Dame was part of the Neverfall Clan, and the Clan had a certain set of rules, especially when it came to portal use, as other dimensions were not only dangerous places but also valuable resources.
The main issue with portals, though, was that they were placed all over the continent. They didn't know where the portals would open up, and when they did, they would permanently stay open in a certain location.
Which was why portals that opened up near a clan base were a blessing. It was easier for them to protect it from other users. If it wasn't a valuable portal and was far away, it didn't make sense for clans to focus a lot of manpower on such a thing.
There were other reasons for keeping restricting the number of clans down to a minimum, and that was because portals could be cleared as well. It was a strange phenomenon that they didn't quite understand, but certain events could occur inside a dimension, and once those events passed, the portal would close as well.
In most cases, they would attempt to keep the portals open since they supplied the world of Pagna with special power stones that could be converted into Qi pills, and in some cases, there would be rare plants that could be used by alchemists as well.
Because of this, Dame and his small group of followers, friends, a group of people that were hard to describe even if you asked about them himself, would journey out of the Neverfall base and head to the border of the continent.
They were traveling through a barren wasteland where the ground beneath them was a dark orange, almost black. Strangely up ahead, there was a mountain, where half of it on one side was covered with snow while the other, covered in the same dark surface they were walking on.
Although walking wasn't quite the right word, they were taking large steps, and with each step, it looked like they were gliding across the land. They weren't running, but they were covering several meters of distance with just a single step, and none of them looked tired either.
"Dame, I thought you said you were going to stop using this portal; we are already on the bad side of the Light faction, and I don't think your father can keep sticking up for you!" Fixteen said annoyed.
"Oh, come on!" Dame replied back. "Do you really think they care about this portal so much? If they did, they would have placed some guards on the outside. The fact that they haven't and abandoned it is proof that it's free to use!"
Kirk was shaking his head. "But isn't that why we got in trouble, because Beatrix was in the portal? It is technically owned by the Light Faction after all."
"And are we fighting against them?" Dame replied. "We are just collecting power stones that otherwise would have never been collected. We have been in this portal how many times, and we've only come across her once, so it's no big deal, and besides, we need to look after this portal because it's our only connection with him, with the Dark Magus."
Dame and his group had been visiting the portal to collect power stones. They would then sell them on the black market for coin, and with the coin, they would spend it all on booze, food, drink, and he had become well known as a frequent visitor of the several brothels around the place.
It was safe to say that Dame had a bad reputation in the Neverfall Clan. He continued to visit the portal, obtaining low-level power stones, but he also would make sure to arrive on a certain day. Today wasn't one of those days.
When they had arrived at the top of the mountain, the portal could be seen halfway down the other side of the mountain. It was in a tricky place to begin with, and there was even a blizzard that was taking place.
After observing that there was no one present around the area, nor could they see any footsteps in the snow, they rushed over and entered the portal one by one.
Coming out on the other side, the group was in a dark, large hallway. They were at the very top floor of the large wall that separated the two sides. One side led into a dark forest, and on the other side was the city.
Immediately, Dame and his group entered the city, and they started to search around, looking for beasts. They knew the place was no trouble for them; it was part of the reason why they came here, because it was meant to be easy, unless they ran into someone.
As they searched through buildings, they started to witness a few things, though.
"Holy crap!" Carlson said as he knelt over and pulled out a dagger by his side. He was right by one of the dog beasts and started to carve at it immediately. He was searching to see its center, and he could see that the power stone had already been removed.
"I guess that someone else is here after all," Kirk said, wiping the sweat from his bald head. Although he was a Pagna warrior, he was a relatively unfit one with a large belly.
Fixteen immediately went to look at Dame when they noticed that it wasn't just one dead beast but there were several.
"Oh come on!" Dame complained. "Just because there are dead beasts here doesn't mean that it's going to be Beatrix; it could be wanderers who stumbled upon the portal, or it could just be some low-level Light faction members. We can just stay out of their sight if we see them."
Fixteen didn't like the careless answer from Dame, but he felt like he was right. They were all skilled Pagna warriors; it made no sense for them to be here either, let alone Light faction members. Beatrix was simply a one-off.
As the group continued to explore, they were coming across more and more of the dead beasts. All of them seemed to be killed in the same way, a strike right by their neck as well. It was clear it was a one-sided fight.
"Are these strikes done by a sword? Does that mean Beatrix is really here?" Carlson said nervously.
"No, it won't be her," Dame answered. "She is a treasure of the Light faction. Unlike me, these power stones are not even worth her taking her time to carve out of the beasts. Not only that, but with how many dead beasts are in the area, there's a chance that if they keep killing them , the dimension boss will be summoned again like last time."
The dimension boss was one of the events that could occur in a portal. It was a beast that was abnormally strong compared to those within the portal, and a large group would be used to subjugate it.
Once defeated, the portal would close up. This was why Clan members were strict with those who entered the portals.
Carlson was shaking, and he started to feel a phantom pain in his leg as he went to grab it.
One of the times they had entered before, the dimension boss had been summoned, and Carlson had been on the receiving end.
"Hey, I think I just found our culprit," Dame said, standing on the rooftop and seeing a young man in dark robes.