Everyone part of the work study woke up the moment the sun rose and gathered in the common area of the camp. The dead bodies had been gathered and burned in the hours before the morning started. Since the undead had been absorbed and summoned by the vampire, their corpses simply vanished and needed no additional efforts to remove.
All accounted for, the losses among the camp included five researchers and eight adventurers. According to the camp leaders they were expecting a supply run in a few days which would also refresh their missing staff members.
Jade received several copies of notes and translation cyphers for their visit to the spire. In case they needed to read any runes that looked important it was possible it could help. However, the Grimspire ruins were heavily researched and the spire itself was a particularly well investigated construct in the area.
No one had figured out how to open it over the decades it has been studied, but the researchers granted them copies of the material anyway.
Once they gathered some rations from the camp supplies, the group of five headed to the ominous tower in the distance. In order to skip jumping and dodging the ravines from above they took the longer trip there by navigating the ruins themselves. Jade was not athletically inclined and Lucius had no intention of wasting time trying to help her across every single jump.
"Lord Kane..." Jade managed to squeak out. She was nervous and she was twisting her hands. "Why are we heading to the tower? It's inaccessible and everything to be studied about it has been studied."
"The reason is simple: I need to go there." He answered in a flat tone.
"Okay... but why do you need to go there? What is there to find?"
"I don't know, but it will be something." Lucius grumbled.
Jade went silent after the useless exchange, more confused now than she was a few minutes ago. He wasn't trying to be ambiguous; it was simply that he was told by Grimm to go there so he could learn something. Whatever it was, he had no clue.
For the rest of the trip, no one said much of anything. The ruins themselves were very much unchanged. Along the walls of the 'streets' were various carvings of the strange alphabet of the demonic language. However, something strange stuck out to them. Every three hundred feet or so, the symbols would repeat in endless patterns.
Jade started to pull out her notes, but Desmond coughed and shook his head at her to keep her on task and moved forward to their primary destination. She looked somewhat dejected, but he assured her that they would be able to take a look at the symbols around the tower itself.
Almost an hour later, they arrived at the base of the tower. The area around the base was a massive circular depression in the earth that was hundreds of feet in diameter. At its center was the Grimspire itself. Stones of various shades of blacks and grays extended hundreds of feet into the sky.
The circumference of the tower was quite small and it seemed like the interior was a single spiral staircase leading upwards.
There were no signs of possible entry into the building except for what appeared to be a blocked off doorway where an arch surrounded by jet black stones was filled with bleached white bricks.
'So what information are you giving me then?' Lucius asked.
'I will let you ask three questions, and I will answer them honestly.'
Lucius thought carefully about the questions. What could he ask? What would Grimm even know? He only witnesses the world through Lucius's eyes as far as he could remember, so what of it could he have to offer that Lucius did not already know himself?
'What waits for me at the depths of the dungeon?'
'Power.'
'What waits for me in the tower?'
'Knowledge.' Grimm chuckled, 'One last question... Lucius, ask wisely.'
'Aside from going to the dungeon, what should I do next?' he asked after a few moments.
Grimm sighed, 'I was hoping for a juicier question... fine. You aren't strong enough to reach the depths... so your next task should be to return to the academy... and hurry.'
The shadows vanished and Lucius pulled his hand away from the tower. Rena stepped up and inquisitively placed a hand on his arm. Natali also stepped up to him and asked, "Lord Kane, is everything alright?"
Her voice was quiet, but her eyes showed genuine concern. His conversation with Rena the other night entered his mind, so he contemplated what to do for a few moments.
"I'm alright. We must return to the academy at once. The tower won't open right now, but it will." He ordered and walked back in the direction of the camp. Lucius stopped and turned to Natali, "You can just call me Lucius, Natali. I want to get to know you a little better, per Rena's request. I don't like speaking formally with... friends."
Natali's eyes began to water and a small smile pasted itself onto her lips. She turned to Rena and gave her a large hug. Lucius could overhear her repeatedly thanking his wife for helping them bridge the gap.
He was not opposed to getting closer to her. She did help take care of Rena after all... and she had never done anything to upset him. If anything, she almost reminded him of himself with how she separated herself from others in a way. They used different methods to do so, but the core of their actions were the same.
It also helped that she was rather cute... but it would take time for him to look at her in the way he was almost certain that Rena wanted him to. For now, they would start as friends. The promise he made to Rena was to try and be friendly, where it went later was something he did not know.