Core of Knowledge

There was a path through the forest. With no other way forward, The Young Nobles moved forward. The forest was alive with the sound of birds and insects, the fresh smell of the earth filled Alessandro‘s nose, but he did not see any animal or creature. Several times he could swear he saw movement at the edges of his peripheral vision, but every time he turned his head, sword and shield at the ready, he was met with nothing but the moving leaves of a bamboo tree. Alessandro wondered if the dungeon core was playing with him, and if animals truly exist in this room. He did not voice his question; the dungeon would not have answered anyway. Alessandro could only keep up his guard.

The Young Nobles soon reach a spilt. There were two paths further into the forest. One of the paths was marked with a wooden sign that read, ‘Toward the river.’

The other was marked with a sign that reads, ‘Toward the camp.’

The Young Nobles discussed among themselves before venturing down the path that led to the camp. With no information to go on, one path was the same as the other, but The Young Nobles had two knights in their party and going towards the river might meant going for a swim. Something Alessandro was keen to avoid with his armour.

As the party made their way through the forest, the path became narrower and narrower, and they found themselves walking in a single file again. The bamboo trees grew taller until they reached between twenty to thirty metres and the party soon lost sight of the other path to the river.

Eventually, the path came to an end, and The Young Nobles stood in front of a clearing. The clearing was big and empty except for a table that was in the middle of it. Four chairs surround the table. Alessandro could see a path leading out of the clearing on the other side. It went deeper into the bamboo forest, but The Young Nobles did not take the path. They knew their task was here.

“Four chairs, one for each of us. Let’s get this started.” Simone said as he sat down.

Not for the first time, Alessandro wondered if that was a good idea. The Tomb of Ten Thousand Techniques was a Trick Dungeon, so The Young Nobles knew it was very likely they would face a puzzle of some sort on their run. They had discussed the matter among themselves and decided to try to complete the puzzle.

Personally, Alessandro doubted the party’s ability to complete any puzzle that the dungeon core would conjure up, but both Simone and Bellino wanted to give it a try and Roberto voted with the [Mages]. Alessandro dutifully sat down on a log.

The moment all four of them sat down, the table lit up. A box appeared above the table and dropped onto the table. Multicolour smoke came out of the box, rising into the air, and forming four threads of smoke. Alessandro looked up and watched silently as the threads of smoke condensed into an image. A powerful, disturbing image that looked like an oil painting.

The painting itself was dominated by the figure of a beautiful woman, standing in the prow of a small boat. Her dress was pale green, similar to that of the shallow water, and her skin was white as chalk. So pale was she that it looked like she had been drowned and brought up only moments ago.

The woman's eyes were closed, and her face was turned up towards the heavens. She holds a black iron sword in her right hand, similar to the strange sword the adventurers found on the first floor, and it seems to draw all the light in the picture into itself. The whole image was lit from a single direction, which threw the woman's figure into relief and made the dark water behind her seem utterly mysterious and impenetrable.

Alessandro felt an unexpected dread when he saw the painting. It was difficult to define, but the painting gave Alessandro a feeling of darkness, like the painting was full of primal energy, threatening to spill out of the painting at any moment. Alessandro never felt like this before, except once.

It was years ago, when he was still a [Squire]. During his training period with a [Knight], Alessandro remembered the time when they went to investigate a deep cave. As they walked through the darkened cave, Alessandro could swear that shadowy forms were moving as they passed. Every time he became aware of something watching him from the darkness, Alessandro would turn slowly, trying to see what it is. As he did, the presence would fade away, leaving only a faint sense of unease.

The memory of that cave still sends a chill down his spine.

Alessandro shook off the memory and turned his attention back to the painting. The woman's figure drew him in, and the dark water behind her took on a strange new depth. There was something about the painting that's mesmerizing, and Alessandro could not tear his eyes away from it. He barely noticed the poem at the bottom of the painting.

“In her hand a dark sword

In her eye a terrible flame

She comes as a stranger to our shore

Her name we may never know.”

It was not the best poem Alessandro had ever read, but it was hardly the worst. There was something strange about the poem, like something was lost, but Alessandro could not quite put his finger on why. Then, it came to him.

Was this woman someone real? Someone the painter lost?

The sound of someone clearing his throat broke Alessandro’s concentration. It was Roberto. Alessandro looked at his friend who was giving everyone a smile.

“The painting is very impressive, but let’s not lose our head over it.” he said.

Alessandro looked up, saw the painting and the countdown. He cursed. He got distracted by the dungeon again! He looked at the other members of his party, and hurriedly urged.

“Let’s begin.”