The Genesis Game

After the two of them walked through the heavy wood door, it slammed shut behind them. Their presence triggering a trap as a wooden beam fell across the doorway, sealing their way out. Seraph didn't even attempt to dislodge or move it. He knew they were locked in. There would be no escaping, no retreat if they weren't strong enough to complete the task at hand, they would either finish what they started, or die trying.

The pair looked at each other, nodding in affirmation that they were committed if they weren't before. Seraph and Sadie would be depending on each other to stay alive, the former enemies working together in the common goal of saving their respective people.

Seraph released his Cats Claw from its wrist sheath and gripped the handle of the claw blade tight. Sadie unsheathed her sword, a familiar blue glow emanating and lighting up the room. The gleaming of the sword a reminder of the ability she possessed to turn the undead, but also a reminder of the strain it had put on her, Seraph did not want them to be in a situation were they used the turn undead ability recklessly, it needed to be saved for when it was absolutely necessary.

They found themselves in the church Nave, a room filled with rows of splintered and cracked wooden pews, the gloss sealant corroded with age and the hassocks from where people had once prayed were torn and shredded, the red cloth faded to a dull pink.

The air was stale, musty, the stench of decay noticeable but faded from time. Seraph pointed out to Sadie the handful of corpses littered throughout the room in the pews, each of the bodies in various states of decomposition. Some in suits, others in dresses, all formal wear. Judging by the position of the bodies, they appeared to have died abruptly. All of the corpses looking towards the pulpit on the stage in front of them. They had not died in terror running.

"Sadie." Cautioned Seraph, "Whatever killed those people, did so instantly. Be wary of enchantments and other traps."

Whispering back at him as they walked down the rows, talking small careful and measured steps Sadie responded. "It might be the pulpit itself is warded somehow, like a charm, these people could have just starved to death or some other natural cause."

"Alright, that's good thinking. If that's the case though, I think we're safe for now. I've already looked at it a few times to no effect, probably needs a trigger of some sort, like somebody at the pulpit to start the enchantment." Seraph reasoned as Sadie looked about for signs of enemies.

Both of them kept a wary eye on the bodies, fully expecting them to reanimate at any moment.

Hesitantly, they looked around the stage but found no clues about what had happened here, no idea of how to continue their quest to clear the Halls of Rot.

"Seraph, look." Said Sadie pointing to the podium.

Seraph looked and saw three round groves dug into the wood, and a handwritten note on the middle of the pedestal.

Behind him, Sadie started reading.

From the dust of fallen stars, a light rises in the dark as the three wise Kings guide the way. Forgotten are the dreams of older days, something waits, something has awoken. The burden of the ancient pact must be paid.

"Those are clues to some kind of riddle we need to solve to advance I'm guessing." Said Seraph as he contemplated the words.

Sadie grabbed the podium and checked for anything else, be it grooves, hidden messages, or secret compartments. "It's a riddle, the three wise kings are easy enough to figure out." She reasoned as she pointed to the three round groves dug into the wood.

"But I don't know about the rest of it." She admitted.

"I do, I know what some of it means. The dust of fallen stars, that's us." Said Seraph as he reminded long ago words from someone close to him. "My mother used to say that stars died so we could live, it was her way of trying to figure out the way of the world."

Sadie looked at him. "I didn't take you for the nostalgic type Seraph."

"I'm not, but she was my mother. Family matters Sadie, I'm not sure if you would understand." Replied Seraph.

In irritation she shot him an angry look. "I had a family too Seraph, and friends, they were taken from me by the monsters and the monsters the dungeon makes."

Seraph had no response, he didn't want to respond, it wouldn't help anything, the edge to her voice said it all, Seraph had killed people she cared about it or ordered his people to do it. That she hadn't tried to kill him outright was something that still perplexed him to no end, no matter how much she claimed to care more about the welfare of her people.

"Alright, so the first line is easy enough, it either means the living, us, or it means we use the dust of the dead on something that will likely appear after we gather these three kings. That's easy enough if we stay on our toes and don't get distracted." Seraph reasoned as he thought of were to look for the tokens or statues that bore the images of the three kings.

Without warning, Sadie tackled him, the force striking him on the side as an Arabian scimitar just barely missed a blow that would have disemboweled him. Seraph turning to face his attacker to see a dark-skinned man in leather armor and an tan cloak advancing on him, even as Sadie's body tumbled after she had tackled him. Moving out of the way a ball of blue fire landing where his feet had just been, another ball of fire already forming in the hands of the man in a silk tunic near the door. The fire spread quickly and attacked the Arabic knight, only for the fire to vanish and the damage to the Arabic knight disappear as a third man appeared praying from the pews, his words seeming to enrage and boost the other two. In a room without doors or other entry enemies had joined them, what looked like men, wooden golems bearing the image of a Persian Shah, an Arabic Knight, and a Indian Guru.

Notification: Quest Unlocked - The Three Kings

Conditions: Defeat the Avatars of the Three Kings in combat to revert the avatar back to their statute state.

Reward: Upon the end of battle, collect the 1 Balthazar Figurine, 1 Gasper Figurine, 1 Melchior Figurine.