Tower of Answers

Medrauta’s blade fell rapidly from the sides of her mount, its black-stained steel gradually clearing a path through the sea of black-red beasts.

Despite their lack of retaliation, the swarming witchspawn were proving more of an impediment to Medrauta and Viviane’s progress than they’d originally anticipated. Viviane’s arms were wrapped around her knight’s waist, clutching tightly as their mount thundered through droves of incessantly moving monsters.

It would have been far more logical for the two of them to simply give up and wait for nightfall at the border wall, but Medrauta was determined to carve her way through the undulating mass of monsters. Fueled by more than just a desire to see a swift end for these beasts, the silver-haired knight fought against the tide desperately, hoping to head south once they destroyed the supply tower here.

“Whatever’s going on down south must be intense...” Medrauta murmured as she continued forcing her way through the flood of witchspawn. Had the creatures been rushing toward them from the opposite direction, she could have just maneuvered her mount in a way that avoided the oncoming monsters, but the beasts’ mad rush from the side stemmed any attempts at a quick journey.

Viviane nodded. “Yeah... Dame Leticia and Lady Rosaline will be fine... Won’t they?”

“If a few witchspawn are enough to make Leticia croak, then I’ll drag her soul back and kill her myself,” Medrauta said. As one of the few knights who could match her blade, Leticia remained one of Medrauta’s most respected peers. There was no doubt in her mind that Leticia could handle herself despite the swarms of witchspawn headed their way, but it didn’t stop her from worrying.

After all, her rudimentary knowledge of the beasts told her even low-level witchspawn like these were capable of following multiple orders so long as they were simple. The fact that the witchspawn were completely ignoring Medrauta and Viviane’s presence despite being in the center of the beasts’ formation meant whatever was happening in the Avimorne duchy took the utmost precedence.

As minutes passed by, Medrauta and Viviane continued to make slow but steady progress through the increasingly thick swarm of monsters rushing past them. Though the delay in their advance was certainly frustrating for the silver-haired knight, the larger concentration of witchspawn told Medrauta that she was at least closing in on her objective at the very least.

“Medrauta! The supply tower!” Viviane said, pointing to the structure in the distance. Though the army of witchspawn still obscured the tower’s base, its midsection and top could be seen clearly, including the pulsating orb of black-red energy that hovered at the structure’s very top.

Medrauta nodded in response, a fierce smile spreading across her lips. She hadn’t been keeping track of how long they’d spent struggling against the unending flow of witchspawn, but a quick glance to the sky told her that it had only barely reached noon. In the end, her persistence had won out against the incessant tide.

“Alright, Vivi! Get on and hold tight!” Medrauta announced as she sheathed her blade and stood in her stirrups. Her plan was simple yet stupid, and she never would have attempted it if not for the relatively docile nature that the witchspawn were now exhibiting.

“H-Huh!? What are you doing, Medrauta!?”

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m giving you a piggyback ride!” Medrauta grinned. Although hesitant, Viviane clambered up onto her knight’s back, wrapping her arms around Medrauta tightly. Although Viviane had no idea what Medrauta was about to do, she guessed it was probably something ridiculous.

Unfortunately for Viviane, she was about to find out just how ridiculous Medrauta’s idea really was. After confirming that Viviane was securely mounted onto her back, the silver-haired knight inhaled deeply before leaping clear of her steed in a single bound, kicking the stirrups back as she did so in an effort to signal the horse’s retreat. It wouldn’t do to leave the animal stranded in this massive pack of monsters, after all.

“Uwaaah! Medrauta, you’re insane!” Viviane cried in fear and surprise as Medrauta landed on top of one of the witchspawn, the knight’s weight coupled with the force of her descent smashing the creature into the ground. Controlling her landing perfectly, Medrauta managed to avoid crushing the beast’s body, using it as a platform to fuel her next leap that shot her through the air.

Medrauta and Viviane sailed far above the charging witchspawn, their hair streaming behind them like rays of moonlight and sunlight respectively. With each jump, Viviane’s anxiety only continued to grow while Medrauta’s mirth and confidence soared like their ascent through the air. Of course, the knight had only chosen such a foolhardy method of approaching the supply tower as a result of the witchspawn’s inability to retaliate, allowing her to use them as living springboards.

“Ahaha! Isn’t this fun, Vivi?” Medrauta grinned, looking back at Viviane and enjoying the noblewoman’s panicked expressions. Viviane’s body was rigid and her grip was almost painfully tight against Medrauta’s shoulders, but the knight didn’t mind. In fact, she rather enjoyed the feeling of Viviane’s death grip.

“N-No, it’s not! Remind me to never ask you for a piggyback ride again!” Viviane cried, her words drowned by Medrauta’s gleeful laughter. If Medrauta’s goal had been to get back at Viviane for relegating the knight to nothing more than a steed during part of their journey to Revelo Castle, then Medrauta’s revenge had no doubt succeeded.

Unfortunately for the noblewoman, she had no way of telling whether this was actually Medrauta’s way of paying her back or if the knight was genuinely having fun. Though her instinct told her it was the latter, she was having a hard time believing that as Medrauta took increasingly longer and more dangerous jumps. Each subsequent leap sent them sailing higher and further through the air, and for a moment, Viviane thought she might pass out.

“Whew! That was fun, right, Vivi?” Medrauta grinned as she landed in front of the supply tower at last. Up close, the structure was surprisingly tall, daunting, and gave off a foreboding aura. Its black stones seemed to pulse strangely, almost as if they were made of a living substance attuned to some dark creature’s heartbeat.

“I-It was most definitely not fun, Medrauta!” Viviane pouted as she finally caught her breath. She placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Medrauta accusingly despite the waves of witchspawn still rushing past them. For the moment, they were relatively safe as the supply tower was built on a small foundation that protruded from the ground, separating them from the droves of monstrous creatures still making their way toward the south.

“Huh? Really?” Medrauta stared at Viviane, her surprise genuine. It seemed the knight well and truly thought the experience was an exciting and heart-racing one for her lady. In some ways it was, just not the way Medrauta had intended it to be. “Well, uh... Sorry about that, Viviane...”

Viviane shook her head, her cheeks flushing slightly. It wasn’t such a big deal that she wanted an apology from the knight, and she most certainly hadn’t intended to ruin the positive mood Medrauta had somehow cultivated despite being surrounded by witchspawn. “N-No! There’s no need to apologize, Medrauta! Um... H-How about we look around for an entrance to the tower!?”

Medrauta grinned, recognizing her lady’s attempt at quickly shifting to another subject. For a moment, she was tempted to lay it on thick and wax poetic about how sorry she was, but Medrauta’s situational awareness and consideration for her lady got the better of her. Instead, the knight simply replied with a nod and took Viviane’s hand gently, leading the way as the pair circled around the tower.

A cursory inspection of the structure’s interior revealed no windows, so scaling the sides wasn't exactly an option either unless they resolved to make it all the way to the top in a single journey. However, the strange substance that the tower was seemingly made from made it rather difficult to scale the structure in the first place. Possessing a slick and slightly sticky texture, the undulating black matter that the stones were composed of bore some similarity to the “flesh” of the witchspawn, though it was a lot more solid and sturdy.

The dirt around the structure’s foundation was also an interesting sight. Upon closer inspection, Viviane mentioned that it looked similar to freshly turned earth, a sight that she was quite familiar with thanks to the small farm that she maintained with her two personal maids back home. It was mostly the maids who did the menial labor, but she cared for the budding vegetables with her own two hands.

“...And now that we’re closer, a lot of the tower’s architecture bears a strange resemblance to buildings I’ve seen in history books. If anything, this tower might’ve been here for far longer than we know,” Viviane mused.

“Huh. Well, do you remember where they put the goddamn entrances? We must’ve circled the thing at least three times by now.” Medrauta said. As tall as the tower was, it wasn’t too wide. The knight estimated its diameter to be around a hundred meters at the base, growing slightly narrower as it continued upward. In other words, it hadn’t taken them very long to circle the tower multiple times, finding nothing similar to an entrance at all.

“I’m not sure, but if I recall correctly, the construction style parallels techniques found approximately one thousand years ago. Maybe a little more than that, but certainly not too much.”

“So around the time when the Witch Queen was slain, huh?” Medrauta frowned. “That would make this tower one ancient stack of rocks... How the hell did Amelia even learn about it?”

Viviane shrugged. “Probably has to do with being a witch. But... You’re right, it’s around when the Witch Queen was slain... That means Witch Hunters must’ve still been rather prolific around the time of this building’s construction.”

“Yeah, I guess so. How’s that helpful at all, though?”

“Sigils, Medrauta. They were pretty common, weren’t they? And I heard that magic was common as well thanks to the Witch Queen’s influence. If so, that means this tower’s entrance most likely responds to mana...”

Medrauta’s eyes widened at the revelation. “In other words, perfect for Amelia. No one would be able to enter!”

“No one alone, at least. But there’s two of us here... A knight and a noble.” Viviane grinned. She held her hand aloft, a silver light bursting into existence around her, its brilliance descending upon Medrauta and cloaking her in gleaming armor. Even so, the witchspawn around them paid no heed to the blinding light. Whatever had captured their attention was somehow more important than the overflowing mana that resulted from the bestowal of a Crest.

Medrauta nodded in appreciation. “As always, you’re a genius, Vivi.”

“H-Hey! It was just some simple deduction, alright!? I’m not even sure if it’ll work...”

“Let’s give it a shot, then.” Medrauta shrugged and stretched her arm out, placing one gauntleted hand against the writhing black surface of the tower’s side.

For a moment, it seemed as though nothing would happen, and then a loud, grating sound filled the air. The stone against Medrauta’s palm began to shift, unearthing ancient dust and silt that nestled within the cracks and gaps of the tower’s structure. It floated inward into the tower’s interior, the rest of the stones around it following in suit, parting to create an entrance for the pair.

Wordlessly, Medrauta stepped in first, confirming that it was safe before motioning for Viviane to follow. As the two stepped inside the tower’s shadowed bowels, the stones behind them floated back into their original places, sealing them inside the dark interior.

Fwoosh!

A multitude of lanterns sprung to life, blue flames flickering in their cores as they illuminated Medrauta and Viviane’s surroundings. The pair’s eyes widened as they stared at the objects around them, awe and wonder in their hearts. Viviane released a gasp of joy and disbelief despite the situation while Medrauta uttered a groan, shaking her head in exasperation as she quickly grabbed onto her lady’s wrist to prevent Viviane from running off.