{"id":5827,"date":"1975-11-03T18:19:13","date_gmt":"1975-11-03T23:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellest.com\/?p=5827"},"modified":"2017-11-03T18:20:05","modified_gmt":"2017-11-03T22:20:05","slug":"quantum-quest-ch2-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/quantum-quest-ch2-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Quantum Quest Ch2 Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter Two: The Mysterious Dungeon<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That warmth on his face had him recoiling, but Rhys was able to placate himself.\u00a0 It was a foreign feeling, the sunlight on his cheek.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t been deprived of daylight since his journey began, but the feeling of a ray of sun shining through a glass window?\u00a0 That was something he hadn\u2019t enjoyed for a long while.\u00a0 The man stretched, enjoying the comfortable bed more than he thought possible.<\/p>\n

He sat up, swinging his legs off the mattress.\u00a0 Off his back, it was as if the rest of his senses were heightened.\u00a0 The scent of some breakfast pastry from the main hall of that lodge nearly pried him from the bed.<\/p>\n

Rhys couldn\u2019t remember going from that deep of a slumber to wide awake in some time.\u00a0 Since his visit to the Void, every night was a sleepless one, always endured rather than enjoyed.<\/p>\n

He half expected the hellhound to be waiting for him on the other side of that door.<\/p>\n

All he found were other content patrons, who raised their morning cups of tea when they saw their savior on that walkway up above.\u00a0 In unison, he raised his fist.<\/p>\n

It was an odd sensation.\u00a0 Rhys was always so eager to move into the next portal, to see what was on the other side.\u00a0 Would it be home?<\/p>\n

After a dozen trips or more, he couldn\u2019t remember waiting to venture forth.\u00a0 He swallowed away the tension building in his throat.\u00a0 Was he losing hope that he would ever find his way back?<\/p>\n

He knocked on the next door, the only way to distract himself from that harrowing thought.\u00a0 Rhys didn\u2019t wait for an answer\u2014he didn\u2019t need to.\u00a0 There would be no interrupting Virgil\u2019s sleep, as he never needed it.<\/p>\n

When the traveler entered his companion\u2019s room, he found him by the window, staring off into the field to the west of town.\u00a0 A far cry from the charred woods in the east, those fields looked inviting and peaceful.\u00a0 Rhys considered that peace that Virgil observed, then.<\/p>\n

It was the first time he had ever encountered it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how it\u2019s supposed to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Virgil turned around, and without the dark of night or the leather cowl to obscure his face, the truth was more apparent.\u00a0 Shades of silver, grey and black covered his body, except for those two periwinkle orbs that gazed toward Rhys, and the bright violet shine in his brow.<\/p>\n

The human moved to the bed, and swept up the cloak, tossing it to his companion.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t want to frighten the people down there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catching the garment without looking at it, Virgil nodded.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t understand shame, and took no offense to his companion\u2019s warning.\u00a0 Fear had been thoroughly explained to him, though.\u00a0 He was a strange being, even if he didn\u2019t know why.\u00a0 If it made life easier for Rhys, that was all he needed to know.\u00a0 He pulled that cloak in around him, obscuring his metallic face and body.<\/p>\n

Rhys made his way down those steps, and when the woman behind the counter noticed him, she slid over toward the staircase.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can I get for you lads this morning?\u201d she wondered.<\/p>\n

The young man was already shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cWe couldn\u2019t possibly impose any more than we already have.\u00a0 You put us up when we didn\u2019t have any coin.\u00a0 That\u2019s plenty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s thanks to you that the rest of us will have food in our bellies in the months to come,\u201d one of the other villagers offered.\u00a0 \u201cLeast we can do is share a little of what we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

He raised his hand to placate the people of Verna.\u00a0 \u201cNow I know we were all drinking a lot last night, but I hope you all remember when I said the big Hellhound is gone, but the little one is still out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBah.\u00a0 Let him take a chicken every few weeks if he\u2019s hungry.\u00a0 Now that the big one\u2019s gone, we don\u2019t have to worry about our cows going missing.\u00a0 Geraldine, you get those boys whatever they want a bite of, and I\u2019ll take care of the cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman behind the counter folder her arms over her chest, and sent a smile to the saviors of their village.\u00a0 Rhys conceded with a nod and pulled out the nearest seat.<\/p>\n

Before he could find a comfortable position, the door to the lodge slammed open.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of you better come out here to see this,\u201d another villager cried.\u00a0 \u201cThe whole damn forest is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, Harold?\u201d the generous patron asked.\u00a0 \u201cThese adventurers told us that some of it caught fire yesterday.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing to be done with about it.\u00a0 Someday, green will come back to those woods, but for now, we should settle with being alive, don\u2019t you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2019m saying, Rolph,\u201d the anxious fellow pressed. \u00a0\u201cThe forest is gone, and something else is in its place.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like anything I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhys arched his eyebrow and looked at his companion.\u00a0 Virgil nodded just enough to let that violet shard dip beneath the cowl.<\/p>\n

All the villagers joined the travelers as they exited the lodge.\u00a0 They crossed Verna\u2019s main road, and passed the buildings on the other side, cresting the hill that overlooked the forest where Rhys fought against the hellhound.<\/p>\n

As they neared the peak of that hill though, they found truth in Harold\u2019s words.\u00a0 The forest was gone.\u00a0 Only a few char marks existed to tell the tale of the encounter with the hellhound, and the trees, branches and leaves looked as though they\u2019d never existed in the first place, except for the semi-circle that framed the odd looking stonework that was present in the center of the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is that?\u201d Rolph asked.\u00a0 \u201cIt looks like a\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a crypt,\u201d Geraldine interrupted.<\/p>\n

None of the villagers noticed when Rhys\u2019 eyes flashed.\u00a0 He grabbed Virgil by the crook of his arm, and pulled him away from the crowd, then.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you notice what I do?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cThat building is right where the portal was last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that means\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur way home is gone,\u201d Rhys said.<\/p>\n

Rolph drew close and stepped between the two travelers.\u00a0 \u201cWhat does it mean, stranger?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhys took a step closer to the edge of the hill and narrowed his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u00a0 It certainly wasn\u2019t here during our confrontation with the hellhound.\u00a0 I suppose we\u2019ll have to investigate it closer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps that is what gave the beast its recent immense stature,\u201d the villager said.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t think it\u2019s coming back, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it does, we\u2019ll send it away once more.\u00a0 Virgil?\u201d Rhys asked as he ventured from that knoll.\u00a0 His companion walked up beside him, and together, they descended the hill, drawing near to that stone edifice.\u00a0 \u201cThere may still be a chance for us to find our way out of this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this time,\u201d the golem added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the portal still remains, it should be right behind those doors.\u00a0 If it is, we\u2019re not going to hesitate a moment later.\u00a0 We\u2019ll go right into the Void, like we should have done last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Virgil looked back and peered up the hill.\u00a0 \u201cBut what of the villagers?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cIf our portal is in there, and we escape through it, they\u2019ll think something has happened to us.\u00a0 They mind send people in after us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhys was already shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever this place is, it came about because I was too weak-willed to leave.\u00a0 This journey is my punishment, and I was a fool to think that I could find a moment of calm.\u00a0 If we find our way out, I\u2019m positive this place will leave with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments later, they stood before those two doors.\u00a0 The trees towered over the building, and moss was overgrown amongst the stone that surrounded those heavy slabs of elm.\u00a0 Rhys took a step forward, and reached for the entrance.\u00a0 It slid open before his fingers could land on the grain of the wood.\u00a0 He looked to his companion, who couldn\u2019t understand why such a thing was eerie.<\/p>\n

Rhys sighed, and proceeded on.\u00a0 A single step inside that building was all he needed to take to realize that things were not as he originally suspected.\u00a0 It was not a tomb, he understood, but a tremendous dungeon\u2014and what that defied reality.\u00a0 Corridors led off in either direction to his sides, and stairs before him descended into darkness.\u00a0 He breathed in the scent of sulfur, then, and turned to see that a pair of torches was already alight beside the entrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you seeing this, Virgil?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

He looked out into the open once more, and was left befuddled.\u00a0 His companion was not there\u2014and neither were the villagers.\u00a0 Even the hill that they once stood upon was gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is this place?\u201d Rhys muttered.<\/p>\n

At once, those doors to the dungeon slammed shut.\u00a0 The man stumbled backward, tumbling off the first of those steps.\u00a0 By reflex alone, he enacted his sphere of magic, but it was a moment too late.\u00a0 His head slapped against the stone, and then all went black.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Virgil tilted his head to his side.\u00a0 As soon as his companion stepped into that place and was engulfed in those shadows within, it was as though he disappeared completely.<\/p>\n

\u201cRhys?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

When he heard no response, he ventured inside.\u00a0 The doors slammed behind him, and he turned about.\u00a0 There was no fear in him, though.\u00a0 He returned to those doors with curiosity taking root in his mind.\u00a0 A light push on it proved that the way through was no longer available to him.<\/p>\n

The golem spun about, looking at the steps forward that had seen been illuminated by the torches in the expansive chamber.\u00a0 He stood there, frozen, as he struggled with the logic that was defied by the place.<\/p>\n

Far beyond that room though, he heard a familiar voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you seeing this, Virgil?\u201d Rhys\u2019 voice quietly echoed.<\/p>\n

With nothing else to latch onto, he focused on that voice, descending the closest flight of stone steps.<\/p>\n

Perhaps he could solve the mysteries of the dungeon, and find his lost companion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter Two: The Mysterious Dungeon   That warmth on his face had him recoiling, but Rhys was able to placate himself.\u00a0 It was a foreign feeling, the sunlight on his cheek.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t been deprived of daylight since his journey began, but the feeling of a ray of sun shining through a glass window?\u00a0 That […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[145,146],"tags":[1578],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/QQ-Vaulen-and-Darris.png","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-1vZ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5827"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5828,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5827\/revisions\/5828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}