What Lies Beneath [Quest: Atani]

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:54 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

There were multiple pieces of Oak's history that Atani had not yet familiarized herself with; however, it did not take long to come to understand the roots of the town. As she vaguely knew, Eternal Nightmare was not the first Dark guild to reside there. There was instead another guild that had lasted even longer than the one led by the Wizard Lord himself. It was called Phantom Lord, though what became of the former guild was hazy at best. The name rang a bell, which Atani found to be quite surprising since she couldn't recall hearing of it during the time she could remember in Athalran. In fact, very little talk was ever made there in regards to the guilds. If this Dark guild was as prominent as Oak Town led her to believe though, it was perhaps that she passively overheard discussion of it in her travels, seasoned adventurers reminiscing about its former glory.

Whatever that exactly may or may not have been, Atani didn't know. What she did know, however, was that after the guild disbanded, they did not clean up their act. There was some place in Oak that used to be called the 'Haunted Lands of Phantom Lord.'

WC: 203/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:54 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

What exactly took place in these aforementioned 'Haunted Lands of Phantom Lord?' It was hard to say. There was a shroud of mystery surrounding what it was to the locals in its past, but ever since the lands closed, ever since Phantom Lord disbanded, there were strange sightings in the town's catacombs. Why anyone would go into the catacombs expecting nothing less than trouble was beyond the elf, but she listened to the tales the townsfolk told.

There were quite a number of superstitious folk within Oak. Quite frankly, it was almost to the extent she expected to see within the walls of Dahlia. But bottom line was, these strange happenings beneath the catacombs, they were rumored to be caused by some sort of ghost or spirit. Whatever these Haunted Lands of Phantom Lord supposedly did for these spirits, its subsequent closure was theorized to have made the souls become lost. No longer contained beneath the protection of the Oakland Church, they were free to roam the underworld as they pleased-- of course, not the literal underworld. Rather, the 'underworld' that existed beneath the physical grounds of Oak itself. Why they were restricted to just there, however, was beyond Atani.

WC: 203+200=403/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:55 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

From what Atani knew of spirits, once they were released from captivity, they flowed everywhere. In a sense, they behaved similar to gasses if you wanted to try to explain it in a molecular sense-- although Atani could not say for sure if ghosts were even composed of the same base materials the living were made of, let alone follow the same laws of physics, but regardless a similar comparison to how the physical world operated could still be made. Just as how gasses moved to fill whatever space it could, spirits did the same. There was a reason someone who couldn't be tethered down was said to be a 'free spirit.'

Thus, it didn't make sense that these spirits who used to be trapped beneath the Oakland church would still be limited to the catacombs. Atani did not know how far these catacombs traveled throughout Oak Town, but she was certain that if it was anything like most catacombs around the world, there was not a single entrance or exit point within them. There would be numerous inlets and outlets for spirits to travel as they pleased. This is, unless, somehow these catacombs were made to contain wandering souls.

WC: 403+200=603/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:55 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

But the magic to do such a thing? Gods, it would have to be so complex. But... if the church was truly dedicated enough to imprisoning the spirits like that, she supposed that there would be no shortage of corrupt priests who could exercise their 'holy power' to contain them. It was ironic. Churches of the light always seemed to exist in the darkest of towns. It was almost as if they were the source of some of the corruption themselves, but it was a waste of the elf's breath to try and explain that to any follower of Illumin. They probably thought it best to contain all those lost souls. Of course Atani, among virtually all the other elves in Athalran, thought otherwise. It was best to lay souls to rest to let their spirits be free, not to lay souls to rest to let their spirits be trapped beneath the earth. In all likelihood, they did it out of fear. Fear of vengeful spirits that were told in so many ghost stories. Sure, there were some, but those were incredibly rare to encounter even in the largest of graveyards. But trapping every single spirit out of that fear…

WC: 603+200=803/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:56 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

Well, in doing so, any spirit that would have peacefully made its way to the great beyond-- whatever that may be-- would doubtlessly become fueled with rage. And now whatever happened with the Haunted Lands of Phantom Lord only seemed to prove the fears that everyone had from the very beginning. Now that the spirits were free to move from a contained piece of land to a much larger area like the catacombs, they had more places to unleash their rage. And if they truly were trapped within the catacombs too, it probably didn't help that what they thought was going to be a taste of freedom only ended up being a prison with a larger cage. A prison with an upgrade if you will.

Needless to say, these people needed an elf's touch in the matter. It was amazing what sort of work people were willing to bring to the general public as opposed to bringing it to specifically light mages such as herself who would likely handle the spirits in a more... peaceful (or at the very least legal) manner, though it was clear these people didn't quite care about morals when it came to the souls of the deceased.

WC: 803+202=1005/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:56 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

Yup... The more Atani learned about the situation, the more and more clear it became that these people desperately needed an elf to alleviate their issues. Though considering how long ago Phantom Lord disbanded and the Haunted Lands became closed off, she wasn't sure just how much she could do in the grand scheme of things, but whatever she did, at least it could do some good. Help the town in some way, shape, or form. She was extremely confident in her abilities to handle the spirits that the church had troubles with, and chances were, if she was able to help them out with this predicament, she would find herself being hired for future spiritual issues. And honestly, Atani was more than fine with that. She would rather be continuously hired for this sort of thing than someone else in Oak City who had far less experience with the spirits than her.

The girl's true test would be with this job today. Her client was willing to spend a rather high amount of jewels to get rid of one particular spirit. Though it was trapped in the catacombs, its power seeped into the over world in the form of water.

WC: 1005+201=1206/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:57 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

It was causing floods. Floods that were strangely sequestered to one particular house. Her client's house. Now, her client had already exhausted every other explanation for why their house would be flooding. Their pipes were fine. There hadn't been any rainstorms lately. They didn't live next to a river. There wasn't any significant damage to anything in the house. And yet, there continued to be floods. What was known was that this house was built very close to the catacombs. Not directly above, but close enough that a spirit with enough power would doubtlessly have been able to extend its presence into the house itself to cause the sort of damage that her client was seeing. They even had a theory as to whose ghost that could have been, but they were reluctant to tell Atani any more of the story apart from the name. The lack of information was unhelpful, but she was thankful to have at least received a name to look for.

Atani was able to further investigate this mysterious person's death from behind the scenes. Though most details surrounding the death were sealed off, she was able to discover that the cause of death was drowning.

WC: 1206+200=1406/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:58 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

From a ghost whose raging powers manifested as flooding a rich family's house, she would have been surprised if the cause of death was anything but drowning. The body had been found in a river running through Oak. And the body... was that of a young girl. Her name was Lilith Evans. Dead at the tender age of ten years old. And somehow... the wealthy Bryn family who bore no obvious familial connection to Lilith Evans believed her to be the ghost who was flooding their house. On the surface, the connections made little sense. The family didn't even seem to have a preference for how Atani was to get rid of the spirit. They didn't care if it was saved or destroyed; all they wanted was for their house to return to normal, which made the connection between the family and Lilith even more obscure.

The only way for Atani to figure out the truth she supposed was to venture into the catacombs herself and speak with Lilith directly. She only hoped that her presence there would not serve as a disturbance to the spirits themselves. The last thing the elf wanted to do was anger them even more.

WC: 1406+200=1606/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:58 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

The maps of the catacombs were available for public consumption at Oak City's local library. Picking the entrance closest to the Bryn family house, Atani delved into the tunnels that so few citizens these days dared to enter, not if they valued their safety. She did so, however, with the confidence that her safety was all but guaranteed. It was the sort of confidence that she surprisingly did not possess when it come to matters that dealt with the real, physical world. Despite her messy history with spirits-- particularly the dark spirits that dwelled within the elven forests at night-- it was the subject matter with which she felt most knowledgeable on, and thus it was the subject matter she felt most comfortable with. She knew what explicitly not to do to perturb the restless souls, so she essentially knew how to move around the catacombs unharmed.

Upon entering the catacombs, she did exactly that. For as infested as the locals said these tunnels were, Atani had half expected to be greeted by a swarm of ghosts passing through as if they ran along a highway, but what she immediately saw was quite the opposite. The passageways were completely barren.

WC: 1606+200=1806/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:59 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

Not all spirits liked to show themselves. That went double for the spirits who were classified as ghosts. The ones tied with nature she saw so often in her home Athalran were the complete opposite. If the lost souls wanted to cloak themselves so bad, hide their beings from people like her, then perhaps finding this Lilith Evans was going to be more difficult than she thought. The longer she maintained her aura of calm within the catacombs though, the more likely ghosts would be willing to show themselves. Though if all else failed, there were always... other methods of contacting ghosts. Ones that were far less savory and delved into the realm of dark magic, but Atani didn't want to go there. Not on her first ghost eradication assignment.

Well, there were still some ways to go before she reached the location closest to the house of the Bryn family. She might have chosen the entrance closest to the family's house, but that didn't mean the entrance was right next to it. With any luck, by the time she reached her destination, the ghosts in the catacombs would start making their appearances known to the elf... friendly appearances, hopefully.

WC: 1806+200=2006/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 8:59 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

With any further luck, one of those ghosts would be Lilith Evans. The souls of children though were difficult to predict. Depending on how Lilith died, she could either be drawn to Atani or she could be terrified of her. It was the elf's hope that Lilith's death was not at the hands of a woman. She prayed the girl had a good relationship with her mother, or at the very least a motherly figure, prior to her death. Anything short of that and her task would prove to be far more difficult than what she originally assumed it to be.

Atani began her walk down the halls. The first thing she took notice of was a white substance along the edges of the wall. The light from the torches glinted off of it. It almost sparkled in a way. She crouched down and rubbed a pinch of it between her fingers. She held it close to her nose and listened as the white crystals fell. It was salt. To humans, this combination of sodium and chloride was no more than an ingredient for cooking. To the supernatural, this was a powerful substance that kept their profound abilities at bay.

WC: 2006+200=2206/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 9:00 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

It did not hurt the supernatural, however. At least not intangible spirits like the ghosts within the catacombs. It instead served as a barrier doubtlessly put in place by the church in an attempt to keep the spirits contained. With the amount of souls trapped here, salt alone wouldn't be enough, but if magic seals were also used, these lines of salt definitely fortified any preexisting charms. This of course certainly did not aid in the anger these ghosts felt, but Atani wasn't going to remove it. For all she knew, doing such could do more harm than good.

Standing back upright, the elf continued her walk towards the house. Periodically, she would call for the girl she was looking for. Most times, there would be no response. But there was one instance where someone-- or something-- showed its face. It wasn't Lilith, but rather the ghost of an older woman.

"Why do you search for the girl." The woman's voice was calm. It showed concern.

"I want to speak with her so I can understand what's... going on. She's angry, isn't she?"

The ghost nodded her head. "And she has every right to, but I disapprove of her actions."

WC: 2206+200=2406/2500

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 9:00 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

These two ghosts had bonded quickly. The ghost was a mother who died while her daughter was about Lilith's age, and Lilith died when she had a loving relationship with her mother. The motherly ghost soothed Lilith's anger at first, but with all the barriers and controversy of the catacombs, there eventually became too much fuel to the fire that burned within Lilith.

She had been playing by the river with a girl in the Bryn family, a girl who Lilith thought was her friend. Lilith fell in the water. She could not swim. The Bryn girl could. But she refused to get into the water. She didn't want to soil her expensive clothes. She didn't even take her heels off to run for help. And so... Lilith drowned. The Bryn family removed all affiliation with the Evans, denied that their daughter was even by the river that day. The woman was right. Lilith had every right to be mad, but she was taking her anger out in the only way a ten-year-old knew how.

The ghost agreed to call Lilith for Atani. The girl appeared, a puddle of water dripping at her feet. Atani knelt down to the girl's level.

WC: 2406+201=2607/2500 [WC Met]

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 9:01 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

"Hello Lilith," Atani smiled. Her voice was gentle so as not to anger the young girl. "I'm Atani."

"Hi," she said shyly. "Why am I here?" The question was not directed to her, but rather to the woman who served as the girl's motherly figure. "The elf wishes to discuss something with you," the woman replied. The girl then looked back to the mage.

"I spoke with the Bryn family today. I'm sorry to hear what happened to you. It wasn't right." More water gushed from the ghost and pooled onto the floor. Atani passively used her magic to make sure none of it touched her. Lilith found that interesting.

"You're a water mage?" Lilith asked. Atani smiled and nodded her head. "I am, so I know how much damage it can cause. And... I think you do too. You've been flooding the Bryn's house, haven't you?"

Lilith crossed her arms and pouted her lips. "They deserve it."

Atani tilted her head to the side. "Do they? How does flooding a house make up for what your friend did... or failed to do?"

"B-because!" More water flowed, more water was blocked. It was the exact sort of response Atani expected of someone as young as her.

WC: 206

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 9:01 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

"Lilith, this isn't doing anything. I saw the family. Any damage you do they just repair. They have the jewels to do it... If anything, I'm afraid you're making your mom worried."

The little girl's expression softened at the mention of her mother. Her real mother. The one who was very much still alive. The water trickled its flow.

"You spoke to mommy?"

"Yes." She lied. "She knows about the flooding too. She drew the connection and she's afraid you're in pain. She doesn't want to see her little girl suffer like that."

"But... I'm not."

"But you are." Atani locked her green eyes with Lilith's pair of watery blues. "Maybe not physically, but mentally? All of this, it isn't helping. But this lovely lady who's here for you? She's helped, hasn't she? Haven't you felt better with her than you have flooding the home?"

Lilith bit her lip and looked away. She knew that Atani was right. Atani knew that she knew that she was right. All that was left was for Lilith to admit it aloud and hopefully agree to cease her destructive ways. After a few moments of silence, Lilith finally agreed that Atani's assumption was correct.

WC: 200

**Atani** · Thu Oct 28, 2021 9:02 pm

Epithet :

The Sylvan Fay

Guild :

Rune Knight

Jewels :

8,605,250

Rank :

B-Rank

Race :

Athlas Elf

Experience :

248,375

Reputation :

10,900

Class :

Cleric

Aura :

Empress

Magic :

Yuan, the Goddess of the Mercy

Strength :

1

Speed :

31

Constitution :

121

Endurance :

11

Intelligence :

311

Mana :

4,175

Body :

Cape :

Ring :

Modification :

"So you'll stop all of this?" Lilith remained silent, but it was good she didn't reply with an automatic 'no.' That meant there was still some wiggle room left for Atani to urge the girl the right way. "For your mom? So I can tell her you're safe?"

Finally, Lilith agreed. The water ceased to flow from the girl anymore. It completely dried from the ground. There was a change in the girl's spectral appearance. It was once a watery cyan, but it now lightened to a glow that was reminiscent of the woman who watched over her in the afterlife. It was not just Atani who thought that was a good sign, but the ghost she met displayed a faint smile for the first time this day.

"You'll listen to this kind lady here?" She nodded her head in the direction of the ghost in question. Lilith gave an assertive nod. "I will."

"Great."

Atani parted ways with the ghosts. First, she left to speak to her client and collect her reward. Then, she did as she said she would and went to find Lilith's family. It was only right they should know the fate of their own daughter.

WC: 200

What Lies Beneath [Quest: Atani]

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