Underdog-5Labyrinth of Frightby Alexey Osadchuk
Chapter 1
"Tempting invitation,
but I'm gonna pass".
My response made the troll
frown.
"You must not have heard
when I said you cannot simply leave."
"Look, I don’t doubt
that this is a nice place, but I’m gonna have to go anyway."
As I spoke, I was staring
pointedly at the gloomy stone parapet and cracked floor of the observation
platform.
The Gatekeeper rolled his
eyes back with a heavy sigh and said:
"Not gonna happen."
"I thought we had no
quarrel."
"That's right," the
troll nodded. "And that's the reason you're still alive. Other
contenders... ones like you, didn't get so lucky."
"Ones like me?" the
Gatekeeper's caveat caught my attention.
The troll winced. He must
have said more than intended. But nevertheless he answered, nodding at the
floor under my feet:
"When someone kills one
of the forces of chaos, then activates the manuscript, they come through this
portal. And I greet them."
I took another look at the
stone slabs I was standing on. Here and there, I could make out faded writing
on the time-weathered stone. It finally hit me. The whole viewing platform is
itself the portal. But then why isn't it reacting to me?
"Figure it out?"
the Gatekeeper bared his teeth.
"Are you blocking the
portal?" I asked, dumbfounded.
The troll snorted.
"Not me."
"Then who? Actually, just
a sec... It's the Great System!"
"Well then, took you
long enough."
"Are you trying to say
that, when I agreed to take part in this test of yours, I made it so I can’t
leave?" And, not waiting for the obvious answer, I asked another question:
"Is there any way to fix this?"
"Yes," the troll
nodded. "But why?"
"I'm in a hurry."
The big guy snorted, puzzled.
"That’s odd. Lots of
people would give half their life for the chance to come here and grow
stronger. But you just keep trying to run away. I don't get it."
"I'm in a hurry," I
repeated insistently, though the phrase "grow stronger" did pique my
interest.
The troll shrugged his
shoulders lethargically. As if to say it was not his problem. And turned
sideways, inviting me to toward the door.
"You said there's a way
to fix this," I continued to insist.
Seeing that I was not going
to budge, the Gatekeeper breathed a heavy sigh. Knowing how trolls could be, he
must have been straining to keep himself together. Just how long will the
amulet keep this big brute's fury at bay?
Having partially overcome his
irritation, the Gatekeeper ran a wide hand over his eyes just like a person
again and said slowly:
"There are ways. For
example, the magister of our faction can expel contenders for dereliction. To
be frank, if I were magister, I’d do just that."
Seemingly, my unwillingness
to partake of the mysteries of chaos was annoying him more than my
stubbornness.
"In any case, you'll learn
everything soon enough. The magister always has a personal conversation with
every new contender. Let's go."
After he said that, the troll
turned and headed toward the dark passageway. He took a few steps inside,
slightly turned his head and said gloomily:
"There’s something I
think you should know. You are the first newcomer to step through these doors
in the last two hundred years."
My indignance and anger
retreated. But before apathy fully paralyzed my ability to reason, my brain
started feverishly analyzing my circumstances.
My eyes bored into the
troll’s broad back as he walked away. No level, no figures. Just one laconic
word over his head: Gatekeeper. Just what is this troll capable of? In the two
hundred years he’d been standing watch, his mettle had probably been tested a
fair number of times. That combined with the fact that manuscripts are probably
only given out for killing relatively high-level forces of chaos adds up to a
pretty stark conclusion. This troll could probably easily toe to toe with the
Primordials. Thank the gods we didn’t have to fight.
With a heavy sigh, I followed
after the Gatekeeper. If I had to meet the magister before I could leave, oh
well ― so be it.
***
We came down a stone staircase
and walked through a few darkened corridors, then stopped in front of a wide
door.
"You'll have to wait
here for a bit," the troll told me, opening the door and inviting me into a
fairly spacious room. "I must inform the magister of your arrival."
In no hurry to cross the
threshold, I quickly took a look around. Stone walls, a wide cot, a crudely
constructed hefty stool and a table. The overall somber picture was completed
by a narrow window fitted with a grate. Through it, I could see lightning
flickering from the storm that had just reached the citadel.
"Looks a lot like a
prison cell," I said with skepticism in my voice.
The Gatekeeper scrutinized
the room’s interior and shrugged his shoulders vaguely.
"Never thought about it
that way," he muttered in embarrassment.
The troll's reaction caught
me off guard. It was as if I had offended him. Then it suddenly hit me.
"One second," I
started, furrowing my brow. "Do you live here?"
The troll nodded and said:
"You are a friend to
trollkind. I must be hospitable."
I felt my face flare red. How
awkward.
"I didn't..."
"It's fine," the
Gatekeeper interrupted me. "I haven't had guests in ages. Come in. Make
yourself at home. There’s nothing to be afraid of here. You have my word."
Now in the room, I took a few
steps in and turned.
Before closing the door after
himself, the troll quietly added:
"You're right ― this
place really is like a prison. I used to think so, too."
I didn't know how to react.
Did that mean the troll had been brought here against his will or was it just a
figure of speech? I didn't really care. What matters is to leave this place as
quickly as possible, though not without first determining my precise location.
After all, I still don't know what part of my world I'm in. As soon as I got
myself together, squirreling away all the sorrow in the deepest reaches of my
subconscious, my brain started tossing out questions I should have considered before.
The first thing I did after
clambering up onto the bulky stool was to summon the harn. I greeted Gorgie's
arrival with a sigh of relief. My friend sensed my mood and, trying to cheer me
up, poked his flat forehead into my shoulder and licked my cheek with his hot
tongue.
"I'll never see her
again," I whispered, squeezing Mink's little doll in my hand, horrified at
the words.
"Hrn..."
"You're right, bro. This
is not the time to wallow. Let's make good use of this little breather.
Something is telling me that we won't get another chance like this anytime
soon."
I wanted to start tallying up
my loot, but Gorgie unexpectedly gave a warning growl and a second later, the
door began to open. The Gatekeeper is back.
He's quick. Somehow too
quick.
All I had time to do before
the door opened was to recall Gorgie. I was not planning on showing off my pet
just yet. But when I saw who was standing in the doorway, I regretted not
having him at my side.
The Lady of the Anomaly!
Jorogumo! The Black Widow in the flesh. She was standing in the doorframe and
smiling pensively, revealing her pearly white fangs.
I was already prepared to
activate shields, but the troll's voice chimed in from behind the Black Widow
and stopped me.
"This is our
magister," he droned. "And this is the new contender. He..."
"Killed my sister,"
the woman finished for him and stepped through the door.
I tried to gulp, but my
throat was already bone dry.
A moment later, the troll's
hefty figure appeared in the doorway. His entire appearance spoke to the fact
that he felt out of sorts. Very soon I realized why.
"And you found him
worthy?" the magister asked with a mocking edge, boring into me with her
gaze the entire time.
"Yes, magister!"
the Gatekeeper answered firmly.
Meanwhile, he straightened up and splayed his shoulders.
"Curious," the
magister snorted.
I couldn't say for certain
what exactly she found curious. The troll's response, or the fact she was not
able to probe me with her mental magic. The system faithfully reported that she
had already attempted to use various spells on me three times.
"Well then, what do you have
to say?" she finally turned to me.
The magister's failures
encouraged me. So my Will pulled it off. How could you not be encouraged by
that?
"I'd like to leave this
place," I answered as calmly and politely as I could. "And I already
know that I shouldn't have activated the manuscript, but the way it all worked
out I didn’t have much of a choice..."
Not letting me finish, the
magister cut me off.
"He's actually pretty
tough, eh?" she asked the troll, continuing to bore into me with her eyes.
And then said to me: "Tell me, how were you able to take down my
sister?"
"Me? I didn't," I
answered curtly. I didn't like the way she was talking to me.
"And yet she is no more,"
the magister frowned.
"Yes," I nodded.
"The Heart of the Forest tore her to shreds before my very eyes."
When the magister heard me
mention the Heart of the Forest, she gave a slight shudder, but immediately got
herself in hand. I though was pleased by the effect my words were having. I was
also amazed at myself deep down. Here I am standing two steps away from someone
who's sister I had a hand in killing, and I'm acting flagrant. Anyone else
would be cowering under the stool in terror already, but I'm not particularly
bothered. Where am I getting all this reckless courage? Is it perhaps because I
don't feel threatened by either the magister or her Gatekeeper? In fact,
they’re looking at me the same way. It’s like they're sizing me up. Has the
test maybe already begun, and they forgot to tell me?
"Heart of the Forest you
say?" the magister said thoughtfully. It was plain to see that the news of
her twin sister's death didn't bother her in the least. More the opposite. I
could hear notes of joy and seemingly relief in her voice.
"She brought it on
herself," suddenly tore itself from me.
"What do you mean?"
the magister asked, curious.
"She was able to somehow
subjugate the Heart of the Forest and create a dangerous anomaly. And it was
starting to get bigger and more powerful. She transformed every creature that
lived in the forest, turning them into hideous monsters. The Woodwose..."
"Did you say the
Woodwose?" the magister shuddered and took a step forward.
"Yes," I nodded
slowly.
"Hm... Now I see...
Still, keep going. I'm intrigued."
"Well there's not really
much more to tell," I shrugged. "The Woodwose used me as a
distraction. And when hm... your sister lost control, the Heart of the Forest
seized its chance."
The magister chuckled:
"Sounds a lot like
him..."
Even an idiot could tell who
she was talking about. The old woodsman was a master manipulator. She must have
known him personally. Another thing I realized was that she must have known
where her sister was. After all, the old man had clearly led me to believe that
there had been several of his kind once upon a time.
"So then, what makes you
want to leave?" the magister asked unexpectedly.
"I'm in a hurry."
"Explain," she
demanded shortly. "The thing is, I don't understand what could be better
than unity with one of the elements. Chances like this come but once in a lifetime,
and only to a select few."
I understood that whether or
not I would get out of the test depended on her, so I tried to be convincing.
"My friends have been
taken prisoner. I have to save them."
"And who has taken them
prisoner?" the magister asked.
"The Steel King."
"Is that so?" her
brows shot upward. "The longer we talk, the more questions I have. And
just how were you planning to break your friends out of his dungeon? I of
course don’t mean to cast aspersions on your talents and abilities, but
nevertheless... How could a zero such as yourself, unusual though you may be,
stand up to one of the most powerful entities in this entire world? And that’s
not all. I reason to believe he also has several Primordials at his command."
It felt like I had been
living with a dusty old sack on my head. The world that I thought I knew had
just expanded from a little dot into a whole vast universe.
"I can see you didn't
have the foggiest notion about the true might of the man Fortuna brought into
your path." The magister chuckled. "By the way, what's in it for him?
If he's holding your friends in his dungeon you must be valuable to him. But
how? I can see that you descend from the Ancients without any system info, but
there must be something else. Right?"
My insistent silence brought
a smile to her face which looked more like a predatory scowl.
The magister turned to the
troll and said:
"Good thing you didn’t
kill him. I still can't figure out why though. But you can tell me later. Looks
like our faction has had the kind of luck that only comes around once every few
centuries. A very promising contender. Chaos has answered my prayers."
"I'd like to
leave," I insistently reminded them.
"Ah, yes," the
magister snorted carelessly. "I almost forgot! You may go. Yeah, yeah.
Don't look at me like that. You're free to go."
To back up her words, a short
text appeared before my eyes.
― Would you like to
withdraw from the test Unity with Chaos?
― Yes/No?
I reread the system message
two times and glanced sullenly at the magister.
"What's the catch?"
"There isn't one,"
she shrugged. "We aren't interested in forcing adepts to become one with
Chaos. I am not my sister. Occasionally, our methods differed. I believe that
it must be a conscious choice. A sincere desire. Not some chance warp."
I glanced at the troll
looking for support, but his countenance had no expression.
"It wasn't a slip-up
that I called you an adept either. I'm beyond sure that you will pass the
test."
"But what's in it for
me?" I asked. "Why should I become dependent on your chaos?"
The magister gave a sincere
belly laugh. A semblance of a smile even appeared on the troll's lips.
"So that's how you see
unity with Chaos! What do you mean 'dependent,' you fool? Chaos will give you
freedom, change your body, share its power. Your spells will improve! It will
help you along on the path to perfection. You have made some very powerful
enemies. You will need an ally like Chaos! With time, if you can prove yourself
worthy, our mysteries will be revealed to you. You will be permitted access to
our faction's armory. Our alchemists will be happy to provide you with their
potions. You will learn new spells. Obtain abilities that mere mortals can only
dream of!"
As I listened to the
magister's speech, I was slowly coming to the realization that I had come to a
place which was structured similarly to the order of monster hunters. When the
foxman was singing the praises of the order, that was approximately what he
said as well. But the faction of chaos was still a living, breathing
organization. The prospect of getting access to functioning armories and
alchemy laboratories instead of just mountains of dust and ash had me seriously
animated. If the chaos elixirs are even half as effective as those Blots or
satiety potions it was worth sticking around.
Above all that, I must admit
― I don’t stand a chance against the Steel King. Especially in light of what I
just learned. I must grow stronger. If chaos is what gets me there ― so be it.
I took another glance at the
system message hovering before my eyes and, not feeling a hint of pity, chose
the word "No."
"You made the right
choice, future adept!" the magister came solemnly and left the room,
throwing out to the troll as she went: "Take him to the others and bring
him up to speed."
When the sound of the
magister's footsteps disappeared in the maze of hallways, the troll turned to
me and asked:
"Want some chow?"
My stomach answered
unexpectedly with a deep belly grumble, which made the troll chuckle and nod
understandingly:
"Let's go to the
kitchen. We can talk there."
***
The fare at the Citadel of
Chaos was basic but tasty and filling. To be honest though, despite having
grown used to the varied delicacies Mink produced, I was forced to switch back
to nulled grub. Today, there was a vegetable stew on the menu.
"The magister said to
bring me to the others," I started, licking my spoon. "Are there
others like me?"
"Not like you, no,"
the troll answered, greedily leaning into his stew. And he was already on his
fifth or sixth bowl.
There was no one in the
kitchen. We were sitting at a long wide table close to a smoldering fireplace.
On the middle of the table there was a big huge cauldron with a recently
prepared stew. When I asked who cooked it, the Gatekeeper just waved me off
like a mettlesome fly. But he did explain. As it turned out, everyone here was terrified
of him, so they all tried to stay away. They would cook the food and vamoose.
"Then who are the
'others?'" I inquired.
"Those marked by
Chaos," the troll answered shortly, letting me know not to expect more
information from him on that account. But still he gave me hope: "You'll
find out for yourself tomorrow."
"What does the test
consist of?" I got to the point.
"Finally asking the
right questions. You must gather chaos particles, then be inducted at the
altar."
Hm... Familiar procedure.
"I see that does not
surprise you." The troll looked at me from beneath his bushy brows.
"Have you been inducted to another faction before?"
"Is that a problem?"
"If it's fire or forest
magic ― then yes."
I shook my head “no.”
"Then it's fine,"
the troll nodded and carried on eating.
"Where can I find these
chaos particles?"
"The Labyrinth of Fright.
You get them for killing the creatures that live there."
"What kind of place is
that?"
"An ancient one. A place
that lives by its own rules. I could go on for hours and you still wouldn't
learn anything. It’s something you have to see."
"But..."
"You should always be
prepared for a fight — that's all you need to know," the troll cut me off.
"Just hold out as long as you're supposed to, and it’s over."
A-hem... Pretty middling
instructions. Either he doesn't want to tell me the whole truth, or he isn’t
allowed.
"How long is that?"
I asked.
"It's different for
every person: could be an hour, a day, a week," the Gatekeeper answered.
"The record is twenty-eight days. As for me, for example, the labyrinth held
me for sixteen days."
I scratched the back of my
head in perplexity.
"Don't worry," the
troll waved it off. "Practically no one will notice you're gone here. Time
works differently in the labyrinth than it does in our world."
"Will I be going in
alone?"
"You'll all go in
together. But whether you'll take the test alone or in a group is something
you’ll have to work out with the others."
Setting down his spoon, he
raised a pointer finger and said seriously:
"And let me give you one
last piece of advice ― don't trust anyone in there. Rely only on your own
strength. Based on the look on your face, I don’t think you’ll follow my advice
but, sorry, I can't say more. That's all. Time for you to go. You need to get
some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a hard day. For me and for you. In fact,
it'll be the impost important day of your life."
Getting up from the table, I
caught myself thinking that I was not afraid. The Woodwose was right ― I had to
grow stronger.
Chapter 2
The troll again led me down a
series of dimly lit corridors and stone tunnels. We walked in silence. Neither
me nor my guide made any attempts to speak. Swallowed up by my thoughts, there
was one little quirk I missed at first ― the farther we went, the more I became
convinced that the troll could have brought me to our intended destination long
ago but, for some reason known only to him, he was just taking me in circles.
At corridor intersections, he
sometimes stopped and took a closer look at the wall for some reason, as if searching
for some kind of guide marks. From an outside perspective, one might think he was
lost. But I understood something different was going on.
When the Gatekeeper stopped yet
again and started closely studying some utterly unremarkable length of stone
wall, it finally hit me, and I activated Scolopendra's Sixth Sense.
As soon as the spell took
effect, a totally different picture revealed itself. The walls, floor and
ceiling were riddled with bright lilac magic symbols wherever I looked. After
the recent dimness, the light of the unknown magic basically blinded me. I even
covered my eyes with my hand. And that move did not evade the attention of my
guide. The troll nodded curtly at the ceiling and placed a pointer figure to
his lips, as if to say, "not a word." Then he beckoned with his palm.
I pretended to understand and came forward.
"Look," he
whispered and pointed at a barely visible magic probe stretching from his
supply and connecting with the writing on the walls.
I nodded as if to say,
"got it." I had seen such a thing before. There was a similar system
of magic channels in Stonetown and Fort Stout. Like that golem that helped us fend
off the otherworldly fiends in the Stone Forest, the troll was connected to the
Citadel of Chaos. So that was where he drew his powers from. And at that, the
size of his personal mana supply was difficult to determine.
The troll gestured for me to
follow him and took a few steps down a dark corridor then stopped, again
pointing his finger at the ceiling. Intrigued, I looked up. So there it is...
Right where the troll was
pointing, there was a small gap in the magical ornamentation. The Gatekeeper
took a step forward and stopped right beneath it. The magic tentacle stretching
out of his supply grew thinner then disappeared.
"We don't have much
time," the troll quickly started. "The rupture will close soon. Ask
your questions. Just don't waste time and ask why I didn't say anything
before."
"Is it true?" I
quickly found my place. "Will I really get all those things your master
said?"
"And more," the
troll affirmed, nodding. "It will all depend on you."
"The labyrinth..."
"The most ancient
location in our world and, I suppose, all worlds," the troll hastily cut
me off. "No one knows who made it or when. It has its own set of laws. No
one has any power over the Labyrinth of Fright."
"What can I expect
there?"
"Every faction has its
own portal leading to the labyrinth."
"Do they also need chaos
particles?" I asked.
"No," the troll
answered and glanced anxiously at the gradually closing breach in the magical
script. "Every faction has its own resources to give the labyrinth."
"You're talking like it’s
a living creature," I snorted.
The troll turned his gaze to
me. There wasn't even a hint of humor in his black eyes.
"Go ahead and
laugh," he grumbled. "But I really do think the labyrinth has some
kind of soul. And everything that happens inside of it are its dreams.
Sometimes they're short, sometimes long."
"What do you mean?"
"There are many
anomalies in the labyrinth of fright," the troll started patiently
explaining. "And they consist of snippets of time, events of the far
distant past. And they can last for a matter of hours, or a matter of months.
While walking the labyrinth's tunnels, you can suddenly find yourself on the
field of battle between two ancient armies in the very heat of the struggle. Or
you might discover that you’re in the middle of some ancient city which ceased
to exist long ago. Anomalies can be large or small. All participants in the
anomaly disappear together with it when the time comes, like ghosts. Beyond
that, there are also times when individuals in the labyrinth can themselves
become anomalies without changing appearance. Some call them ghosts, but that
is a fundamental misrepresentation. After all, they are made of flesh and
blood. Everyone else, meanwhile, just comes up with their own ways of making
sense of it all."
I rubbed the back of my head
in perplexity.
"I know it's hard to
grasp," the troll said understandingly. "But after you've been there
a few times, it starts to feel normal."
"What do you mean a few
times?" I asked in surprise.
"Well why not?" the
troll snorted. "Here in the citadel, chaos particles are the most valuable
resource. For example, there will be many going into the labyrinth with you
tomorrow, but only two of them have yet to be inducted. All the rest are
nowhere near first timers."
"Should I be afraid of
them?"
"Of course," the Gatekeeper
nodded readily. "Once in the labyrinth, you become part of it. They will
receive chaos particles for killing you."
"Are there many of
them?"
"Two groups and a few
loners."
I nodded to let him know I
was listening closely.
"The first group is a
pack of shapeshifters," the troll started. "Or as you might call them
― werewolves. Chaos loves their kind. They are all born with the mark of chaos.
The second group is a couple snakefolk from Nure-onna’s personal guard."
"Who?!" I asked,
thunderstruck.
"Nure-onna," the
troll repeated calmly. "That's our magister’s name."
So that was who the Black
Widow's sister was! Yet another bedtime story used to scare children. A snake
woman who sucks the blood out of her victims. An ancient monster, who turns
into a beautiful woman and lures mere mortals with her songs of lament.
"I see you recognize that
name," the troll chuckled.
"You might say
that," I responded with a sunken voice.
"No doubt you've heard
your fill of the old wives' tales," he remarked skeptically, then added
pensively: "Although many of them are true."
Then he shuddered and glanced
up at the ceiling.
"Make haste, the breach
has started closing even faster."
"Why are you helping
me?"
My question caught the troll
by surprise.
"Is that all you wanted
to know?" he asked, frowning. "Is that really so important right
now?"
"Of course," I answered
confidently. "I need to be sure that I have an ally here or at least
someone who won't harm me. So then, why are you taking the risk of helping
me?"
"The laws of my people
are all I have left!" the troll responded, raising his hefty chin proudly.
"And the amulet you showed me isn't something they just hand out
willy-nilly. You must have earned the right to carry it. Isn't that
right?"
I understood what the troll
was driving at. He wanted to know how I got it.
"It was in the Stone
Forest," I answered, and saw the Gatekeeper's eyes light up. "We
fought side by side with a tribe of trolls against throngs of dark creatures
that came flooding out of an otherworldly portal. We turned back the tide and
closed the portal. Not for good, but it stayed shut long enough for the shaman
to lead the women and children deeper into the forest. I hope they made it to
safety."
"You said 'we...'"
"I had friends with
me," I nodded. "One of them a healer. He saved many that day."
Recalling Mee, I smiled and added: "Believe me, he has many more of these
amulets than I got."
"Am I correct in
understanding that the Steel King is holding him prisoner?" the troll guessed.
"Indeed," I nodded.
"Then you did the right
thing staying," the Gatekeeper nodded and added in a dispassionate tone,
glancing at the narrowing gap in the ceiling: "Let's go, I'll take you to
the others."
The wide round room with tall
stone columns lining the walls greeted us with silence. But before too long, I
heard rustling in a few places in the shadows, then muffled conversations.
Thanks to my Sixth Sense, I
could see who I was dealing with perfectly well. Off to the right there's a
magic shield pulsating with a thousand points of protection. Around it, I can
see a few bodies twitching around. That must be the first group the troll
mentioned. The werewolves. I counted five of the ruffians. The one with a magic
supply is probably the alpha of the pack.
Opposite them, I can see
three smaller magic supplies. They’re keeping to themselves. They greeted the Gatekeeper’s
coming with overlong whispers that sounded more like hissing. No questions
there either. Snakefolk. The magister’s personal guard.
But I can see one more small grouping
of supplies, so the situation must have changed recently and there was another
group the troll knew nothing about. In fact, they seemed to be the strongest
and most numerous with seven in their group, two of them mages.
There are also loners. I see three. One of
them is a mage with a two-thousand-mana-point supply. He was the only one who
didn’t react when we entered, just snoring away peacefully.
And speaking of the reaction,
they were clearly all afraid of the Gatekeeper. Some more and some less, but I
had learned to smell fear. As a matter of fact, Gorgie taught me to use my new
abilities for that end. And so now I knew that fear had a particular smell.
The way everyone reacted was
entirely expected. A mixture of scorn and mockery. Seemingly, they actually
took me for some kind of servant until the troll left me there. Only when the
last of his heavy footsteps came echoing down the corridor did the others
finally realize that I was going to visit the labyrinth along with them.
I heard scornful snickering
from the werewolves. The snakefolk flagrantly ignored me. And the third group
meanwhile, figuring that a nulled kid like me wouldn't be much use, quickly
started to ignore me. Thanks to my powerful hearing though, I was fully aware
of everything they were saying about me.
"They’re wrong to
underestimate you, right?" a mocking and creaking voice addressed me from
the darkness.
He hadn’t snuck up on me. No
one had been able to do that in a long time. I noticed him coming from the
right almost as soon as I got settled. But still I didn’t make a move. The
troll had cautioned me that fighting inside the citadel was forbidden.
"I hope you aren't
planning on making the same mistake." I said calmly, not turning around.
The voice was speaking common
imperial tongue but, based on the intonations, I had an approximate idea of who
I was dealing with. Juvess, a goblin from Papa Gino's house had a similar
accent.
To be frank, I found it hard
to speak without my voice trembling. After all, the lowest level character in
the room other than me was twenty-two. The goblin behind me, for example, was
twenty-nine. Plus his magic supply had nine thousand points. Bug knows there
might be surprises in store.
"You’re a zero, but the
Gatekeeper himself led you down here?" the raspy voice chuckled behind me.
"No. I would not like to face someone who killed one of the forces of
chaos. I'm just bored. We've been down here for days waiting for the portal to
open. Do you know when the magister will open it?"
"Am I understanding
correctly that the big black boulder in the middle of the room is the
portal?" I answered the question with a question.
"Yes," the goblin
responded and finally deigned to show himself.
He sat down on a stone stoop
a step from me and said with a funny tone:
"The name's Dobbess."
"Highlander," I
introduced myself curtly. I decided not to use my real name.
"Alright then
Highlander, so do you know when they're gonna open the portal?"
"I heard tomorrow."
The goblin shouted out
unexpectedly loud to everyone:
"Tomorrow!"
His cry was met by joyous
exclamations from every corner of the room.
"So, you're a newbie,
right?" the goblin asked.
"Yes," I answered.
"Then you better look
for allies."
"Is that an offer?"
I asked.
"No-o-ope," the
green pipsqueak chuckled. "I'm only going so I can kill that
bastard."
After he said that, the
goblin nodded at the sleeping mage. Seeing a baffled look on my face, he was
all too eager to explain.
"You see, Highlander, the
forces of chaos are not supposed to kill one another. It's against the law. But
there is a way."
"The labyrinth has
different laws," I guessed.
"Correct," the goblin
chuckled. "Gred insulted me, and tomorrow he will pay for what he said."
This guy was proving to be
quite the talkative fellow. And curious.
"So which one of us did
you off to get here?" Dobbess asked, continuing to leer.
At first I didn’t want to say
anything, but I had a change of mind. I wanted to see what would happen.
"Your magister's
sister," I answered calmly and stared into the goblin's eyes.
It took a second to register,
but as realization dawned, the smile slowly crept off his face.
"Did I hear you right?"
he rasped with a parched throat, slowly backing away. "The Black Widow is
dead?"
"You heard me just
fine," I answered, no longer looking at him.
I had already started to
think my new acquaintance would leave me alone, but he stayed where he was. His
gaze was so persistent it was like I could feel it in my skin.
"And the magister didn't
punish you?" he finally squeezed out.
"Does it look like it?"
I shrugged.
We sat in silence for a few
minutes. He was clearly trying to come to grips with the new information, while
I stared down my potential adversary mistrustingly. I didn't have much faith I
would simply be left alone in the labyrinth. Probably, someone will have the
bright idea to take down and rob the newcomer.
Well, Bug help them.
I broke the prolonged
silence.
"I have a question for
you, too, Dobbess. Could you possibly tell me where we are? I mean, I know this
is the Citadel of Chaos. I want to know what part of the world I'm in."
"Are you serious?"
the goblin's countenance stretched out in surprise again.
"Absolutely."
"We are on an
island," Dobbess answered. "My kind know it as Snake Island. Humans
like you call it the Snake's Tooth."
I tried to recall the scant geographical
knowledge I was taught in school, but alas, nothing came to mind. I had never
heard of this island before. The only thing I knew was that the island was
large. The mountains surrounding the citadel on all sides, which I had seen on
the observation deck stretched far beyond the horizon.
"And this island, what
part of the world is it located in?" I asked a clarifying question.
Understanding appeared in the
goblin's gaze.
"Snake Island is the
largest in a group of islands located north of the Dark Continent," he
answered patiently.
"So I'm still on the
Dark Continent," I whispered thoughtfully.
"You might say
that," Dobbess confirmed.
He wanted to ask or say
something else, but I heard a sound from a far corridor. Another five snakefolk
had slithered into the room and, hitting me with disdainful looks, went to join
their compatriots.
"Now this is getting
interesting," the goblin grumbled thoughtfully, getting up from his place.
I thought so, too. The
magister had not in fact forgiven me for the death of her sister. She had sent
assassins down to take my life. Or was this a sophisticated torture method?
"May the Goddess Fortuna
bless you with her smile, Highlander," the goblin bid me farewell and scampered
off into the darkness. Based on the intonations in his voice, he didn't believe
I would make it through the next day.
The five newcomers caused a
commotion among the others. I caught myself on various sides of intrigued looks
here and there. In the end, I got fed up with all the unhealthy attention and
followed the goblin's example, moving closer to the wall. Farther from the
middle of the room.
Leaning my back up against an
unexpectedly warm wall, I placed my arm on my knees and thought. Only now, when
I was able to somewhat calm down did I finally appreciate everything that
happened to me over the last few hours. Fighting the Queen of the Draks,
warping to the Citadel of Chaos, agreeing to take part in the test. Like a
little leaf torn from its branch by a strong gust of wind, I was flying off
into the unknown.
I recalled my conversation
with the troll time and again, then with the magister. And every time I came to
the same conclusion ― I made the right decision. Enough running around. Time to
stay put. Well and the fact that people would be trying to kill me tomorrow was
no longer so far outside my frame of reference. In my case ― that's more the
rule. Beyond that, I had plenty of "party favors" for my potential
adversaries.
Gradually, as if all on their
own, my thoughts started going back to Mink. It was like my heart was being
squeezed in a vice. The little figurine appeared in my hand. It's all I have
left of my beloved.
Hurriedly wiping my hot tears
on my sleeve, I tried to get myself together. This is not the time to mope. I
have a tough day ahead of me. I need to get ready.
Chapter 3
My guesses about the iridescent
tablet proved right.
— Attention! The Higher Powers smile upon you! You
have replicated the legendary feat of Ramilia the Illustrious! You defeated a
magical being more than 80 levels higher than you!
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Experience essence (16,000).
― Silver tablet (50).
― Diamond tablet (3).
— Iridescent Tablet "Queen of the Draks"
(1).
I
looked around warily to make sure no one was watching me. But I was in the
clear. Everyone else was just minding their own business. The initial curiosity
trailed off fairly quickly. The only one still looking at me was the goblin.
Obviously, he just couldn't figure out what magic tricks I possibly could have used
to take out the Black Widow. He didn’t go scampering off to tell any of his
order-mates though. I could only guess why he was acting so restrained. After
all, just a few minutes ago, Dobbess had proven to be quite talkative. He's
probably afraid of being perceived as a blabbermouth. He wants to make sure I’m
not lying first.
Just
in case, after activating Sixth Sense again, I read deeper into my
notifications. The more I read about my last battle, the rounder my eyes went in
surprise. Without a doubt, Earth Tremor’s destructive abilities topped all the
spells I'd activated before it. That's what using offensive magic in the right
location gets you!
Honestly,
I didn’t know how the mountain that housed the Queen of the Draks’ lair had
fared though. In one way or another, before the savage creeps got there, it was
a monster hunter city. My ancient predecessors had a fairly meticulous approach
to construction. I could only guess at the scale of the destruction, but the
number of dead in my system notifications proved just what a misfortune my
visit was for the creatures that called those caverns home.
All
told, I counted up three hundred victory notifications. Just over two hundred
of them were low-level creatures. Different kinds of insects, lizards and even
fish. Clearly, a few underground bodies of water also got hit. The snake
ruler’s "Guard" had also taken a beating. The dead draks, guides, and
poisonteeth totaled almost a hundred and fifty. But there were more serious
monsters on my account as well. Twenty-eight black vipers ranging in level from
forty to forty-five. As well as sixteen cave monitors ― all over fifty.
When
I finally got to the full loot list, I had to rub my eyes. In terms of esses
alone, I got just under one million five hundred thousand. A-hem... I'll be
just fine on those for the next few years. All told, I had just over five and a
half million experience essences in my backpack. The rewards for gathering the
legendary resources in the anomaly were just painfully generous.
Seeing
all the tablets, and more specifically their number, took my breath away. Just
shy of two thousand four hundred silvers, four hundred eight stone, one hundred
twenty apiece of iron and bronze, almost fifty diamond and the cherry on top ― another
iridescent.
When
I saw the second pearlescent sheet, I chuckled happily, unable to hold back.
How did I miss this?!
A
few intrigued looks immediately shot my way. They're looking at me like a fool.
The werewolves gave vile snickers. I could easily hear them joking around and
saying I’d lost my mind. The smallest one figured I was not able to take the
tension here and the fear drove me crazy. A few moments later, utterly
shamelessly, they were divvying up my belongings. These guys move quick. Oh
well, I've got a lot of surprises waiting for you.
The
snakefolk reacted to my "hysterics" with scornful looks and hissing.
I wonder what they're whispering about. But alas, the system gave me a clear
indication that their language was beyond my grasp due to anatomical
incompatibility. Too bad, of course. But what can you do? Truthfully, I'd take
just being able to understand them. Even if I couldn't speak. Obviously, you
can’t just partially activate a language pack. The Great System is all or
nothing.
Paying
no attention to the werewolves snickering and snakefolk hissing, I got back to
examining my loot. Based on the timestamp, the notification for my second
iridescent tablet was slightly delayed. It only came after I warped to the
Citadel of Chaos. I must have just automatically dismissed it while talking to
the Gatekeeper.
This
tablet was awarded to me by the mysterious Higher Powers, impressed by my deeds
as ever, for masterful use of a powerful spell which essentially caused a mass
die-off of three hundred bloodthirsty creatures. As for the draks and their
queen, there's no argument. But I did feel bad for the utterly blameless little
fish and small lizards. It's one thing to hunt or fish for nourishment, to
survive. It’s another thing entirely when they get caught in the crossfire of
some undertrained juvenile mage. Although, who could say what kind of fish they
were or how vicious they may have been.
To
get rid of the unwelcome thoughts, I opened the description of both tablets in
turn. So then, the first, which dropped for defeating the queen of the draks
was standard, just like the kind I got for the eel or gulper female. Out of a
long list of spells, I chose the only one that suited me.
Damage
Dispersal.
― Level: 0+5 (0/20).
― Type: Spell.
― Rarity: Epic
― Description:
― Using magic, the Queen
of the Draks can spread 70% of damage received by her to all creatures
currently under her control.
― Requirements:
― Intellect – 95.
― Expends 4000 mana
points.
― Note:
― Remains active until all
controlled creatures are dead.
When
I finished reading, I stroked my chin thoughtfully. Now I see why that brute
was able to hold out so long. She was "sharing" the damage intended
for her with her servants, basically sucking their life away.
While
creating the bookmark, I wasn’t thinking about Gorgie and Mee. Even a fool
could see I wasn’t even remotely considering using this spell on my friends. In
fact I was thinking about the mask of Jorogumo. It allowed me to take control
of up to five unintelligent creatures at once, and I would use Damage Dispersal
on them. I had just one little thing left to take care of. My Mind was still
just a bit too low to use the mask.
― Congratulations! You have raised your Mind by 10
points.
― Present value: 26.
Continuing
my experiment, I took out Black Widow's mask and tried it on. It felt warm
against my face. There were no straps or other kinds of fastener. It was as if
the mask just grew into my face. Like it became part of me. I didn't experience
any distaste or discomfort. And the thing was pretty easy to take off. I just
had to tell the system, and it was back in storage. And I in fact did just that
several times.
Once
I had enough fun, I decided to take my experiments further. With the mask back
on my face, I slowly led my gaze over the room. Much to my surprise, the system
informed me that my Will was high enough to take control of anyone in the room!
The only stumbling block was if my potential target had Mind. Just then I
realized just how powerful Master Chi really was! That both scared me and
filled me with confidence. What could this artifact do in its original
condition? What possibilities did it open up for its wearer?
I
dreamed for a bit and put the mask into my backpack. Yet another thing to play
close to my chest. I hope my foes like surprises.
With
a malicious smile, I got to studying the second iridescent. Unlike the first,
this one looked like the kind I got for gathering resources. It contained a
legendary offensive earth magic spell.
― Stone Spikes.
― Level: 0+5 (0/30).
― Type: Spell.
― Rarity: Legendary.
― Description:
― Using earth magic, a
mage can cause sharp stone spikes to instantly grow under an opponent's feet.
― Effect:
― Deals 15,000 units of
damage.
― Requirements:
― Intellect – 60.
― Expends 1000 mana
points.
― Note:
― Cooldown time: 9 hours.
― Radius: 130 feet.
Looks
like the Higher Powers really did appreciate what I'd done in the snake den.
They even provided me with a spell of the corresponding element.
― Congratulations! You
have raised your Will by 10 points.
― Present value: 134.
In light of recent news, and
specifically the fact that the Steel King has several Primordials at his beck
and call, raising my Will had become top priority. I thought back on the old
mage who was at all of my conversations with the King. He had once confidently declared
he could "crack" my will no problem. Back then, I had less than half
of what I do now, but who knows what that old man could really do?
After I got a handle on the
new spells, I decided to finally look at the bonus crystal and sphere I'd
gotten while gathering oblivion stones and guardian hearts. If memory serves,
the Woodwose said I didn't have enough Mind to read them. Alas, a few seconds
later, I realized that twenty-six points was still not enough. The descriptions
of the mysterious stones were still hidden from me.
But the Mind boost was not
entirely wasted. Beyond being able to use the mask, I got another helpful
ability. Now I could raise Gorgie's characteristics without summoning him.
There were probably a few other beneficial aspects, but I hadn't noticed yet.
I'll figure that out with time.
When it came time to
distribute tablets, I realized that Gorgie wouldn't be able to
"digest" that many at one time, and that was with his regeneration
figures. I could have tried to use all the tablets in one sitting by also using
potions and regeneration spells, but a fear of hurting my friend stopped me.
Better take it slow.
I decided to start with the
stone tablets but was shocked to discover a system notification saying that
doing so was impossible.
A minute later, it finally
hit me... Gorgie had outgrown both Clay and Stone. Now only iron tablets and
above.
I used up the Bronzes and
Irons and decided to bring Gorgie's level to twenty. There was no reason to draw things out. Beyond that, I there were
another two sticking points I wanted to get to. First I was hoping to raise the
ceiling of my harn's Mind characteristic. And second ― to raise the level of
his spell to four. Thankfully, now we had a virtual plethora of tablets.
—
Attention! Your pet has reached level 19!
— Free characteristics: 3.
— Attention! Your pet has
reached level 20!
— Free characteristics: 3.
But alas, the harn's Mind
ceiling stayed the same. Still just one. Too bad... I hope something will
change at higher levels. Though I was starting to have my doubts. What if the
Great System just made the harn that way? And I couldn’t do a thing about it? As
a matter of fact, I shouldn't be complaining. My Gorgie is already smarter than
a few of my former neighbors and classmates.
Then, as planned, I raised
the level of Thorntail's Jump to four. That jump cost me eighty Silvers, but it
was worth it. After using the spell to move, Gorgie could now spend forty
seconds invisible. The length of the jump was up to eighty feet as well.
Honestly, mana expenditure was up too. Now it was a hundred points but, I
repeat, it was worth it. This spell had saved our lives on more than one
occasion.
When I moved on from the
spells, I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me.
― Attention! Your pet has
received a new combat ability: Tail Whip.
From the description, I
realized that the spike that had been slowly forming on the tip of the harn's
tail had finally become a formidable weapon. I immediately invested a hundred
silver tablets into the new ability and raised it to the maximum. I calculated
the approximate damage the harn would deal with his new weapon and smiled in
satisfaction. I was already looking forward to Gorgie's reaction.
The only thing that bothered
me was that it expended so much energy for every blow. Two hundred fifty points
with just two thousand in the supply. If Gorgie abuses this... And he will, I
know him... Anyway, if he does abuse this new ability, he will tire himself out
very quickly. Ugh! I wish I got some loot that could improve my pet. It would
be great if I could at least double the size of Gorgie’s supplies.
And so, pondering the
vicissitudes of fate, I tossed four hundred fifty silvers into Gorgie
characteristics bit by bit, not forgetting to keep an eye on my surroundings.
In the end, getting him to level twenty cost us four hundred thousand esses and
almost a thousand tablets of varying kinds. The higher the level, the higher
the expenditure. But that didn't have me too worried. I had basically not spent
even half of what I had in my backpack. Something else was more important ―
Gorgie was gradually turning into a highly dangerous monster. And I had to be
happy about that. I understood that we were still at the beginning of our path,
but the first steps, the hardest and most important ones, had already been
made.
The magister of the Chaos
faction appeared at the exact moment I made up my mind whether to bring Gorgie
up one more level or not. She was walking with an entourage of ten or so
snakefolk ― all over level
fifty. Her coming was greeted in different ways. The snakefolk hissed
obsequiously, the werewolves called back with happy grunting while the others
like me just calmly made for the middle of the room. Looks like Black Widow's
sister had decided not to wait for the next morning and was going to open the portal
into the Labyrinth of Fright right now.
The only person who had no
reaction at all to the master's coming was the sleeping mage. He was just still
snoring away and, funnily enough, the master of the citadel paid him no mind,
same as everybody else. This individual was starting to raise more and more red
flags.
Finally, the procession
stopped in the middle of the room a few steps from the portal and the magister,
not making too big a deal out of it, shortly ordered:
"Contestants, step
forward!"
As the Gatekeeper warned,
there were three of us. Other than me, encouraged by sharp growls and howling
from his compatriots, a young werewolf walked into the middle of the room.
Stripped to the waist, he was ferocity personified. Taut knots of muscle,
tattoos on his chest shoulders and stomach, slightly elongated fangs and
fingernails that had almost formed into claws ― the black-haired boy was about
to turn into a beast at any second.
A lithe warrior broke off
from the group of snakefolk that arrived earlier. The complete opposite of the
shapeshifter. Flexible, gracious. The look in his snake eyes was so arrogant
that even I thought he was overdoing it. I was more inclined to believe that,
behind all that dramatic flair, he was hiding common fear.
For the record, the goblin
seemed to have been wrong. Nure-onna is not planning to take revenge on me. The
snakefolk were here to help their compatriot pass the test. Although who could
say? Whatever happens, I'm ready.
When we stopped a step away
from the magister, she slowly led a dispassionate gaze over us. Then shortly
demanded:
"Wrists!"
The snake kid was first to
react. He tore the leather bracer off his right wrist and extended his hand.
The werewolf and I followed his example.
Despite the fact that the serpentine
kid was quickest, the magister started with me for some reason. The look on
that ugly bastard's face! That and the malicious snuffling from the werewolf
told me that I had just gotten myself into trouble.
Nure-onna's hand was ice cold
as expected. As was the gaze in her dark gray eyes. We made contact for several
seconds and some text appeared before my eyes:
― Attention! You have
received the Seal of Chaos! You may now gather Chaos Particles!
Alright, so the magisters of
other factions are doing the exact same thing as well. This is the way contestants
gain the ability to gather the particles that correspond to their faction.
After the snakefolk and
werewolf got their seals, the magister turned around and walked toward the
portal.
"You're done for,
dogmeat!" the snake kid hissed practically into my ear as he slithered
past.
The werebeast nodded
pointedly, agreeing with the serpentine creature and headed toward the portal
which I understood would be opening soon.
I wasn't too worried about
threats. Just half a year ago, these ugly bastards' levels - twenty and
twenty-two - would most likely have had me hiccupping in terror, but those
times were long gone now.
Out of the corner of my eye,
I noticed some stirring to the right. The mage had finally deigned to wake up. His
black head of hair looked like a mop. Beard looking like a ratty old broom.
Beer belly. Clothes wrinkled and greasy. All that spoke to the fact that this
man had long since stopped taking care of himself. When our gazes met, I
realized that all my initial conclusions were mistaken. I saw nothing human in
his yellow animal eyes.
And what happened after that
I wasn't expecting in the least. The animal-eyed mage, scornfully ignoring
everyone else, gave me an unexpected nod as if to an equal and headed toward
the portal. Then an instant later, a notification came before my eyes:
― Attention! The passage
to the Labyrinth of Fright is now open!
Chapter 4
Before giving the System my
agreement to warp, I mentally checked myself again. Mana supply full. As for
shields, only muckwalker's aura and lair had cooled down. Slim pickings. Though
I do have invisibility and the mask. As for weapons, I have Spike and
Dragonfly. I'm afraid my bow and arrows from the otherworld are still useless.
I had planned to bring them to craftsmen in my world in case something could be
done to alter them. But that would have to come later. For now ― spells.
The magister wasn't looking
at me, unlike her retinue. The snakefolk were incinerating me with hateful looks.
The cunning Nure-onna's stunt had essentially served to announce a hunt for me.
I understand where she’s coming from. If someone kills your sister, even one
you have no lost love for, they must be punished. It’s a question of honor. The
honor of a Primordial.
All that time, there was a
strange sensation I was unable to get over. Like someone was watching me.
Someone I couldn't see. I stole a look around and realized I was right. Deep in
the corridor, I could make out the outlines of a giant figure in a horned helm.
The Gatekeeper. Did he lead the magister here? Or did he come to take me? The
troll realized I had seen him. We exchanged short nods. It was strange, but
that nod from a creature I knew very little did a lot to inspire even more
confidence in my heart.
Deep breath in. And a breath
out. Let's go!
I was one of the last to go
into the portal. And the snakefolk and werewolves were hot on my heels. They
were waiting for me to the very end. Well, well... let's play a little game
then.
In the blink of an eye, the
darkness of the portal room was replaced by a bright sunrise. I was standing in
the middle of a broad city square surrounded by three and four-story buildings.
The facades of a few of them were adorned with variously colored signage in an
unfamiliar language. But I didn't need to be able to read to know that over to
the right was the fish shop, while twenty steps from me was the bakery. The
city seemed to be just waking up. The traders were opening their little shops
and stalls. They placed their wares on their counters and displays.
The place somehow reminded me
of my hometown of Orchus. The architecture, faces and clothing of the people ―
it's like I'm back in the Empire. A sharp metal tinkling to my left, followed
by joyous feminine laughter brought me to my senses. I quickly tossed
invisibility on and looked around. No one else had come out of the portal. But
there was a whole procession of guys hot on my heels, hoping to see the color
of my blood. I wonder where they are. And for that matter, where are the people
who went into the portal before me? I had only one explanation: we were all
spat out in different places. I chuckled at my thoughts. It would be nice if
that hissing and growling gaggle was sent, for example, up to the snowy peak of
that mountain far off on the horizon.
For a brief moment, I even
lost courage. So, what to do next? Where can I get these chaos particles? After
all, it's not like I'm supposed to just start slaughtering peaceful townsfolk
and their children, right? If that is the point of the test, then you can all
get Bugged! I'm not having any part!
Vague doubts started to beset
me. Is this the labyrinth? Could the gods possibly be playing a joke on me and
sending me Bug knows where?
I don't know how my foolish
standing around might have ended if the belltower of the temple that loomed
large on the opposite end of the square hadn't started to ring out deafeningly.
The alarm bell carried over the city and spooked all the city's pigeons. And
right away, all the temple belltower's "brethren" started chiming
back from all directions. Something had happened. The city must have been under
attack. Suddenly it dawned on me. Were they ringing the bells because of my order-mates?
The merchants and tavern
owners as well as early-bird shoppers, much to my surprise, were not panicked
by the alarm. While they packed up their half-unpacked wares and closed up
their stalls, they were just shooting the breeze calmly. Some of them were even
in high enough spirits to joke around. Seemingly, this was not a rare
occurrence for them.
I considered walking up
closer to hear to what they were talking about when, from a distant alleyway,
some odd coal-black creature suddenly hopped out. At first I thought it was
someone's ox that got spooked by the bells and broke out of its harness. But
when I saw the way its every jump crushed the large cobbles on the road into
tiny shards, a chill ran down my spine.
I froze in place. The black
something went racing toward the merchants as they unhurriedly packed up their
stalls. Honestly, their languor was very quickly replaced by panic and
heart-rending cries. The people finally noticed the brute running their way.
For the record, it did not
smell me even though I was standing closest of all to it. When it whizzed by
ten steps from me, I forgot how to breathe. I finally got a good look at the
monster.
― Necromorph (67).
Oh Gods! How can this be?!
How did this monster from the Age of Dead Warriors make its way here? After
all, they were wiped out over a thousand years ago. Just like their masters ―
the necromancers. Or had our history textbooks lied? Had this ancient evil
really returned?
A drawn-out aquiline cry, and
second that followed made me raise my head. Down from the sky a pair of riders
atop golden-hued gryphons dive-bombed the running monster. They were wearing
shimmering suits of armor, wing adornments on their helmets and crimson cloaks
that billowed in the wind. The surprise even made me rub my eyes. The legendary
Guardians of the Wind, the personal guard of the no less legendary King Nidas.
Oh Gods! They looked just the way I saw them in my textbook!
The warriors meanwhile didn't
wait for their beasts to catch up to the necromorph, which had slightly slowed
down. They jumped down simultaneously from their saddles and landed just a few
paces from the townsfolk. And they by the way had stopped their panicked scurrying
and had begun to return to the square with joyous welcoming cries. And rightly
so! With the golden level-eighty gryphons and their riders, who were over
ninety ― what's to fear? This is now nothing but a free show they can tell
their grandchildren about for decades to come!
An instant later, two gryphons
fell upon the hideous necromancer creation, their wings spread wide. The morph
tried to fight them off, but it was no use. The guardians were obviously not
stingy with tablets for their pets. Not even a few seconds later, the black
brute had been ripped into several large chunks. I had the scandalous thought
that I should work up the guts to cast an ice arrow at the necromorph, but I
chickened out. I just refreshed my canopy
of invisibility and slowly edged away from the scene of the battle before
anyone detected me. Who knows how the locals will treat some newcomer mage. For
the record, I no longer had any doubts about whether I was in the Labyrinth of
Fright.
I reached a narrow alleyway
and stopped to catch my breath. The bells were still pealing. From the sky I
heard the occasional gryphon screech. Seemingly, the undead had gotten into the
city.
While the werewolves looked
like people, albeit distantly, I did not envy the snakefolk or that goblin right
now. Nonhumans cannot hide from the Guardians of the Wind. And actually, I'm
not gonna summon Gorgie just yet either. I'll have to stay cautious with the
canopy of invisibility, too. As a matter of fact, the best camouflage right now
is to just be myself. And specifically, a normal boy.
While walking down the alleys,
I occasionally came across well-armed city guard units. One time I decided to
risk it and, pretending to be a local kid hurrying back home, openly ran past some
guardsmen. My natural camouflage did the trick. Nobody stopped me. In fact,
they even told me the safest streets to use. Thankfully, I had already
activated the language pack for the local dialect.
Not having a clear plan or
fully understanding why I was doing it, I followed the guardsmen's pointers and
headed to the southern part of the city. After all, I also need to gather chaos
particles somehow.
The ringing of the bells was
gradually winding down, with echoes coming just rarely from the northern part
of the city. The bellringers must be signaling to the gryphon-riders where the
undead are.
The farther I went, the more
animated the streets became. No one was running anymore. Life in the city was
gradually returning to its usual groove. Seemingly, the townsfolk were used to
such incursions.
Running past some pub, I
stopped and went back a few steps. Walking up to the front door, I peeked
inside. At the bar was sitting none other than the animal-eyed mage from
before. Honestly though, his eyes were normal now. Human. He by the way fit his
circumstances perfectly. Half the people in the pub looked just like him: beer
guts, unkempt beards and drowsy expressions. There are necromorphs hopping
around somewhere in town, but here they've been pouring mugs of ale and serving
up plates of black pudding since early morning.
"Hey-ho," the mage
recognized me and waved a friendly hand, inviting me to sit next to him at the
bar.
Considering it briefly, I got
up on the stool.
"Ale?" the mage
inquired casually.
"I'd take a nice cold
root beer," I answered.
The mage snorted
understandingly and raised a hand, calling over the gray-haired publican:
"Get my pal here a root beer.
Make it cold."
"We don't serve it any
other way," the publican nodded and slowly headed toward a bulbous barrel.
"Tired of running around?"
the mage asked calmly.
"Yep," I answered
curtly and sipped at my cold foamy mug.
"How are you finding it?"
the mage pointed vaguely at either the pub or what was going on outside.
"Hard to put into words,"
I muttered from the mug.
"You can say that again,"
the mage snorted. "Should we get acquainted then...?"
"Highlander," I
said, placing my half-empty mug on the bar.
"Pinebogey," he
introduced himself.
"Curious," I said
thoughtfully. "Dobbess called you Gred."
"Well, yeah. He knows me
as Gred," the mage answered vaguely, ordering himself another beer.
For the record, my new friend
was just level forty-three, which made for a baffling combination with his
short mana supply, which was just two thousand points.
"You get any
particles?" he questioned.
"Not yet," I shook
my head.
"Never fear, it isn’t
evening yet," Pinebogey waved it off.
"What do you mean?"
"It’s just been a couple
necromorph scouts so far. This is just the beginning."
His tone was seemingly meant
to reassure me. On the one hand, I was indeed somewhat annoyed by the fact that
I hadn’t gotten any particles yet, but on the other hand the last thing he said
had me on guard.
I wanted to ask him what
exactly he meant, but Pinebogey got out ahead of me:
"By the way, have you
seen that goblin around?"
"No," I answered.
"I haven't seen anyone since I warped here."
"You will," the odd
mage "reassured" me yet again. "If the Guardians don’t take them
down first of course. You and I will have an easier time. The snakes and goblin
will have to spend mana on a disguise."
Hm, now that I did not
consider. I looked around warily.
"Don't worry," the
mage reassured me. "There aren't any here. And their disguises won't fool
you. As far as I can tell, you've made quite the investment into Will."
I just shrugged my shoulders
indefinitely.
"Modest," the mage
chuckled.
To be frank, his style of
conversation was starting to get on my nerves. Yes, he was sharing information,
but it was like he was leaving out some important details.
"So does that mean this
is all real?" I took a look around the pub.
"Absolutely," the
mage nodded. "The tables are wood and that shield over there is iron. The
publican is flesh and blood. He's as real as you or I."
"How is this
possible?"
"Nobody knows," the
mage shrugged his shoulders.
"Are we in our world in
the past?"
"I'm not sure,"
Pinebogey shook his head. "Most likely a fragment of it. But that is just
a guess. Or rather, I find it easier to think so."
Hm... The troll said the same
thing.
"And these things... If
I buy something here..."
"No point,"
Pinebogey forewarned. "The labyrinth will take what belongs to it in the
end. You can only take what you had with you when you crossed over. The
Labyrinth only respects faction seals. That is the only reason we have the
ability to gather particles."
"So have you been here
before?"
"What makes you say
that?" Gred/Pinebogey responded with surprise.
"You said this is just
the beginning," I boldly clarified.
"Yes," he answered
shortly.
"But what did you
mean?" I wouldn't relent.
"Well, that this is just
the beginning."
I had to strain not to
overreact.
"The beginning of
what?"
"Beginning of the
end," Pinebogey shrugged his shoulders and, standing up off the stool, turned
to the publican: "My friend will get the tab." And turned back to me:
"We are friends now, right? We got each other's backs?"
Hm... Alright. It’s actually
better this way. You give me information; I give you beer. And nobody owes a
thing to anyone.
"True," I answered
and placed a silver coin on the table, which the publican snatched and stuffed
in his pocket in the blink of an eye.
On the way out, Pinebogey
turned and said:
"You did study history
in school, right?"
"Yes."
"That'll make things
easier then. Once you hear this city’s name, you’ll be able to guess what’s
coming. As long as you weren’t slacking off in history class."
After that, Pinebogey stepped
out of the pub and disappeared into the stream of scurrying townsfolk.
I scratched the back of my
head and looked at the publican, who was no less surprised by what Pinebogey
said than me. After that, my gaze fell on an old, slightly rumpled shield
hanging on the wall behind the publican. This old man must have done his share
of fighting. As soon as I realized what the design on the shield was, a cold
sweat immediately drenched my back.
Well of course! The Guardians
of the Wind! King Nidas! A manticore on the coat of arms! The Labyrinth of
Fright had spat me out in the ancient capital of Darta, Solenholm...
"What do you want,
kid?" the publican asked me guardedly.
I got up off the stool
quietly, turned around and walked slowly to the door. The publican tried to say
something else after me, but I didn't hear him.
I took another look at the alleyways and people going about their
business, little stray mongrels rubbing themselves ingratiatingly on the door
to a pub kitchen. All of this will cease to exist very soon. If history is to
believed, the necromancers will level this city to its foundations. And that will
be the starting point for a series of historical events known as the Age of
Dead Warriors.
Another round of alarm bells
splashed over the city from the north like a wave at sea. I wasn’t surprised, but
to the townsfolk, it came as a shock. This must have been the first time an
attack was followed immediately by another attack. To me it was all exceedingly
clear.
My mission was to find a
defensible location where I could hold out until the labyrinth to let us go.
I checked my magic supply for
the umpteenth time. An old habit from the otherworld, it was proving to die
hard. Everything was fine. The Labyrinth was generous with mana.
The bells were now ringing
from every direction. From somewhere off to the right, I heard high-pitched
shrieks one street over. The people exchanged fearful glances and ran for the
hills. It turned into a stampede. I heard more whooping and screaming, but this
time from every direction. Someone shouted out loudly from the pub where I had
been peacefully quaffing a root beer just a few minutes earlier.
I saw the Guardians racing
through the sky here and there. They dived between the buildings, attacking an
enemy only they could see. Their arrival was greeted by cries of joy.
But a little while later, everything
changed. The gryphons now had competition in the sky ― giant bats. Their levels
were lower, but there were more of them. There were a full five or six of the
flying brutes attacking just one rider. Like gigantic black inkblots, they were
sticking to the warriors on all sides, preventing their gryphons from spreading
their wings properly.
The elite guardians died one
after the next. And there were more bats coming all the time. Very soon, there
wasn't a single gryphon left in the sky and the vile flying brutes turned their
gazes at the little people darting around down below. The city drowned in human
screams.
Quickly turning down a narrow
alleyway, I looked around and activated canopy of invisibility. After that, I
put on the Black Widow's mask and threw on my Marauder hood. Spike in my right
hand, Dragonfly in my left. Just five steps away from me, a formless hunk of
flesh splatted down on the road and oozed blood, having very recently been one
of those splendid golden gryphons. Three beasts fell on its remains right away.
Just like before, no one was
paying any attention to me.
"It's time," I
whispered and struck the hideous morphs with lightning.
The system informed me I had
incapacitated three level-forty-five necromorphs. I considered it briefly and
burst forward. Spike easily pierced the temples and eyes of the undead, while
the system faithfully reported on my victory and dropped loot.
— You
have killed Necromorph (45).
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Chaos Particle (50).
― Scourge of the Undead Crystal (5).
― Attention! You have gathered enough Chaos Particles
(100). Report to the nearest Citadel of Chaos and to complete the mission from
the Magister of the Chaos Faction!
Before I had even come to
fully appreciate the Great System's sense of humor, I was getting ready for
another scuffle. The toothed maw of a level-sixty necromorph poked around a
corner...
Chapter 5
Despite the degree to which
the necromancer magic had warped its body, the monster had easily recognizable
features of a big huge monitor lizard. Honestly, instead of a tail, it had a
stump dripping with a muddy green pus. Bits of rib were sticking out of its distended
sides. Instead of eyes it had two gaping holes. Its curved teeth had pieces of
fresh meat stuck between them. The brute had already treated itself to at least
one townsperson.
The fact it did not have a
tongue constantly sampling the air, or eyes led me to believe this dead
creature was navigating based on its victims' supplies. It clearly had not
detected me yet, but it seemed to have "seen" its "buddies"
fall. Or rather, not him exactly but whoever was in control of this brute.
Time to summon Gorgie.
The harn appeared three steps
to my right. When I saw him, at first, I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this
really my pet?! First of all, he was quite a bit larger. He'd also grown
stronger but, despite his new heft, there was a litheness and grace to his movements.
Second, the scales... They had changed in ways I wasn’t expecting. The crest of
bone going down his spine had also fully sprouted. The armor on his neck and
stomach was darker and rougher. I must have been seeing the next stage in my
pet's gradual metamorphosis, which would come to an end at a certain point. My
Gorgie will get a new suit of armor.
The harn’s claws and fangs
had also grown longer and larger, while his mouth was now larger. I'm afraid to
even imagine how much chow he could wolf down now.
The finishing touch was that
his tail had grown longer and was now tipped with a formidable bone spike.
"Hrn!" Gorgie
commented happily on his new weapon.
"What say we test it
out?" I asked, nodding at the approaching necromorph. For the record, despite
it being level sixty, the dead monitor lizard didn’t look so scary anymore
compared to the harn.
Gorgie gave a fearsome growl
and disappeared into the air instantly. He kicked the party off with a
thorntail's jump. And I understood why ― he wanted to test out all his new
toys.
"Hit it in the
head!" I shouted after him and cast my first ice arrow.
A second later, the dead
monitor's head gave a couple twitches and burst open like a rotten pumpkin. The
beast lurched and fell clumsily on its side.
— You have killed Necromorph (60).
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Chaos Particle (70).
― Scourge of the Undead Crystal (7).
Gorgie appeared from
"invisibility" and glanced my way. I could read a question on his
fanged face: "Well, how’d I do?"
"Great job!" I
mentally praised and gave him a thumb's up. Unlike the others, the harn could
see me perfectly.
With a disgusted tail twitch
to flick off the dark green slime that had once been the brains of the poor
monitor lizard, Gorgie looked up and sniffed.
"They're everywhere," he shared.
"I know," I answered. "In
order to grow stronger, you have to kill as many of these beasts as you can."
As expected, the harn liked
that plan. What was more, after killing the undead creature, he had unlocked a
new characteristic ― Scourge of the Undead. I didn't have time to figure out
what it was because a new cast of characters had appeared in "our"
alley.
They were two Guardians.
Pretty beat-up. Covered head to toe in blood. Based on the fact that one was
missing a right leg, he had just a few minutes left to live but, despite how
tired the second looked and the wound on his shoulder, he was still insistently
dragging his buddy along.
When the warriors saw the
harn standing in the middle of the alley, they froze in place. The more intact
one reacted with lightning speed. Despite the serious wound, his right hand
grabbed a loaded crossbow off his back sharply in a well-practiced maneuver and
pointed at the scaled monster. The bowstring gave a dull thud, and the bolt went
racing forward with a predatory whistle. The guardsman was shooting at random
without aiming but, with his level being forty, such tricks were not new to
him.
I had seen his facial
expression change a few times over a short span. From cold determination and self-confidence
to disappointment and surprise. The unknown beast, just level twenty, easily
dodged his shot and basically disappeared into thin air.
It all happened so fast that
all I managed to do was throw on Canopy, and loudly shout out:
"Gorgie, no!"
After I appeared, the
crossbowman's face grew even longer. He followed my gaze, turned around and froze.
The monster he had just been trying to shoot was just a step away from him. The
scaled tail with its bony spike hung just inches over his head. If I had wasted
just one more second, it would have been too late.
"We’re friendlies!"
I shouted. "And we can help!"
The crossbowman looked at me
dumbfounded, then he looked down and saw the dead morphs. I must give him his
due though. He found his footing instantly.
"Forgive me, good sir
mage!" he said, wincing in pain. "The city is teeming with beasts,
and so I..."
"No need to
apologize!" I waved a hand, quickly settling into the role. "Would
you allow me to help you?"
"If possible, start with
Agvid," the crossbowman asked, lowering his wounded comrade to the ground.
He had already long since lost consciousness and looked like a ragdoll, his
appendages hanging limp.
When I ran up and hunched
over the wounded man, the crossbowman suddenly said quietly:
"It’s no use, good sir
mage... Poor old Agvid is beyond help."
"Too bad," I said,
looking at the dead man's pale face.
"Looks like I've been dragging
his dead body around this whole time," the crossbowman breathed a heavy
sigh, sitting wearily next to his late brother at arms.
I silently activated Forest's
Blessing. The warrior shuddered and looked at me. I could see regret in his
eyes.
"You have nothing to
blame yourself for," I tried to reassure him. "You did everything you
could to save your friend."
"Agvid was not my
friend," the warrior chuckled for the first time. "I'd sooner say the
opposite. It's hard to call someone a friend after they stole your
wife..."
Both of the guardsmen looked
to be somewhere over thirty. He was clearly referring to bygone times. I
realized that his over-talkativeness was a consequence of shock, so I decided
to try and change to a more constructive topic.
"With whom do I have the
honor of speaking?"
The crossbowman didn't
realize what I was asking at first, but then I saw him make sense of it. He
looked around as if he'd just woken up and tried to stand.
"Sit down," I
ordered. "Give the spell some time."
"Lave Vallin, city guard
unit number five," he quickly introduced himself and cast a tenacious look
at my gear and level.
"Eric Bergman," I
decided to use my real name. Why bother coming up with something?
"You have a perfectly
clean Solenholm accent but, based on your clothes, you aren't from around
here," Lave easily determined my outsider status.
"You are correct,"
I nodded. "I am a Tarian. I’m here on business."
I wasn't afraid to name my
country of origin. I was positive that my history textbooks said Taria and
Darta had never gone to war. And whenever there were conflicts, our countries
were always allies.
My response seemed to satisfy
Lave completely.
"What's going on?"
I asked. "Where did all these beasts come from?"
"It's all Udun," Lave
answered, clenching his teeth in anger. "He was conspiring with the
necromancers,"
"Just a sec," I
frowned. "Udun, the King's younger brother? Are you sure about that?"
"Yes," Lave shook
his head. He had gray almost white eyes like all Dartans, and they looked
confident. "Udun was spotted outside the walls in the necromancer camp.
He's behaving like an invader. He's the one that sold the maps and plans to our
enemies, showing the strong and weak points in our defenses. They also say our King
was poisoned..."
Lave said the last part so
quietly it was like he was afraid of finding out it was the truth.
A-hemm... So there's one more
myth busted. We were taught that Udun Vanquisher of Death was a legendary mage
that saved everyone. It was supposedly under his leadership that the allied
armies of the three kingdoms managed to finally defeat the army of the dead.
Legendary King Nidas meanwhile was supposed to have died a hero's death,
holding back the first wave of necromorphs. But this was how it happened for real...
"So who's in charge of
defenses?" I asked, already suspecting approximately what the answer would
be.
"General Hardy!" Lave
said proudly. "Who else?!"
A-hem... He was right. Who
else? Ugh, if only you knew what version of these events made it down to your
ancestors. In my history, General Hardy, the right hand of King Nidas, was
portrayed as a traitor that joined the necromancers. I wonder why they twisted
that story. What were they trying to hide from us? As an aside, those who visit
the labyrinth of fright probably know more about things that happened in bygone
times.
Our conversation took just
over a minute. In that time, the wound on Lave's shoulder had slightly healed
over, while the bleeding stopped. A slight blush had appeared on his pale cheeks.
He'll live. Although, based on the shouting from practically every direction,
probably not for long.
"What will you do
next?" I asked.
"Make my way to the King's
palace in the middle of town," Lave answered confidently. "They're forming
new units there with the survivors."
I see... So that's where the
necromancers will land their main blow. That leads me to conclude that I should
stay away from downtown.
"But something's telling
me you won't be coming with me, right?"
"Alas," I shrugged
my shoulders.
The guardian snorted
understandingly.
"Then you need to head
for the northern gates. And make it quick. I think the hordes of dead have
already broken through the eastern wall."
***
— You have killed Necromorph (25).
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Chaos Particle (30).
― Scourge of the Undead Crystal (3).
I am going on seven hours in
the Labyrinth of Fright. And I'm still just halfway to the northern gates. As
it turned out, making my way across an entire city teeming with undead was
harder than I thought.
I have almost three thousand
chaos particles and around three hundred crystals in my backpack. Lave was
right, the beasts just keep coming and coming. And there are more of them in
every wave. We tried to find a secluded little spot to catch our breath, but no
use. Morphs are basically slithering out of every nook and cranny. I'm afraid
to even imagine how long it took for the necromancers to get all these dead
creatures in one place.
As an aside, some of the
morphs had once been members of intelligent races. Humans, orcs, elves, gnomes.
I also saw trolls and ogres.
The city defenders weren't
asleep at the wheel though. In some sectors they were even able to hold back
the onslaught. But I think every one of the defenders already realized they had
lost the battle. Sometimes gryphon riders appeared in the sky, but it was never
long before were caught by the flock of bats and torn to shreds before they
even hit the ground.
In all that time, I didn't
come across a single other devotee of chaos. However, about an hour ago, I just
about came face to face with a group of five mages who clearly were not from
this era. If not for Gorgie's timely warning, I don't know how that encounter
might have ended. Although based on the fiery blades these mages so generously
used to turn the undead to ash, they wouldn’t exactly be thrilled to see a
chaos faction contestant.
The level twenty-five
necromorph we had just taken down was probably an exception to the rule. By and
large, most of the creatures' levels didn't go beyond forty. But strange as it
may have been, they weren't all that hard to kill. They didn't have any defenses
as such either. Their speed and agility were also limping. To their credit they
have strength, numbers and lack of self-preservation instinct. They don't feel
fear either. And they never retreat. Their appendages get cut off and they just
keep fighting. One or two creatures like that don't look too serious. But when
there are thousands, or tens of thousand and maybe even hundreds of thousands,
you only want to do one thing ― get as far away from there as possible.
We nailed a morph while
climbing over the fence of a Solenholm manor. Pretty sturdy fence. Tall. Thick.
Stone.
Same for the house. The
narrow windows were protected by hefty grates. The doors were affixed with
thick sheets of bronze. The person who built the residence seemed to have known
what was coming.
But alas, it was not their
lucky day. We discovered the owners’ mauled and half eaten bodies on a path in
their internal garden. What was more, they seemed to have died about seven or
eight hours earlier. The farther we went, the more bodies we found. And then we
started seeing morph bodies, which was quite strange. Because I didn't see a
single warrior among the dead people. Only civilians. Mostly old men and women.
There were children here, too. So it wasn’t the undead that killed all these
unfortunates.
A few moments later, I
realized who was behind it. Werewolves. I found one of their bodies at the
front door.
What does it all mean? These
hideous freaks had run off to murder innocent townsfolk right after we crossed
over instead of concentrating their efforts on the necromorphs. To them it made
no difference whose lives they took to get their chaos particles. Alright then,
now I'm certain of one thing: if the goddess Fortuna brought our paths together
again, I would do everything in my power to make sure that pack of villains
never left the labyrinth alive.
But I had no idea when I made
that promise to myself that I would have to make good on it very soon.
Gorgie warned me about the
incoming shapeshifters with plenty of time to spare. Obviously they had also
decided to make their den here until the end of the test.
We had just happened to
finish looking through the house a few minutes earlier. Its owner was clearly
not a mere commoner. This was no home; it was a true fortress. The basements
are full of provisions. Lots of weapons. In a far wing we discovered a large
warehouse filled with all kinds of stuff. Fabrics, carpets, lots of bags and
boxes of various sizes filled with various wares. If I may be so bold, I
suppose we're in a merchant's house. If I go looking, I'm sure I'll find a
hiding spot or two. But there’s no point. Pinebogey gave me a clear indication
the Labyrinth would not allow me to take anything with me. You can only take
out what you take in. If you survive, of course...
But Pinebogey told me only
half the truth. He didn't mention tablets or esses. If I manage to find them in
the hiding spot, I don't actually have to take them out of the labyrinth.
The werewolves could also
smell me. They committed my scent to memory before we crossed over. I could
hear how happy they were when they noticed I was visiting. They came scampering
down the corridors, anticipating a fun time.
I met them in the big main
room after activating canopy of invisibility. You might say I was using live
bait so that, gods forbid, none of them would flee. Gorgie meanwhile jumped out
the window, hiding outside.
The four werewolves poured
into the room with joyous howling. The alpha out front, the rest just behind.
The contender was the happiest among them.
"What a nice surprise!"
he roared out loudly. "We'd already given up hope we'd ever see you again!
We figured you got eaten at the very start! But looks like you found somewhere
to hide like a rat!"
The rest gave vile snickers.
Not exactly like orcs, but it made my skin crawl just the same. As an aside,
the alpha was not taking part in the celebration. He was sniffing the air
tensely. He must have smelled Gorgie. He's really starting to freak out.
I need to keep him busy.
"Well, it’s not like
we’re so different. Looks like you're hiding here too," I expressed with a
smirk.
"Don't you dare compare
wolves to rats!" a big black-haired fellow shouted out angrily and bared
his teeth. "We are warriors! And you are a rat!"
"You sure have some
strange ideas about warriors," I continued chuckling. "Look at all
the innocents you slaughtered. Women, children, old men. And all for chaos
particles? I saw your fifth group member. He try to take on someone his own
size and die like a rat?"
Getting the werewolves worked
up proved to be child's play. Just a few insulting phrases and they're all champing
at the bit. Actually no. Not quite. The alpha of the pack was not moving. Now
fully transformed, he reminded me a lot of my cursed enemy Livid. All his
attention was trained on the place Gorgie was now hiding. Sniffed out our
ambush in the end, the furry bastard.
He tried to stop his
compatriots but Gorgie and I beat him to the punch.
Taking out my blades and
tossing on a Canopy of Invisibility, I activated lightning. But alas, I was not
able to stun the alpha. Gorgie took care of him for me, though.
The other werewolves
meanwhile, were stunned while moving fast, so they tripped and rolled forward
out of inertia. Before the "fingers" of my lightning touched their
bodies, I committed the surprised expressions on their stupid gaping mugs to
memory. And in the following instant, my sword pierced through the first of the
beasts' eyes. I enhanced my blow with Blade of Vengeance to make it a sure
thing. When all was said and done, I waved off the victory notifications and
dashed over to Gorgie's aid.
The alpha was a tough nut to
crack. But that was only at first glance. By the time I was ready to activate
Ram, the werewolf's body was already a solid lump of bloody pulp. Gorgie's
spike was flitting like the needle in my momma's old sewing machine. The wolf's
chest had two big holes in it. His side had a deep tear wound from Gorgie's claws,
his right shoulder was deformed, and his left arm was limp as a lash. The alpha
of the already dead pack's wounds were not healing as fast as Gorgie was
dealing out new ones. We were a matter of moments from victory but, suddenly,
something I did not foresee happened. The werewolf rolled to the right with the
last of his strength and got next to the window Gorgie broke. And an instant
later, instead of throwing himself at his opponent, he disappeared out the hole
and fled right through the bushes and flower beds.
It was so unexpected that
neither Gorgie nor I had time to react. The harn first dashed off after him,
but soon came back empty handed. The werewolf had gotten away.
I reassured my friend as best
I could and suggested we take this breather for all it was worth. Rest up and
use another couple tablets.
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