Chapter 3

The first horde of rats was a prelude to what they would encounter deeper inside the rift. It had seemed empty at first, but now that they found the rift walkers, the damned things wouldn't leave them alone.

The biting chill of the wind was a constant, each swing of his axe, helping warm him up as they drew closer to the nexus.By now the ash fell like snow, piled in thick drifts on the trees and ground, forcing the quartet to wear masks to not breathe it in. 

To make things more annoying, It was like the rats were offended by their presence. After the first tide two cycles ago, the rats flooded down from the mountains, coming in packs of twenty or so. These days the group got very little chance to sleep or rest for that matter.

Their only saving grace was the fact that the monsters were weak and stupid, using swarm tactics. It was almost like the monsters were just trying to slow them down at the cost of their own lives. In their relatively small numbers, the rats were not too dangerous. Still, it wasn't easy by any means. There were only so many hours Archivauld could swing his ax in the day, and the damned rats just kept coming. 

They came in manageable packs, but the gap between packs kept getting shorter. At first it was one pack every two days, then one a day. As they drew closer to the nexus, the damned rats mobbed them twice a day, throwing themselves at the group with reckless abandon, uncaring of their own lives. Their behavior was extremely unusual, even for rift monsters.

After five days, Archivauld's arms were numb from swinging his ax so much, his eyes drooping from lack of sleep. All of them were exhausted, their cloaks stained with black blood and gore. But despite the fatigue, they all shared the same weary smiles. Even after splitting it four ways, his share of essence was nothing to scoff at. 

Forty-seven essence stones in five days. It was a killing. 

The four of them were making remarkable progress, with Yurlan's whirling blade strike clearly having reached copper Knight stage.

Tanur and Parcival were not far behind, closing in on a breakthrough.

Even after seeing the lethality of the Yurlan's emblem shoot up, Archivauld kept with his previous goal. He hadn't even used it once, but he figured evolving his divine curse all the way to copper was a smart idea. If anything it would improve the lethality of the node when he had to use it. It was his ace in the hole.

So far, he had funneled all forty seven essences into the leftmost eyes of the dark prince.

Having his holy orb power develop to copper knight would be a huge boon, but Archivauld was more excited to develop his divine curse to copper instead. He wasn't just doing it for increased power to the divine emblem. Developing the divine node should help expand his reservoir considerably. 

Evolving his holy orb would expand his reservoir as well, but not to the same degree. Regular nodes and their respective emblems were just not in the same league as their divine counterpart. Dumping all of his essence into the divine node might seem like a waste, but he was sure he would need it.

As they kept running into more of these rat things, Archivauld really got a good look at how terrifying these bandits truly were. After five days of ceaseless fighting, the small group reached the base of one of the three volcanos. Two were active, spewing up all that ash that was a constant menace with the third being dormant.

"Hopefully, the damned nexus isn't inside one of those active volcanoes," Parcival said, looking up at the towering peak with a thoughtful expression.

Tanur grunted. "Let's hope not. We won't make any money off this caper if it's already been destroyed," Tanur said.

Yurlan reached under his cloak and pulled out a strange object. Archivuald had never seen one in person, but he knew a nexus tracker when he saw one.

After a few seconds of holding the device Yurlan nodded to himself.

 "Well we are in luck boys, the signal is coming from the inactive volcano," Yurlan said.

Parcival frowned. "That's nice and all, but did anyone else get the feeling we were being stalled?" Parcival asked.

"I had the same idea," Archivauld said. "Why else would those rats just throw themselves to their deaths in such a stupid way,"

"Exactly what I was thinking. Come on, whatever is going on up there I want to find out," Yurlan said.

It took only two hours to ascend the steep slopes of the small inactive volcano. It would have taken alot longer, but rat trails abounded, showing just how much traffic this volcano saw.

When they reached the top and peered over the edge, Yurlan raised a fist, the group pausing on the edge of the rocky caldera. Breathing hard, Archivauld looked out over the wide crater of the volcano, taking in the scene below. 

His brows rose as he took it all in. Just below them, on the near side of the steep slope, dozens of rats swarmed in and out of narrow tunnels, carrying what looked like rocks from the depths.

The rats were dumping their haul into a line of small carts, with five carts arrayed in a line.

Near the edge of the crater, hovering above the ground was the nexus, a floating copper hued gem visible even from their vantage. His eyes glimmered with excitement at the sight. That gem alone would be worth at least fifty silvers. 

His eyes snapped away from the glittering gem as a sharp whistle echoed softly through the volcano, followed shortly by a different creature exiting one of the tunnels.

It was quite a bit larger than the rats, and walked on its hind legs like a human, though it was hunched and covered in thick fur.

"Would you look at that, a Volekin? No wonder they have been coming at us in such an organized mess. There are a couple of those rat bastards in the mix," Yurlan said calmly. 

Parcival leaned closer to the edge, licking his lips in excitement. 

"Volekin, you say? Those beasties are like walking treasure chests. They are copper tier monsters. If we are lucky, we might get an emblem by killing one," Parcival said.

Tanur grunted. "Not if they get away first. Given their frantic actions, it looks like they are abandoning the nexus. Ten essence says they are getting ready to flee down their tunnels," Tanur said.

 "Whoever heard of copper tier monsters running away? I didn't think coppers were that smart," Parcival mused.

Yurlan drew his ax from his belt. "Must be something valuable in those carts to have running away with such haste," Yurlan said.

Archivauld glanced around the wide crater nervously. "There are at least eighty rats down there. It's going to be a rough fight if we run in half cocked," Archivauld said, deciding to be the voice of reason.

"We killed fifty in our first battle. What's thirty more on top of that," Tanur said, hefting his morning star.

"Tanur is right. Let's go, I bet my spear there is an emblem down there," Parcival said eagerly.

What a bunch of battle crazed maniacs. Archivauld took a deep calming breath, eying the roiling mass of rats and the three larger Volekin below.

"I guess I'm outnumbered three to one. Oh well, let's get it over with," Archivauld said, greed winning over his caution.

Casting off their packs, they crested the lip of the volcano. The moment they left hiding they were almost immediately spotted, that sharp whistle filling the air. As if possessed, at least sixty of the rats dropped their rocks and turned as one. In an unorganized mass, they ascended the slopes, charging uphill.

"Form up, let's use the steep slope to our advantage," Yurlan said calmly. 

Archivauld heart raced as the rats ascended the steep slopes like it was flat ground. Humans would have been much slower ascending the steep rocky scree, but not these rats. He frantically searched the slopes, his lips turning up in a smile as he spotted a large boulder nearby.

"Help me, I have an idea," Archivauld said, breaking formation and rushing forward.

He lodged the head of his axe into the base of the boulder, using it as a leaver. The rock hardly budged under his efforts, his muscles straining as he tried to get it to move.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Tanur asked.

"Trying to start a rock slide," Archivauld said, grunting as he tried and failed to move the rock.

Decisive as always, Yurlan barked out orders. "Come on boys, let's help him," Yurlan ordered.. 

They rushed over, getting on either side of Archivauld as he leaned all of his weight into the haft of his ax.

"One, two, three, push.." Yurlan shouter.

The loud chitter of dozens of claws on stone was drawing closer as the rock swayed forwards, then fell back.

"Again!" Yurlan called. "One, two, three, push," 

They all heaven Parcival swearing loudly as he pushed. The rock tilted forwards, pushed by all four of them. It seemed like it was going to swivel back, but then it leaned forwards. As if in slow motion, the rock weighing more than all of them combined slid along the rocky scree. It slid, picking up more rocks as it fell, with dozens of rocks following in its wake. In seconds, the volcano was filled with the deafening raddle of hundreds of rocks sliding down its slope.

Unheeding of the danger, the rats charging towards them didn't even bother to move out of the way, the sharp whistles of the Volekin below drowned out by the thunder of the rockslide.

The rat hoard was absolutely obliterated, consumed by the rockslide in seconds. It was like a cavalry charge slamming into a picket line of children with sticks. They were mowed down like wheat before a scythe; the rocks continuing on; the slide growing with each second.

Below, the Volekin and the remaining rats appeared to be in a panic, frantically rushing to the safety of the tunnels. Most were not quick enough. In seconds the cave system, most of the rats, and Volekin were consumed by the rockslide.

Even the nexus, which had been hovering nearby, was consumed.

There was a long silence as the deafening rumble slowly faded. Archivauld gave the others a sheepish smile when they all turned to look at him. He scratched the back of his head nervously. 

"Well, that was more effective than expected," Archivauld said.

Yurlan laughed, slapping him hard on the back. "Don't look so guilty. You just saved us a lot of effort," Yurlan said.

"But, the rockslide covered the nexus too," Archivauld pointed out. 

Yurlan grinned. "Oh well, we can just dig it up. Some of the essence stones will have been destroyed in the slide, but ‌as far as i'm concerned, this was a smashing success," Yurlan said.

Tanur punched Archivauld's shoulder playfully.

"That was a good idea, rookie. Way to wipe them out all in one go," Tanur chortled.

"I didn't get them all. Looks like some of them survived," Archivauld said.

A few rats were pushing themselves from the rubble as they spoke, injured and disoriented.

Yurlan laughed, "Well, let's go boys, we have cleanup to do, and riches to pilfer," Yurlan exclaimed.

They descended the steep slope quickly, giving no quarter to any surviving rats. The rats were stabbed by Parcival's spear, hacked by Archivauld's ax or had their heads crushed by Tanur's morning star. The rockslide turned it from a life and death battle to a casual stroll. Any rats still alive were heavily wounded, and didn't put up much of a fight at all.

Only one Volkin managed to push itself from the rubble, having used the carts as shelter during the rockslide. Its rear legs were broken, its fur matted with blood and dirt as it squeaked pitifully.

Despite its propensity to walk on two legs, its long thin snout didn't look human at all. Its squeaks seemed to be pleas for mercy, but there was no mercy in Parcival's eyes.

Instead of going for a killing blow, Parcival ran his spear through each of its legs, the creature screeching in pain each time. The man laughed as dark blood gushed out onto the ashy rock.

What a sick man..

Unwilling to watch the poor thing get tortured any longer, Archivauld grasped his ax in both hands and brought it down. The pitiful cries were cut off as his ax dug into the Volekin's head with a sickening crunch.

"What the pit Archie, you ruined my fun," Parcival swore.

Blood showered their boots as Archivauld ripped the ax from the Volekin's head. "No need to torture it, just get it over quick," Archivauld replied, trying and failing to hide his disdain for the man.

Parcival laughed darkly. 

"How about you mind your own business? What I do in my free time is for me to decide," Parcival replied. 

Nearby, rock crashed as Yurlan pushed aside some rubble next to a tipped cart.

"Archivauld come help me, Parcival, you are on clean up," Yurlan ordered.

"Sure thing boss, I'm on it," Parcival said, bumping into Archivauld as he passed.

The casual shove made Archivauld stagger, showing just how much heavier Parcival was than himself. Archivauld stumbled, catching himself before he fell. 

He scowled at Parcival's back. What an ashole.

"Hey, are you coming?" Yurlan asked.

Archivauld took in a deep calming breath, the thick smell of ash entering his nose through his mask.. "Ya, i am coming." he said.

Pushing that asshole from his mind for the time being, Archivauld made his way over the uneven rock. Yurlan stood next to one of the waist high tipped over carts, its crude iron walls bent and distorted. 

The man held up a small clump of black rock with a small chunk of opaque white crystal on the side.

"What's that?" Archivauld asked.

"Kassian crystal. If we can load one of these carts full of the stuff and get it out of here, it's a huge payday," Yurlan said.

Archivauld glanced from the cart to the steep scree slope of the dormant volcano. "That's a big if. Getting even one cart out of here would be a nightmare," Archivauld said.

Yurlan let out a forlorn sigh. "That's true. Well, we might just have to crack them all open here and take just the crystals," Yurlan said.

He put one on the ground, and hit it hard with a nearby rock. The ore shattered, with small crystal chunks going everywhere. 

Archivauld looked from the shattered chunks of crystal, to the pile of ore they were standing one.

"Is it really worth the effort?" Archivauld asked.

Yurlan laughed. "That's at least twenty-five silvers each if we can harvest it all," Yurlan said.

Archivauld's eyes widened at the number. That was more money than he had made in the three years he had been in the order. 

Without any further encouragement, he started smashing the ore separating the Kassian crystals from the worthless rock.

Yurlan laughed again. "That's the spirit. Stay at it. Parcival and Tanur are gathering the essence stones. I will go dig up the nexus. I am pretty sure it's over there," Yurlan said, gesturing vaguely to a pile of rock towards the centre of the slide.

Archivauld nodded, immediately going back smashing the ore to pieces like a man possessed. The promise of so much silver, combined with his share of essence, made the day incredibly lucrative. 

With his excitement, he could almost forget the ash clogging the air and the biting cold. Without the wind, it seemed a little better inside the volcano, but not by much. For nearly a day, they worked, uncovering bodies, and harvesting essence or smashing ore. 

Despite having a general idea of where it was, it took a lot of digging to find the nexus. It was, of course, already shattered, meaning the rift would close within a few days. Despite the riches yet uncovered, they didn't have time to linger. After all, getting trapped inside a rift when it closed was a death sentence. 

Even with quite a few corpses not being accounted for, they came away with quite the haul. Sixty-five essence stones, the crushed remains of the nexus, a heavy pack full of Kassian crystal and most importantly, a single emblem.

That alone was worth this expedition. 

With their riches gathered, they started their journey back to the rift exit, the sky already cracking above. The frigid weather was getting worse by the hour, going nuts as the rift fell apart, returning to the Nether realm whence it came. 

Exhausted from the trek up and down the steep slopes of the volcano, they stopped half of a day's travel away. The two active volcanoes were still visible, spewing plumes of smoke into the cracked sky.

Without a word, they set up camp in the shelter of some craggy trees, their tents covered in ash in minutes. The four gathered around a small fire, sharing glances with each other. They all undoubtedly shared the same thought. Who would get the emblem? After all, only one of them could absorb it and gain a new power. Splitting the rest of their bounty four ways would be easy, but how could you split something like an Emblem? You couldn't.

"So, we are all thinking about it. Who gets the Emblem?" Yurlan said, pulling a small pouch from his belt.

"I should get it," Parcival said immediately, eying the pouch hungrily.

"What makes you so special? I killed just as many rats as you did. If anything, it should be mine," Tanur replied. 

"It was my idea to start the rockslide. If we count merit, I should get it," Archivauld said.

Parcival scoffed. "This is your first rift with us. We have done two others, and this is the first Emblem we have found," Parcival said.

Yurlan nodded.

"Parcival is right. This is already our third rift. Your actions here are not enough to skip the line. Even so, I will make sure you are well compensated for your contribution. To make this fair, how about we do it like this? We roll the die for it. Whoever wins gives up half of their share. The rest of the spoils are split between the other three to soothe grievances," Yurlan said.

Parcival and Tanur shared a glance, clearly familiar with this system. 

"So, it's just a roll of the dice? Whoever is the luckiest gets it?" Archivauld asked.

Yurlan nodded.

"Exactly. Archivauld, since you are new, you don't get to roll this time. But to make things fair, half the winner's share will be given to you. The rest of the spoils will be split three ways. In exchange, you are not allowed to roll on the emblem this time. To balance things out, the winner will not get a roll on the next one. Is everyone in agreement with these rules?" Yurlan asked.

They all shared a glance with each other. The rules were surprisingly fair, considering they were a bunch of thieving murderous bandits. Archivauld supposed such a system made sense. Their continued cooperation wasn't based on things like friendship and comradery. No, it was entirely based on money and power.

Not being allowed to roll on the first Emblem they found was a blow, but the compensation was more than adequate. One could say Archivauld made out like a bandit for his first rift.

Without much fanfare, the three grizzled bandits faced off, their expressions deadly serious as they each held a cup in both hands.

It looked like a fight to the death given their glares. 

"Call the number Archie," Parcival growled, glaring at his two opponents.

"Seventeen," Archivauld said. 

"Roll," Yurlan called.

All three shook their cups, dice rattling loudly within. "Put 'em down, boys," Yurlan ordered. 

All three slammed their cups onto the same flat piece of wood, glaring at each other as if that would change the outcome. 

"Cups up," Yurlan called.

All three cups were lifted in unison, the small dice light by the flickering firelight. 

"Twelve," Tanur scowled.

"Sixteen," Yurlan said.

"Seventeen," Parcival said gleefully. 

The dice didn't lie. With the outcome on full display for everyone to see, Yurlan nodded, his expression hard to read as he tossed over the pouch with the Emblem inside..

Parcival caught it with a greedy gleam in his eyes, his lips turned up into a wide smile.

"Thanks boys, I appreciate the contribution. I will be sure to put my new power to good use," Parcival said.

Archivauld was curious as to what power emblem would give, but there was no way Parcival would reveal his tattoo. After all, revealing one's emblem even amongst 'friends' was not a great idea. Most copper tier emblems, and their associated powers were already recorded in the archives. Upon seeming someones gathered emblems, it wouldn't take much effort to figure out which powers they had. 

Even if you had a unique emblem, like a divine curse, or blessing, that still spoke volumes. Revealing your tattoo was like sharing your deepest darkest secrets. For Archivauld, doing so would spark the others to ask a lot of very uncomfortable questions. As for which emblem Parcival would absorb, he would discover it in time if he kept traveling with these people.

With the spoils divided, the group set out for the exit with all due haste. None of them wanted to be in here when the rift collapsed. Without the need to fight off any more monsters, reaching the exit took another day. All in all, it was quite the bountiful harvest. Before long, Archivauld could get his forged papers and bid these assholes farewell. 

Sadly, his fantasies of a quick and easy rift were smashed as they spotted several tents with the mark of the inquisition around the exit.