanting to stay just in case she started begging for other things from him, Kieran silently nodded. “Fine,” he turned toward the door, “Just keep your magic under control from now on. If your spells are frightening monsters away from the mountain, they’ll keep coming down into the woods and eventually into town.”

Celestia tilted her head, “But they were doing that before I got here?”

Kieran froze, turning to face her once again with trepidation, “What?”

“The monsters,” she pointed further up the mountain, “they were already leaving when I arrived here. Figured it was much safer for me up here then down in the woods.”

Kieran spun towards her on his heels, “You’re sure?”

“Of course,” she nodded, confusion coloring her eyes, “I’ve only been here a few days now.”

Kieran’s expression hardened as he began to chew on the inside of his cheek as he thought things over. If what she was saying was right, she had just got there about the same time he had found the roving band of goblins the first time. They had to be moving before she got here, so Celestia couldn’t possibly be the cause of their movements. Which if her spells weren’t making them move, then what could possibly be scaring them out?

“If it will help you feel better,” she tapped her staff on the ground once again, “I have seen monsters coming from a cave some adventurers keep going to.”

A cold silence settled over the cramped room. Kieran looked toward the mountain through a small hole in the wall he assumed was a window. Somewhere beyond those rocky slopes was the answer to what had been driving the monsters into the woods. And if Celestia was right, there was something inside the cave producing enough monsters to push them out of their own territory.

Kieran turned back to her, “Can you take us there?”

Celestia smiled with a nod. She grabbed her cloak and adjusted the crooked hat sitting on her head. “Of course. You can count on an Idol like me.”

The climb up the mountain was much quieter than Kieran had expected. After the chaos of the clearing, the silence felt almost unnatural.

Celestia led the way along a narrow trail winding between the rocks. Her staff held in one of her outstretched hands to the side as she skipped over the rocks with surprising grace for someone in platform boots. The colorful ribbons attached to her outfit fluttered behind her with each step, standing out sharply against the gray stone and sparse greenery of the mountainside.

Kieran followed a few paces behind while keeping his eyes on the trail. The further they climbed, the more sighs they found. Broken branches and deep scratches in the dirt. Footprints pressed into the patches of damp soil. Most were goblin tracks but others were larger still.

He stopped and crouched beside one of them, running his fingers over the impression. Fresh. Too fresh. He stood again and looked further up the trail. Something was wrong.

Luna walked near Kieran, her nose twitching as the scent grew stronger. “Luna smells a lot of monsters.”

“I know,” he answered and continued up the mountain.

A little further ahead, the trail disappeared between two large boulders. Beyond them was a dark opening in the mountain side. Celestia stopped beside the entrance of the cave.

“This is the one.”

Kieran cautiously looked over the area. The rocks around the entrance were all scarred and stained.Broken weapons and pieces of old equipment had been pushed off to one side, some half buried beneath loose dirt.

There were footprints everywhere. Some goblin and some human. Unfortunately, there were some that even Kieran couldn’t recognize amongst the others. His grip tightened around his spear.

“Everyone stay close.”

Akane’s hand settled onto her sword. Seraphina moved towards Kieran’s shadow. Luna’s ears flattened as she stared into the darkness. Even with her eyes better able to see in the dark, there wasn’t much she could see as it stretched in with twisting paths.

Celestia, however, simply walked inside. Kieran caught her by the shoulder.

“Wait”

She looked back and huffed, “Why?”

“Because we don’t know what’s in there yet.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and threw up her nose.

Kieran stared at her for a moment before letting out a tired breath. “Just stay with us.”

Without another argument, they entered the cave with Celestia in the middle of their party and Luna hanging on the back of Kieran’s shoulder. The temperature dropped almost immediately. The sounds of the outside world faded behind them, replaced by the steady dripping of water somewhere deeper in the mountain.

Their footsteps echoed off the stone. Kieran kept his spear ready as they followed the winding passage. The smell grew stronger. Wet earth mixed with old blood and something fouler than that underneath.

Then came another sound. Voices. Kieran raised his hand and everyone stopped behind him, Luna slipping off soundlessly.

The voices were faint, but unmistakably human. They were coming from somewhere further ahead. Kieran glanced back at the others. All the others were taking precautions while Celestia was leaning around Kieran’s shoulder for a better look.

“Those are some of the people I saw.” She wasn’t exactly quiet, but luckily it didn’t seem to catch the people's attention. Signalling for her to stay silent, he nodded and took another step forward.

The tunnel widened. A faint red glow appeared ahead, flickering against the walls. The passage opened into a wide cavern, perhaps even larger than the clearing outside. Kieran sidled up along the entrance, looking around carefully, trying not to be spotted.

Two adventurers stood in the center of the chamber, surrounded by piles of equipment and dead monsters. Between them was a strange mass of black stone and twisting flesh, its surface covered in faint red veins that pulsed with an unnatural light. The two men were busy adjusting a contraption that was attached to the strange object.

Kieran barely had time to process what he was seeing before the thing convulsed. A wet sound came from within it followed by something pushing against the surface. Then, suddenly a goblin crawled out.

Kieran’s eyes widened. “A spawner…”

He had seen his share of them while clearing dungeons. It was a defensive organ formed by the dungeon core in order to protect itself. But this was the first time he had seen one outside a dungeon and still operating.

The goblin was barely able to stand, being aware that it was alive by the time one of the two men sliced it in half with his drawn sword. They shook their heads and returned to messing with the device again.

Unable to hold back a second longer, Kieran rushed into the chamber. The shock of his sudden arrival caused the two to spin around in bewilderment.

“Whoa!” “Hey, wait!” They both called out as they backed away from the spawner when they saw Kieran’s raised spear pointing at them.

“What are you doing?” He demanded, moving closer.

The two men looked at each other with their hands raised. One frowned. “I take it you aren’t here for training?”

Kieran blinked in bewilderment. “What?”

“You’re not supposed to just walk in,” The other adventurer gestured toward the entrance, "You have to pay if you want to use it.”

Kieran only stared, unable to understand what the two were saying.

“Yeah,” the first started again, “If you want to train here, you gotta pay up. Them’s the rules.”

Kieran glanced at another goblin starting to form in the twisting flesh. “Explain yourselves.”

The two adventurers seemed to finally realize that he wasn’t joking. One sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, we were given the spawner to help train adventurers.”

“Yeah,” the other cut in, “The idea was to let people fight monsters regularly so they could get stronger faster. But we found a way to make it stronger and faster when we need it to. So we can charge a fee for all our hard work.”

The first grinned smugly, “Everyone gets stronger, and we make some more money. Pretty smart, really.”

Kieran’s spear remained trained on them while his attention remained locked on the spawner. “Who gave you the spawner?” he asked as his grip tightened.

One of the men opened his mouth, but was cut short by the spawner suddenly lurching. The entire cavern shook and all froze.

“What was that?”

The red veins spread across the spawner’s surface, glowing brighter with every pulse. Another goblin burst forth. Then another. And a wave of them.

It was clear, something much larger was forcing its way through. The adventurers stumbled away from it.

“Stand back!” Kieran ordered as he stepped forward.

The spawner convulsed violently. Monsters began spilling from it faster than before, crawling over one another as the chamber filled with snarling, shrieking bodies.

“Run!”

The two adventurers didn’t need to be told twice. They dropped their equipment and fled toward the entrance. Kieran raised his spear. He couldn’t let this continue. If the spawner kept producing monsters at this rate, the entire mountain would soon be overflowing with them.

He charged. The spawner split open. Kieran thrust his spear toward the exposed core. He was almost there.

Then a hand reached out from inside. Large fingers wrapped around the shaft of his spear. The thrust stopped dead. Kieran’s eyes widened.

The hand tightened. Something massive shifted behind the opening. Kieran stared into the shimmering mass. Two crimson eyes slowly opened. And the spear began to bend in his hands.