Vol.8 Ch.240- What Is Honor Worth?

The next few weeks went by quickly. As Sylvia said, after some time, everyone infected with the disease was cured. With that eradicated, I spent most of my time burning the bodies in mass graves. It wasn't the kindest solution, but it was ultimately the necessary choice. We lacked the resources to bury that many people, nor could we take the chance for them to rise again.

Thankfully, that fear never came to fruition. The undead were no longer present in the area, and no further attacks came our way, which made the plans of evacuating the city easier and safer. In the end, the royal siblings decided to go with that plan, and I agreed with their decision. With so many homes destroyed in the attack and the complete devastation of security, it only made sense to move the surviving population somewhere else.

Even with a constant influx of supplies, repairing the damage would take dozens of years, and the people would be forced to live in tents with limited support. Migrating them to villages or towns elsewhere in the kingdom was just the best of the worst choices available.

In the meantime, preparations for departing to the Iron Citadel had been completed. A large force of Luminar's troops would follow behind our smaller elite force to garrison the forts and start incursions into the dungeon. It would be Lord Vasquez who led us along with Sylvia, Cerila, Bowen, Ms. Taurus, Mom, Professor Garrison, Varnir, Tsarra, and myself.

As for us, we were ready to go now.

"Stay safe, Kaladin," Lauren said.

"I will. Good luck with everything here," I told her, mounting the Gryphon with Cerila.

Our small group readied themselves, and War God Vasquez nodded firmly. "It will only take a few days to fly to the border. We are heading straight to a fort we know was brought down by the undead. Let's depart."

—

Our flight to the mountain range was quick and uneventful. With our short rests to give the Gryphons time to recover, we made great time. Before landing, we gave the fort that sat in the mountainside a pass over, but the only thing we saw was destruction and the signs of a fierce battle.

Lord Vasquez gave the signal, and we descended to the ground a short distance from the fort. We weren't attacked, and nothing seemed to be in the general vicinity. We slowly made our way to the fort once we were unmounted and sent the Gryphons back. I used Soulsight to scout, but once we reached the broken walls, I cut it off for a moment before we pushed further.

"No survivors or enemies?" Lord Vasquez asked me.

"None that I can see," I answered.

"To be expected…" he said grimly. "Then let's move into the dungeon. Master Taurus, would you?"

Bowen nodded and focused for a moment. In a few places, the stone of the destroyed wall wobbled and started to move. Through his magic, Bowen created six small Earth Golems, and the creatures raced off deeper into the fort. We gave him some time and Bowen opened his eyes slowly.

"I lost contact with two deeper in the fort at the dungeon's entrance. Something is guarding that area. I'll handle it," Bowen said.

Even more rubble from the fort started to gather, and in a few moments, a larger golem was created. The massive creature lumbered through the hole and headed straight, even moving through walls and bringing them down with its sheer bulk.

"I guess there's no being subtle?" Mom mumbled.

"No need. Let's follow it," Lord Vasquez said.

We piled in and followed behind the lumbering golem. It moved through the inner parts of the fort and into the back area that connected to the mountain and dungeon. Once we broke through the last inner defense, the smell of blood and decay heightened.

"We are never going to escape this stench," Varnir groaned.

"Look ahead. A small group of Zombies and Skeletons," Professor Garrison brought to attention.

The undead horde hobbled toward the Stone Golem, and I was half expecting the monster to bring a first down and crush them, but the Golem simply leaned forward and fell on top of them. The sickening sounds of bones being smashed and blood exploding out rang out as the walls were painted red in the rotten remnants.

"That was not what I expected…" Sylvia said in disbelief.

Rather effective.

"That should be all of them until we enter the dungeon," Bowen announced.

Lord Vasquez kicked a rusted spear with his boot and frowned. Bowen also looked displeased as he released control over his golem.

"It's unusual for monsters to be stationed just outside a dungeon like this," Bowen said.

"They must be receiving orders from something if they were acting off. Probably another high-level undead," Professor Garrison summarized.

"We should expect similar resistance from here on out. Let's move," Vasquez ordered.

The cold and dark cave reeked of death. It felt like a long time, but after a while of walking in the dark, only lit by torches, the space opened up immensely. The massive underground cave and city were still the same as I remembered. The expansive underground city was visible in all directions. The floating platforms and homes aimlessly moving around were still present.

The only good part was that there were no visible enemies. It didn't seem like an overwhelming amount of undead were present, nor had they created some kind of impenetrable defensive line. Which meant our options were simple—move forward.

As we approached the edge, a floating piece slowly glided toward us. It looked like a small back road of a city had been ripped out perfectly.

"I—is this place always like this?" Tsarra murmured.

"It is. Uncanny and impossible to understand," Varnir answered.

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Varnir, this isn't your first time here?"

He shook his head. "No, I've been here twice for a quest when I was getting my proofs. But after the second time, I swore this damned dungeon off that I would never return…fate is an annoying thing," he grumbled.

Interesting. I hadn't asked if he had been here before. I was also surprised that the two volunteered to come as rear guards. We were hesitant to allow it, but under Lord Vasquez's recommendation, he approved it oddly enough.

"Not much is understood about this place. A dungeon core has never been spotted, and we are here to uncover its secrets and move to a lower floor for the first time," Bowen told Tsarra.

Which was true. With many expeditions and countless adventurers, soldiers, and merchants using this dungeon as a traveling hub, another floor had never been discovered. But with how old the dungeon was, it was a given that there had to be more than this floor. Hopefully, it spent whatever power it had on this floor, and the second floor would be weaker, but…that was just wishful thinking.

We walked onto the floating road, and once we were on it, it started moving in another direction. For now, there were three trains of thought on possibly getting to another floor in the Iron Citadel. The first was to go straight down into that dark abyss, but all attempts failed. No amount of rope or magic showed an end to it. Even Brax had sent a Gryphon into its depths, but the rider returned saying there was no visible end and the Gryphon was losing its mind.

The second was the larger castle-like structure against the wall on the other side of the dungeon. However, that place had been explored before through the use of Gryphons, but it resulted in nothing new. The third opinion was that it was random, that the dungeon was a game of luck that no one had managed to win. Of course, I disagreed entirely with that idea, as did all of us.

At the end of the day, dungeons seemed to have a path that led to their core. That path may be dangerous, claiming numerous lives, and could even be considered impossible, like Dragon's Rest, because of its difficulty, but it was still a path nonetheless. But for the time being, the Iron Citadel's path to another floor remained elusive.

But I had a feeling there was another option. Something that no one had considered a possibility yet.

We'll have to wait and see.

—

"These golems make things too easy," Sylvia said.

We had been dropped off at what looked like an empty plaza devoid of any buildings, as it only had a non-functional fountain at its center. A Dread Knight with a retinue of Skeletons was quickly dispatched by Bowen's golems that lumbered toward them and crushed them with their bodies. The one Dread Knight put up some resistance, but with a single swing of Lord Vasquez's axe, it was dismembered in short order. Thankfully, none of the undead had yet to rise yet and I didn't see any strands of mana connecting them to a high-ranked monster.

"Indeed. Coming into a dungeon with so many strong allies alleviates a lot of undue stress," I said. "But are you sensing or smelling anything out of the ordinary?"

Sylvia wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Nothing but rotting flesh and the ever-lasting stench of death and decay. I doubt my sense of smell will be of any use in this place, but it will be even worse than it was last time," she grumbled.

I looked over at Cerila, and she gave me a weak smile as well. The horrid smell was worse than before so relying on scent was all but useless. As for Soulsight, I could identify undead through walls when we reached new areas, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary. There seemed to be a faint glow of mana everywhere, but perhaps that was just how dungeons were.

Does that all but confirm that dungeons are living things? Or is it just magic? I can't honestly tell.

"We should find a place to rest for a few hours. This area is too open, and we've been moving for hours," Professor Garrison suggested.

"Agreed. Let's use the next connecting bridge or support as a place to rest; less room for the undead to show up," Lord Vasquez agreed.

We waited at the end of the plaza, and a bridge floated over and connected, allowing us to walk on it. It was just a long stone path that eventually stopped, but it was wide enough that we could set up camp for the time.

Once we guaranteed everything was safe, we began unloading some supplies. We were technically out in the open, but there was no guarantee we could get an enclosed space to rest in. We weren't following a scouted path like before and were completely at the mercy of the dungeon's randomness. But for now, the Iron Citadel appeared to be acting as normal, as were the undead that resided in it.

We had brought along months worth of supplies for all of us, thanks to Sylvia's Spatial Ring. Of course, we split the supplies amongst a few of us who had rings just in case we were separated, but we had no intentions of leaving until the dungeon was conquered.

Once camp was set up, Cerila offered to cook for everyone, and we decided on the watch duty. As we sat around the cooking fire, Bowen asked, "Are the Dwarves entering the dungeon as well?"

"We were told they would attempt to conquer it, but we shouldn't expect their support. There are no guarantees we will meet in this place," Lord Vasquez answered.

Professor Garrison scratched the scruff on his chin and asked, "Are we going to continue on this path as we planned then?"

"Yes, we should continue to investigate for a time. I imagine it will take us many days before we find a solution we wish to tackle," Lord Vasquez said.

With our current course set, it wasn't long before Cerila had a meal ready for us. It wasn't the most lavish meal by any means, but it was more than enough considering the circumstances—a well-seasoned grain cooked in a pot with some fresh meat. In the future, we will have to rely on our stock of dried meats, so this will be a luxury we can enjoy.

It was an excellent way to end the day.

—

"Wake up! We've got incoming!" Varnir shouted.

My eyes shot open, and I was awake in an instant. Since my guard shift was at the end, I had almost gotten a whole night of rest, but sleeping in armor wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. I shot out of my tent and summoned my spear into my hands.

In the distance, our bridge was connecting to a much larger mass that looked to be a warehouse of some kind. The sound of battle could be heard, and even before we got close, I could see the undead waiting for us.

We all made it out, and once the two platforms were one, four Dread Knights rushed us. I charged forward with Lord Vasquez and Ms. Taurus. I sent a Fire Lance into the first; the bolt of red hot fire cut straight through the rusted armor of the Dread Knight, and it crumbled to its knees. A second one swung its dented mace, but I easily deflected it. My spear went into its chest, and a bolt of ice blew its skeletal head clean off. The others destroyed the other two Dread Knights.

A wave of Skeletons came out next, and they led with a rain of arrows. Tsarra put up a barrier of water which easily stopped the assault in their tracks. Once the arrows were defeated, she let the water loose, and the wave knocked most of the undead off the side, but a few of them, along with another Dread Knight, managed to get through.

I extended my hand, and a wave of white-hot fire left it. My spell swept over the bridge and burned the undead to cinders. The Dread Knight made it through, but was put down by Ms. Taurus's spear piercing its head. We expected another wave of undead, and I checked behind us but saw nothing.

However, the sound of fighting did not stop.

We held a position at the end of the bridge and watched the entrance to the building. It sounded like a wrecking ball was going through the building. But after a few moments, an eerie silence came over us, and I activated my Soulsight. Only a single light was in the building now. And it was a familiar one at that.

"Get ready. We may have a tough fight ahead of us," I said.

Lord Vasquez raised an eyebrow at me. "An enemy?" he asked.

"I don't know…we'll see what he says," I answered.

We waited as the sounds of heavy armored footsteps echoed out from the now quiet warehouse. A tall, looming figure came out from the darkness with pitch-black armor, wielding a giant steel hammer. He scanned us once slowly behind his visor and raised a hand.

"Greetings," Uncle Janos said in his deep, monotone voice.

I could hear War God Vasquez grind his teeth in anger as he shouted, "Traitor! You dare show yourself in front of us!"

"Ah…I—"

Uncle Janos's words were cut off as Lord Vasquez sprinted toward him in a flash. His great axe, engulfed in red flames, swung and looked ready to cut Uncle Janos in half, but to my surprise, he dropped his hammer and leaped backward.

He brought both his hands up defensively and said, "I am not here to have a battle with you, My Lord. Nor am I here on any mission. I am simply here to aid the living against the undead."

"Lies from a filthy traitor. We have no need for your support," Lord Vasquez spat.

"Perhaps. I stand no chance against this elite force, nor would I be of much assistance in the matter. But I have no intention of fighting any of you," Uncle Janos said firmly.

"Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that you betrayed us. Or do you mean to tell me you are no longer with your chief?" Lord Vasquez growled.

"No…I continue to serve. But I am not here on his orders, this I swear. I was…unaware of their decision and was only notified after events," Uncle Janos admitted awkwardly.

"Then only death awaits you—"

"Stop," I said to Lord Vasquez.

Vasquez turned his head slightly and glared at me, sending his bloodlust my way. But I remained firm. I believe Uncle Janos; I don't think he had anything to do with the Shadow Clan's betrayal and actions. I know for a fact he wasn't present as he was on a mission I had sent him on.

"He may be your family, but I won't stand for this, Kaladin. Not now," Lord Vasquez growled.

I dipped my mind into my Spatial Ring, grabbed a long-forgotten item—a thick red metal collar and tossed it at his feet.

"I have a solution. I'll choose to trust you, Uncle. So, put that on, and we can settle everything," I said.

Uncle Janos looked down at his feet slowly, and I could feel his gaze turn to me. "I won't be a slave to anyone," he said menacingly.

"No slavery, just compromise. You wish everyone to trust your words, so trust mine. I swear I won't force you to do anything drastic. But if you won't do it…then you leave us with little choice," I said grimly.

Uncle Janos looked at the collar for a long time without saying a word. I couldn't see the expression behind the thick Mythril helmet, but I knew it was a difficult choice to make. If Dad was right, Uncle Janos believed himself to be a chivalrous knight of honor. No…in a way, he really was that kind of man. It'll only be a temporary solution to an already growing problem. Besides, he'll be the first person we can get information from… not that I'll force him.

I owe Uncle Janos the chance to live and explain himself. He fought for me once and traveled the world to find me. Although he failed, it doesn't change the fact that he did so, not expecting a single thing in return from my father.

Uncle Janos slowly raised his head and said, "I'll do it."