An Unusual Quest

News of our squad getting formerly knighted, and given the prestigious Order of Arcane Mage Knights was all over campus by the time we got back for classes. We found we had new friends and fans, as well as more intense enemies. If there wasn't enough reason to hate us before, the recognition before even becoming seniors no less actual knighthood was just a bridge too far for some of our classmates.

Kanae was now fully outed as a noble elf, and I as a dragonkin princess. There was surprisingly little reaction to the revelation of Kanae being an elf. I however was inundated with non-stop wedding proposals. I was used to all the lewd propositions for sex before, but now I was like a bleeding fish in the middle of a school of sharks. I found the whole thing bizarre since it was clear that I was completely outside any line of succession to any throne, real or imagined.

On Tuesday, five days after our return from Vesthelm, a timid girl in our spellcasting class approached us at the end of class.

“U-um, excuse me. I don't know if you know my name but, I'm Dahlia Ní Gráinne. I was hoping if I could talk you,” said Dahlia.

“Hope no longer you are successfully talking to us,” Kiera quipped.

“Y-yes, o-of course, but I have a question I'd like to ask. Or rather a favor. I have a problem that I think you could solve,” Dahlia said.

“Well, why don't we head for the Green Mage Café, where we can sit and discuss your favor slash problem?” I said.

“Yes, th-thank you!” Dahlia said.

We walked from class to the café, where we ordered drinks and pastries, and I opened with,

“Now, why don't you tell us what your problem is, and what you hope we can do to help you?”

“I need your help in getting me to the Nethernight Circle in the Darkling Chrystalline Cavern in the Chasm of Despair. Then with this cursed Obsidian Blade. You must strike me dead through my heart,” Dahlia said.

“Uh, no. Absolutely not! Why would you even ask that?” I said.

“It's the only way to save my twin. Please you must help me. It's the only way!” Dahlia said.

“You're insane. How would slaying you save your twin?” Darby said.

“It's the sacrifice necessary to retrieve the Darkling's Dreadnaught grimoire that lies in the cavern. That grimoire has the only spell that can heal my twin. Time is running out. It's the only way. Please you must help me! You are my only hope!” Dahlia said.

“So wait, your actual goal is a spell in this Dreadnaught grimoire. So we just have to go to this cavern and extract the grimoire,” Kiera said?

“Yes, but the only way to release the grimoire is with a sacrifice. But it has to be a specific sacrifice. Every case is different. For my case I must be the sacrifice,” Dahlia said.

“There must be another way, or a different sacrifice. I'll tell you what we can probably do, which is to get to this cavern and find the grimoire. I'm sure we can find some way to extract the grimoire. However, nobody is stabbing anybody in the heart with a cursed blade. Take it, or leave it,” I said.

“Well, it's a start. If you can't figure out a way to get the grimoire will you consider my plan?” Dahlia asked.

“Not killing you,” I said.

“If I kill myself will you retrieve the grimoire?”

“Not killing you. Not letting anyone kill you. There's always another option, or many unexplored opportunities,” Kanae said.

“Fine. I guess it's the best I can hope for. When can we leave?” Dahlia said.

“The semester ends next week, so we will have the summer break to undertake your quest,” I said.

“Wonderful! Thank you so much! Shall I come to your dorm once the semester ends?” Dahlia said.

“Yes, we will be waiting for you,” I said.

“Bye for now!” Dahlia said as she left.

“Are you sure we should take this job?” Kanae asked.

“There is something very suspicious about this request. I suspect she is being manipulated or controlled. This is likely some sort of trap for us. Better the trap we know, than the assassin we don't. Besides, it could be very profitable. There are a lot of rare artifacts to be found in the places the Darklings once inhabited,” I said.

“She's insane!” Darby said.

“Quite possibly. Isn't it exciting!?” I said.

“Through the looking glass,” Kanae said.

“Hunh? What's that mean?” I said.

“Oh, nothing, just an expression from my former home,” Aoi said.

“Yeah, she's as mad as a hatter,” Kiera giggled.

“Why would a hatter be mad?” I asked. Everyone else laughed.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing. Nothing at all. Never mind,” Kanae said once she had her laughing under control.

“I feel like I'm being left out of a joke here,” I said.

“I'll explain it later,” Kanae said.

“But seriously, if you suspect a trap, shouldn't we walk away?” Kiera asked.

“Sometimes. The Darkling's Dreadnought grimoire, is a legendary artifact. Many have sought it out. We could buy our own country if we possessed it. If it is really there, and we can obtain it, our options would be almost limitless. But the chances it really is there are pretty slim. Someone is trying to draw us in hoping our greed blinds us to this being a sham,” I said.

“Then why take this job?” Kiera asked.

“Because we'll be exploring the most famed Darkling ruin. It's crazy hard, but there are some Darkling artifacts that might be there. It's a practically untouched remnant of the Darkling Empire. I want to explore it. Plus, I have a good feeling, we have the right attributes, and I think we could really power up with things we'll likely find, and defeat there. We may also figure out what the real issue is with our classmate's twin. And if it gets too dangerous, or we feel it's getting too risky, we retreat. This is not an official Guild quest, and the Queen isn't letting us take any, and we need to do stuff to raise our levels,” I said.

“Wow, you've thought that deeply over this in this short a time?” Kanae asked.

“Always. I'm Princess of overthinking. He he he,” I said.

“That's not a good thing. You know that right?” Kiera said.

“Sometimes it is,” I said.

“Ugh! Whatever. I'm in. Just because I'm morbidly curious about the Darkling stuff,” Kiera said.

“I'm in. I'm morbidly curious about tackling a pristine ruin,” Kanae said.

“I'm in. I just want to smash a lot of stuff, and this sound promising,” Darby said.

“Boys. I'm in, just to keep this idiot from doing anything too overtly stupid,” Aoi said.

“Alright, then let's head to library! We need to do some research to prepare,” I said.

“Research? Research what?” Kanae said.

“There's a lot of literature on the Darkling Empire. Inside the Darkling Chrystalline Cavern is the former Capital Chrysallia. We need to look at maps and read some history, and anything we can find that can help locate where the grimoire might be, if it was last in Chrysallia,” I said.

“Oh, well that makes a lot of sense, then we won't be going in blind,” Kiera said.

Every day after classes we researched in the library. We copied maps, we read stories. We found reports of explorers and researchers who had dug up old Darkling ruins. We read the reports and stories of adventurers who ran into Darkling ruins, both successes and failures.

“Well, we head out for the quest tomorrow, and we're still no closer to finding where the grimoire might have been held. However, we have found some interesting stories of legendary Darkling artifacts that have been discovered, and some that haven't,” Kiera said.

“Yeah, but we can't be sure how many of those were real, and how many are just mythical,” Kanae said.

“No matter. We have at least discovered that the Darkling artifacts that have been found and Darkling equipment all fetch premium prices on the market. Pretty much anything we recover will be valuable, if it's still in decent shape,” Aoi said.

“This could be potentially very enriching. So long as we make it back alive,” Darby said.

“Let's all remember, someone is probably setting up traps for us. Don't get reckless by being greedy. The research shows that the Darklings laid plenty of traps and used curses on objects. Approach this like researchers and not tomb raiders,” I said.

“Right. Check for traps and curses, and don't get greedy. Got it,” Darby said.

Then the day came, and Dahlia came to our dorm to meet with her about the quest.

“H-hello. I'm not too early, am I? I wanted to discuss the quest for the grimoire,” Dahlia said.

“Not at all, come on in. Would you like some coffee or tea, perhaps a pastry, or fruit?” Aoi said.

“Some tea would be nice, thank you,” Dahlia said.

“There you are, enjoy, Ladies and Sir,” the dorm maid said as she poured some tea, and put out some fruits and pastries.

“Thank you, Gertie,” I said.

“S-so, P-p-princess, are you still w-willing to take on this qu-quest?” Dahlia asked nervously.

“Don't call me princess. I'm just Deirdre, or Dee, My mother abdicated her right as queen. Yes we are, but now we need all the details you have, and we'd like to know the specifics of why you need this specific grimoire,” I said.

“Y-yes Lady Deirdre, W-well it all started about a month ago. My sister Daphne starting getting this dark patch of skin near her ankle. It's been growing slowly. Now her leg is almost completely covered with the dark patch, and she's in a lot of pain. None of the healers have been able to cure it. Several have stated it is some kind of Darkling curse. The last healer to look at it told us, that it was a Dreadnought curse, and the only way to find the counter to it would be to find a Dreadnought grimoire. But they were all destroyed hundreds of years ago by order of Queen Bertilde the Great. My father did some research and said they've determined the location of the original Darkling Dreadnought grimoire, but no one would take the quest to seek it. The Adventurers Guild states this is an SSS Class quest. But there are no SSS ranked Adventurer parties,” Dahlia said.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Well if the Adventurers Guild thinks it is an SSS Ranked quest, what made you think we could handle it?” Kiera asked.

“Everyone knows what you did regarding Marquise Margaret's murder. Everyone knows the whole thing has been covered up by the Queen. Rumor are you took down and entire assassin organization. A ton of people are missing from the Southern March, and the Ó Ferdia estate almost completely disappeared, along with a lot of the Marquise's staff. Then the Archduke knighted all of you and gave you one of the highest awards in the whole empire. You can sugar coat it and cover it up all you want, but there's no doubt the five of are probably the strongest group in the Empire,” Dahlia said.

“So, that's the legend going around about us. Well, sorry to disappoint. We didn't take down some assassin organization. I can't speak to all these mysteriously missing people, but I'm sure there's a very mundane explanation,” I said.

“So, what else do you know?” I asked.

“Here, this is everything my father has collected relevant to the curse, and the location of the grimoire. Obviously, we can't confirm the factual content on all of this,” Dahlia said passing us an envelope.

I opened it and pulled out the paper work. Kanae and Kiera looked over, going over the material with me. We spent several minutes going over it. Some supported our own research, and some was new. Some of it seemed a bit too good to be true, and a few things we had already determined were false leads.

“Alright, I was hoping for something more, but it is what it is. We'll head out shortly, and will contact you whether we succeed or not, provided we return alive. It will probably take us at least a month to complete,” I said.

“Alright, I'm ready. I have my weapons and packed with me, in my storage,” Dahlia said.

“Oh, sorry. No you aren't coming with us. You are hiring us to find it for you,” I said.

“I have to come with, I have to be there when you retrieve the grimoire,” Dahlia said.

“Too dangerous. You'll only slow us down and become a burden to protect,” Kanae said.

“I must come. That's not negotiable,” Dahlia said.

“What's your level? Everyone here is over level forty. I am level seventy-one,” I said.

“Se-se-seventy-one? Are you the Demon Lord?” Dahlia said.

“Yes, seventy-one, and no, I'm dragonkin, not a demon. What's your level?” I said.

“I'm going to be level thirty-seven, soon,” Dahlia said.

“Don't lie to me. What's your level?” I asked.

“I'm not lying,” Dahlia said.

“You are lying, you're a level twenty-seven. That's not almost thirty-seven. You're too weak, you'll put our entire party at risk. This is not negotiable. You. are. not. coming. End of discussion. Leave it to us, or we're done,” I said.

“I can bring a platoon of my mother's elite troops, and we can secure a base at the entrance of the caverns, and then leave the last part to you. How does that sound,” Dahlia said.

Sigh

“Fine. Fine. Have yourself and your mother's platoon meet us at the front entrance of the Academy. You can ride in our carriage, Lady Dahlia. But just to be clear, you are in charge of them, and you follow our orders, without question!” I said.

“Yes, Princess!”

“Don't call me that!”

“Tee he he,” laughed Kiera, and Kanae.

“Shut it! You two!” I said.

“She's not wrong,” Aoi said.

“Ugh! Enough, already,” I said.

A half hour later, a noble carriage and a platoon of what looked like fifty of her mother's guard marched up to the entrance on some sort of lizardkin beasts.

“So, where is our carriage? You're not planning on using that cart, are you?” Kanae asked.

“Oh, we have a surprise for you. Aoi and I have been doing some alchemy crafting on the cart. Are you ready Aoi?” I said.

“Ready, Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the Resplendent Raiders carriage number one,” Aoi said pulling out a magnificent obsidian black carriage with dark-crimson-red highlights, and our party insignia on the doors in the same red color and a ruby red velvet interior.

“Wow! That's amazing!” Kanae said.

“Sweet ride!” Darby said.

Everyone piled in. Dahlia exited her carriage and came to look ours, but with questioning looks.

“Where's your beast team?” Dahlia asked.

“It's self-propelled. It's mana powered, and driven by a golem driver. You can dismiss your carriage, and ride with us. Or bring your carriage if you prefer, Lady Dahlia,” I said, as I pulled the golem from my storage. The golem climbed to the driver seat of the carriage.

“I would love to ride with you, Lady Deirdre. I'd like to introduce you to Lt. Ó Grady, the platoon leader,” Dahlia said.

“Salutations Lt. Ó Grady, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Deirdre,” I said.

“Greetings and Salutations, Princess Deirdre,” Lt. Ó Grady said, bowing low, while saluting with his right fist over his heart.

“Lt Ó Grady, please dismiss my carriage, and let them know I will be riding with the Princess,” Dahlia said.

“Yes Ma'am!” Lt Ó Grady saluted and left.

Once everyone was settled, I commanded our driver, “Forward party.”

And we were off on the first quest of the summer. We were technically obeying the Queen by not taking any Guild quests. But, we all suspected we were going to get in a lot of trouble for this, unless we were successful. Dahlia and her sister were after all the daughters of Marquise Gráinne.

It took us five days to make our way to the Darkling Chrystalline Caverns. There were many forks and tributary canyons in the Chasm of Despair. But we had done our research and brought our maps with us. Naturally, the Chasm is filled with monsters and beasts. We took down four Ogre nests which included three Red Ogre Generals and one Red Ogre King. We feasted on three Taurian Bears. We were attacked by seven Red-horned Golden Wyrms, and five Darkling Rocs, and two Basilisk Hawks. Needless to say we killed enough monsters and beasts to qualify this quest as an S Ranked quest. Thanks to the company of soldiers we were able to not have to be part of a night watch rotation. The platoon handled that, and woke us whenever we were needed. The soldiers handled some of the attacks without us. One of the soldiers had to be healed by Kanae, having looked one of the Basilisk Hawks in the eyes, and been turned to stone.

“Alright, I've set up a strong perimeter shield. It is powered by an artifact I crafted. It should hold up against even an attack by the Demon Lord. Here are three more artifacts which you should be able to activate yourself, Lady Dahlia. Activate this device if you have an emergency and need us to come back immediately. I have the ability to teleport myself and my guild party. Now please form a bond contract with this Saurian Nightwing Wyrm,” I said.

“Oh, how cute! I've read about these. These are the smallest of the Wyrm species. They only grow to one meter in length, right? Why am I forming a contract bond?” Dahlia asked.

“Just do it. I'll explain in a moment,” I said.

“Ok,” Dahlia said, and formed the contract.

“So why?” Dahlia asked.

“I researched the stories of the grimoire and the Darkling curses. The sacrifices they'd have demanded all called for the sacrifice of a familiar. Not the person. It was also a sacrifice of blood, but not to the point of death. This wyrm is now your familiar, and should a sacrifice be needed, only a few drops of the wyrm's blood will be required. I will take the cursed obsidian blade. In case there is a need for a sacrifice, because that is the one part of your erroneous sacrifice ritual story that was accurate. There was never a need for you to sacrifice your life. You were being misled by someone who has a vendetta against your House, and this whole quest is a trap to take down your house and us with it. We don't know what we will find in these ruins. If indeed the grimoire is here, we will get it. If not, I am not out of ideas to save your sister. We will save your twin for you. Now it's time to trap the trappers. Stay safe and listen to the Lt. We had a long discussion with him. He knows what to do when trouble comes,” I said.

“Oh, my Goddess! Thank you so much!” Dahlia said, and shocked me by jumping up and hugging me.

“Kanae, Kiera, Aoi, Darby, are you ready?” I said, turning to my companions.

“Ready!” they answered.

“Let's do this,” I said, and we entered the caverns.

“Luxos!” I cast.

“So, here we are, on the road to the ruins. These outer parts were the first layer of defense, but also the first sights visitors would see. The main thoroughfare would be some of the best things available, but also probably the highest profits. In other words, nothing to really attract us. The entry though is likely very heavily defended. Our first hurdle,” I said.

“The entire path up to the gates is probably full of traps. Then there are actually seven cities. Or seven divisions, but cities makes more sense. They were a very class-based society. That first circle is also the poorest sector, and the seventh, the extravagant Royal sector. The sixth sector would have been the nobles. The fifth sector the wealthy mostly merchant class, and those few commoners who rose to power. The fourth sector is probably where the most interesting ruins will be, where the various skilled workers were. As well as the fifth. I found a library in the fourth sector. A huge library. Biggest except for the Royal one in the Royal sector. That one might be worth checking out,” Kiera said.

Deeper and deeper we traveled into the caverns.

“Here we go. Traps up ahead. Let me illuminate them,” I said.

“We're being followed,” Kiera said.

“I know. Someone with dark mana. So it's not Dahlia,” I said.

“You can tell from here?” Darby asked.

“Yes, I picked them up almost right away. They were already here, waiting for us. Someone either has been waiting for us, or they got around us as we approached the caverns,” I said.

“Perhaps a little of both?” Kiera questioned.

“Perhaps, but irrelevant,” I said.

“True,” Aoi said.

“I've rigged a few traps to activate when our shadow passes by,” I said.

“Oh, aren't you the devious one. I'd have never thought to do that,” Kanae said.

“Genius move, and we get to see what the traps are like,” Kiera said.

“Or we completely piss off whoever is following,” Aoi said.

“Either way it helps us. Anger can be a tool, but more often it leads to careless mistakes,” I said.

Just then we saw lights shooting back and forth across the path we had been not long ago.

“Hmm, wind arrows?” Kiera said.

“From both sides of the path. A prickly situation,” I said.

“Indeed. Ha ha ha,” Kanae said, and everyone laughed at my weak joke.

“You think that got them?” Darby asked.

“I'd be disappointed if that simple trap did. However, it confirms we have at least one shadow. But they probably know that we are aware of them now. They will be more careful,” I said.

“I'm surprised that was such a basic trap,” Aoi said.

“The early traps are most likely just warnings. They will get more devious the deeper we go. Kanae, can you call up a shield of darkness around us,” I said.

“I already have Eå's shield up. Do we need more?” Kanae asked.

“Just a precaution. I sense a lot of dark mana in this place, and it appears even thicker in the direction we are going. I have a hunch we'll be thankful if we have one up. Kiera open up your senses to darkness. Something is pulling the light out of my spell, and I'm having to use more mana to keep the way lit. I have a bad feeling we'll have to dispel the light eventually,” I said.

“How will we navigate without the light?” Darby asked.

“I see just fine in the dark. Kanae and Kiera should have no issues either. The light is really just for you Darby, and Aoi. Don't worry, I have a spell to help you two, when the time comes. I'm just conserving my mana right now. This was always going to happen. The Darklings were beings of the night. And they may not be as extinct as history says. I sense life in these caverns. Lifeforms such as I've never felt before. Pay attention as we get closer to the ruins. I don't think they are as deserted as everyone thinks they are,” I said.

“Lovely, and you're just telling us this now?” Kiera said.

“It was only a theory before, or a gut feeling. I'm still not certain, but my dragon sense is really going off,” I said.

A few minutes later another trap went off, and this time there were explosions.

“The defenses are getting more serious, I see. Well, our shadow is going to be really pissed at us, I think,” I said.

“Are you still rigging traps as we pass them?” Darby said.

“I see no reason to stop. We have to exit this place and I may not be able to teleport out from everyplace inside here. So the less traps we need to bypass, the better for us, and it makes our shadow expend more mana,” I said.

“Brilliant!” Darby said.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Look! There it is the ruin of Chrysallia!” Kanae said.

“Hmm, not good,” I said.

“What? What do see?” Aoi asked.

“Do you see it Kiera? Kanae?” I said.

“I see it, but what is it? It looks like a massive dark waterfall,” Kiera said.

“That's no waterfall!” Kanae said.

“No. Not a waterfall, but just as deadly,” I said.

“D-d-deadly? What are you seeing? I don't see anything at all!” Darby asked.

“Yes, and that's exactly why anyone without the Darkness attribute would meet their end here. Well anyone except a dragon. Wait here. I'm going to get a closer look,” I said.

“Are you crazy!? That thing is huge! I can feel it from here!” Kiera said.

“I may be crazy, but I'm not a lunatic. Trust me. I'm a lot stronger than I look. I am dragonkin after all,” I said.

I approached the barrier at the edge of the ruins of the city of Chrysallia. The barrier was giving off immense mana. I had to transform to my full battle mode in order to get close enough to examine it. When I got close I saw a Darkling guard post.

“Kiera, call up a Mega Dark Wall, and come over here, if you can. Keep the wall in front of you,” I said.

“Mega Dark Wall. Ok, umm, here I come,” Kiera said.

“It's getting hotter.” Kiera said.

“Yes, let me know if it gets too hot,” I said.

“O-ok,” Kiera said.

“Wow, it's really getting hot,” Kiera said.

“Is it too much?”

“Not yet.”

“Oww. Yes it's too hot!”

“Healing Shield! How about now,” I asked.

“Better. Thanks.”

“Ok, I'm here. What did you want to show me?” Kiera said, once she reached my side.

“Look at the barrier, do you see anything?” I asked.

“Just the same old barrier from as back there,” Kiera said.

“What about over there, do you see anything unusual there?” I said.

“Hmm...” Kiera said.

“It's fluctuating?” Kiera said after staring at the spot I pointed out.

“Weaker section? Possibly a doorway.” I said.

“So what do we do?” Kiera asked.

“We find the key. You, or Kanae will have to open it. My Dark magik tricks are very limited. But I might be able to help with the key. You probably have the best chance of cracking this open,” I said.

“Ok. Maybe a simple open request. Sesam Friend!” Kiera said and cast.

“Nothing. Not even a wink,” I said.

“Ouvera!”

“Fracas!”

The shield flared!

“Don't try that again. No more cracking spells. I think you pissed it off,” I said.

“Yeah, for sure that was way terrifying,” Kiera said.

So it continued. Kiera tried varying opening spells. I gave her passwords in every language my clan memory could summon.

“How much mana are you using to keep this healing shield up? We've been at this for about a half hour,” Kiera said.

“Closer to an hour. Too much mana, but it's alright. I can handle this,” I said.

“I'm all out of ideas, Dee,” Kiera said.

“Ok. Well I didn't want to try this, and it probably won't work since I'm only half-dragon. Put your hands forward pointing at suspected door, and funnel Dark Mana out,” I said.

“Ok, done. Nothing's happening,” Kiera said.

“It's ok, keep doing it. I'm going to join hands with you and pour out my mana through your hands. It's going to hurt a little, and it will probably feel weird, but just relax. Ok,” I said.

“Sure ok,” Kiera said puzzled.

“Ok. Here I go.”

“Ow! Oh! OH! Eew, this feels so weird! Dee! Dee?” Kiera said.

“Draconis Melonis!” I cast.

The ground rumbled, and my voice echoed off the dark barrier. Then the barrier flashed. An opening grew.

“Healing Shield! Quick everyone through the doorway!” I yelled. Aoi, Darby and Kanae ran through the doorway, and then Kiera and I ran through still holding hands.

WHUMP!

The ground shook again as the doorway slammed shut behind us.

“What the Hell!?” Darby said.

“Are we locked inside?” Aoi asked.

“Yes, but we should be able to use the same method to get out, as long as we don't make Chrysallia think we are enemies to eliminate. Let's get away from this barrier so I can drop my shields,” I said.

“I can't see anything!” Aoi said.

“Me either!” Darby said.

“I won't be able to use light inside here. I'll guide you for now,” I said as I grabbed their hand and walked them away from the barrier.