36. Umbral

Castus did nothing for a couple of seconds. The voice that poured from the odd creature was grating. It was like it was imitating human language. Castus steadied himself as he watched the single tentacle eye stare at him. "I'm C..custard." He stammered. "No, I mean, I'm Castus." The eye swayed in the air, moving to different angles to get a better look at Castus.

"Custard or Castus?" The creature asked. Its hands had not stopped moving, it continued to forge while it observed Castus. "It's Castus, sorry." Castus lowered his sword slightly feeling no hostility from the thing. A cacophony of banging ensued as the four arms banged down on the ingots on the forge, rapidly shaping them into their desired shape of shoulder guards. "No need to apologize, I know that I can be unsettling. Are you one the transplants?" Castus nodded his head still watching as Freth forged seamlessly. It had only been a small moment, but the guards were almost fully shaped. "Oh, that's good to hear. We may work together one day. I work on the other side of the forge where we perform enchantments." The mouth that was speaking curved into a smile and the eye slowly retracted into the other. At this point the guards had finished being forged. Freth noticed Castus' gaze on the guards. "Oh, yes would you let Dimas know that Kyle didn't finish his order again for me?" As Freth spoke it scooped up the guards and left the room. "Pleasure meeting you Castus!" With that the door slammed shut.

Castus stood stunned and collapsed onto the floor. Freth was terrifying to look at. It seemed nice enough though. His legs shook as he stood and finished the sword up and returned to his room. There Wyden and Alyssa were talking. Castus stumbled into the room, fatigue was taking it's toll. Alyssa looked up. "Hey Castus! You doing ok?" Castus nodded in her direction and made a beeline for the food. He ate quickly, planning on immediately going to bed, but something stopped him. "Wait, where Rys? I know Shi is on an assignment, but Rys normally comes back every night." Castus looked around, not seeing the familiar burrow elf. Awkward as he could be he was a welcome friend to Castus.

"Oh, he's with Shi on the assignment." Castus nodded and went to bed. The next day Wyden awoke Castus once again, much to Castus' regret. He then reported back to the forge and continued slogging through the orders. He told Dimas about Kyle not finishing the order for Freth, afraid of what Freth could do to him more than Dimas. Dimas made sure to correct this worry as Dimas dragged Kyle into his chamber and closed the door. Hellish screams leaked through the door and Castus began to understand that Dimas was the real demon, not Freth. That day Castus worked with exceeding efficiency and actually completed his tasks only an hour after everyone else at the forge.

Castus continued this for three days. On the third day he began to worry. Shi and Rys had not returned yet. That morning as Castus was heading to the forge he spotted Darius walking down a different corridor. He waved and prepared to approach Darius, but Darius either ignored him or didn't see him. Determined to find out what happened to the two of them he followed after Darius. He didn't want to deal with Dimas' scolding about being late, but as long as he finished the orders, he would be fine. He could lose a few minutes of sleep for Shi and Rys.

Darius took a sharp turn and Castus followed. Immediately after Darius ducked into a room. Castus began to approach before he heard two voices and stopped just outside of the door.

"Holy Pyre, I am disappointed to report that the two scouts from the special division have gone missing. Their last known report was before they entered into the umbral they confirmed existed. We have not heard from them yet. It worries me that this may be a much larger existence than we originally estimated. This is all the more reason to push the Mordens harder." Darius spoke with his distinct voice. Castus sucked in cold air, realizing that Shi and Rys might be in danger. 'Fuck, I haven't known them long, but I'm not ready to lose them both like my family. Not to mention they're some of the only people I can relate to here.'

Castus started to creep away from the door, but a soothing voice froze him. "Yes Darius, I understand. Thank you for the report. The next Holy Pyre meeting is coming up and I believe we will devise a strategy to penetrate the Mordens and gain access to the umbral. Keep an eye on those transplants though. Their abilities are very useful as you know well." Castus gulped hearing the words from the other entity in the room. He started to slink away as carefully as he could, but he backed into something quickly.

Turning around Castus held his breath. Sure the base didn't exactly control him and the others constantly, but if he was caught doing something he shouldn't he was sure to be severely punished. He slowly turned around worried about what would happen.

"You think you should be slinking around like that runt?" The familiar runt of Grant gave Castus some breathing room. Out of everyone here in charge, Grant was certainly the best case scenario. Castus stood up and faced grant. The man had gained his other arm back, but the luscious locks of green hair were still growing back in from their adventures. He gave Castus a raised eyebrow. Castus gathered himself and replied honestly. "I'm just trying to find out what happened to Shi and Rys." Grant nodded. "The mimic and the nature boy, yes I'm familiar. I wouldn't worry too much. As much as the fear of transplants run deep, they still treat you all like an asset. I believe they will try to recover them."

Castus sighed in relief. Then he asked the next question on his mind. "Grant, er, Sacred Flame Grant, what is an umbral?" Grant froze and grabbed Castus, covering his mouth and ducking into a nearby closet. Releasing his crushing grip on Castus he hissed quietly. "How did you hear about that?" Castus was stunned and hesitant before he revealed the conversation from Darius. Grant looked distraught about the news. "Castus, I hate to say this, but I think Shi and Rys might already be dead. Umbrals are treacherous and lethal areas of this world. Do you know what a Kodoku is?" Castus shook his head silently, indicating he did not. Grant peeked out the door, checking no one was around, before continuing. "A Kodoku is a technique to form highly venomous creatures. You put a lot of dangerous insects into a jar for a while and let them kill and devour each other. The survivor is the most dangerous. If you continue this over many generations if forms a deadly mutant. Umbrals are like this. The natural mana of world will occasionally congregate in an area so highly it creates a completely unique environment. Creatures and beasts alike are drawn to it. Once inside they begin to fight ravenously. The mana inside is increased over time from the death, creating a growing environment. If a strong enough mutant is eventually created the umbral will gain sentience and merge with the creature, evolving it into a new monster entirely. Leaving an umbral is impossible once you enter. Thats where the name comes from. It's a threshold. Fortunately, they are decently rare."

Castus was aghast. His friends were in supreme danger now. Worry grew all over his face. "So there's nothing we can do? Why would they even enter?" Grant gave Castus a sympathy pat on the shoulder. "They entered because if a human can gain control of the umbral it can be directed and controlled. This allows a number of people to gain lesser parts of the umbral and grow significantly stronger. Not to mention the natural mana causes many natural resources that are not naturally formed to appear." Castus was downcast. Grant peeked out of the door again. The coast was clear. He turned back to Castus. "Quickly get to your assignment. If you jog, you should be able to make decent time." Grant thrust Castus out of the room. Castus glanced back, concern written on his face. Grant gave him one last hope. "I will see what I can do after the Holy Pyre meeting."

Castus nodded and jogged slowly to the forging room, sure to get chewed out by Dimas. Sure enough when he got there Dimas threated to force him to sleep in the forge so he wouldn't be late again. Castus halfheartedly listened to Dimas, then took his quota and got back to working again. Castus was far too concerned about his comrades than making another silly sword.