by Rick Scar
The rogue jumped up, seized at the lamp cage and pulled. Hanging on by a thread, the lamp yielded much easier than Will had expected it would. Applying too much strength, he collapsed flat on his back. Shit.
After tucking the lamp into his inventory, he used Invisibility and Ambush to disappear into the newly created darkness.
“You ungodly scum.” Gritting his teeth, the guard quickly figured out what was going on and headed for another lamp.
Will retrieved his scroll Master level Picklock skill scroll and applied it. In a split second, he was inside the door. He closed it. He had purchased this scroll to avoid wasting any time while his Through a Wall was on cooldown after having learned the lesson he had been taught in Balta’Chkharrah’s chambers.
Let’s see if this room was worth all that trouble.
The first three boxes were empty. Removing their lids as quietly as he could, Raven felt resentment bubbling up inside him. But the guard must have been placed here for some particular reason; he had to keep looking.
He eventually found the answer in the last two out of fifteen boxes.
One box was full of handcuffs, which prevented prisoners from applying any magic or skills. The other contained the keys for those handcuffs.
Wow, what a fucking jackpot! The rogue’s breath was taken away by the number of things he could do with these handcuffs by combining them with Lightning Copy, Torture, and particularly Dancing of Time. He could become a real nemesis for his enemies.
After filling his ring with the handcuffs and keys, Will smiled happily. Now I understand what the guard was doing.
All he had to do now was get out of there.
***
As he waited for all his skills to cool down, Will left the vast, yet oppressive space inside the prison walls. But, once he had crossed an invisible line around the building, a message popped up:
Attention! Prison Chains can only leave this location with the warden’s permission.
The rogue’s lips compressed into a thin line, while his eyes displayed all his pain. “I can understand the reason behind that. But like hell can I accept it.”
No mention of the keys. That’s rather weird. Standing next to the building wall and using Stealth to stay hidden, Raven looked at the prison perimeter some fifty feet ahead that was being patrolled by the guards and their blind, yet highly sensitive animals.
Considering the message had not come immediately after he had taken the handcuffs, there probably was a way to bring them out: it would be tricky, but possible.
To start with, he tried the intra-game mail and auctions. Then he put a pair of handcuffs on Hades and, after waiting for the way to be clear of guards and their animals, sent the pet ahead. He failed.
Next came the sleeping Khalapheer – and this did the trick, although just for one pair. The rest had to be hidden in the grass next to the wall in the hope he would be able to come back and get them.
Will now had a rare item.
Prison Chains
Item rank: Rare
Description: These handcuffs contain any magic powers possessed by the detained, reducing the risk of their escape to zero.
Note: Can’t be sold.
Making a mental note to come back for his treasure, Will glanced back at the moonlit city streets, and pressed Exit.
***
The next morning Will was woken up by a phone call. His dad was back in the city. Happy to hear his son, he asked Will to wait for him to come home.
Two hours later, the two of them were sitting across from each other. As he contemplated Will’s bank statement, Darius struggled to find the right words.
“The day has come, Dad.”
“Yes. I see.” His dad’s eyes became wet as he smiled at Will. “All our debts have been paid?”
“All of them.”
Closing his eyes, Darius lifted his face to the ceiling, repeating softly: “The day has come.”
***
Leaving his Dad to have some rest after the long journey (and before he would have to leave for the hospital to be operated on), Will came back to the game.
Thinking of Leah, who he hadn’t seen in a long while, he stood atop a small hill and examined a small tower nearby.
“Why the hell would they move her to this tower? Is she some kind of damsel in distress who needs rescuing?” Raven grumped as he strolled past his last target’s location while counting the guards and looking for the best way in.
The tower was about sixty feet tall. Formed from polished blocks of stone, it emitted a faint glow in the midday sun. The main gate was manned by three guards. Two were tall men with protruding bellies, while the third was slim and half a foot shorter than his comrades. His prominent handlebar moustache was lending his serious face a funny look.
Will was struggling to come up with a way of luring one of them aside for a private talk without attracting too much attention, but then, all of a sudden, an idea came to him and made him smile. He entered the nearest inn. Why should he avoid attention, anyway?
On his way to buy a keg of beer to treat the guards and find out everything he needed to know through a casual chat, he stopped suddenly, after getting another idea. He messaged Mollie and Pak to ask whether you could dilute magic potions.
The answer was negative. Upon hearing what Raven was going to do, Light Terror suggested he fill the whole keg with a sleeping potion. It was a viable solution but one that would cost far more money than Will was prepared to spend.
Feeling like he was about to add another folly to his long list, Will bought a keg of good beer and, after throwing it onto his shoulder, headed for the tower gate. And now, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll see how easy it is to bribe locals with expensive alcohol.
His entrance was immediately noticed by the guards. As he moved closer and closer to them, Will wondered why they made no attempt to block his way. “Good afternoon, sirs.”
“Come no further, sir.” The guard with the moustache stepped ahead, his hand poised on his sword hilt. “What brings you by this vale of suffering?”
His accent and choice of words were really amusing, but Will took more interest in the greedy gleam in the eyes of the other two guards as they stared at his purchase.
Now, don’t scare them off.
“I just wanted to express my gratitude to you and your comrades for your loyal service. It is thanks to you that I and the other good citizens of this city can live in peace. Please accept this token of my gratitude.”
“Thank you for valuing our service so highly, sir. But, unfortunately, we cannot accept your wonderful gift. We are at post, so any such gifts will be considered as bribery”, the senior guard refused firmly, jerking his chin up.
“Oh, really? That’s a shame. That’s a real shame.” Heaving a sigh and shaking his head, Raven stole another glance at the two junior guards, who were devouring the keg with their eyes, and stepped to the side. “I paid a hundred gold. I had no idea the much-praised Lake of Tears would be so unwelcome among our glorious guards.” He uncorked the keg and slowly started to pour the beer out.
From where he stood, he could hear the two hesitant guards swallow nervously as their gazes darted between the spreading pool, the brute wasting such an expensive drink, and their officer.
“Ummm.” Getting the officer’s attention, one of them stuttered, “Sir Sergeant. We…Er…It’s really, really expensive. Not the swill we normally drink. This good citizen has spent so much money just to please us. May we…?”
The other potbellied guard joined in, realizing they were losing more and more with each minute of their officer’s stubbornness.
“Shut up, you!”
“Sorry, Sir Sergeant.”
“Please stop this, good sir. I acted a little hasty by rejecting your gratitude. You should not pour out your money like that.”
“So, you will take it?” Stopping washing the grass with beer, Will made a happy face despite the rage blazing inside him. He couldn’t stand the very i
dea of pouring his money away, and now he had literally had to do it.
The Tower of Sitrekh guards’ approval up.
Current attitude status: 34/100 (neutral)
“Thank you for your kindness, sir.” The two beer connoisseurs gave their sincerest thanks to the officer.
As he stuffed the cork back in the bottle and passed it to the sergeant, Will smiled. Now he could strike up a conversation. “By the way, ever since we messengers first came here I’ve always wondered what kind of tower this is.”
The lean sergeant glanced down at the keg at his feet, then over his shoulder at the tower. Twirling the right side of his moustache upward, he replied: “It’s just a tower, sir. Not worthy of your attention.”
“Oh. Please, forgive me if I’m being rude, but is there any special reason as to why there are so many of you standing watch here?”
“Why are you asking such specific questions, dear sir?” The sergeant’s voice had now took on a steely tone.
“Oh, pardon me. But, let’s think logically. If there are so many of you here, then you are probably guarding someone very important… or very dangerous. I am fine with an important person being kept here, but I am concerned that it might be a dangerous monster. And if one day, heaven forbid, it breaks free, will all we citizens be in danger?”
“Hm. I understand your concern, sir. And I can assure you, there is no reason to worry.”
“So, the man being kept here is unlikely to cause any damage?”
“Not a man. A woman.” One of the fat guards smirked, but he soon stood to attention once the officer glared at him.
“This… is private information. But yes, it is true that there is just one woman imprisoned in this tower. A former member of nobility, by the way.”
One word led to another and, after precariously walking the line of looking suspicious, Will eventually learned that his last target had caught the attention of a high official. This tower, which was serving as her prison cell until the next court hearing, was the personal property of this influential man.
It’s not getting any easier. Will hoped not to run into any serious trouble with this case.
Chapter 209. Still Towers Run Deep
S omething important that Raven had learned from his talk with the guards was that the tower had no magic barrier. One of the fat guards had blurted it out, unable to keep his mouth shut. Not wanting to generate any suspicion, Will was unable to ascertain why such an important protective system was missing. Therefore, he was left with two choices:
Do I break in now or wait until it’s dark?
It was safer to try and penetrate the tower at night, but Will was lagging behind and hadn’t managed to progress his character development any further than Level 76, which he had reached after the vampire’s rite. After finishing off the last traitor, he was going to spend a week in the Taargada Forest, leveling up.
Will had been examining the tower from a distance for over an hour when eventually he saw a bright carriage pull up to the main entrance. Out came a pompously dressed, swarthy man.
“Is that her guardian?” Raven frowned, watching the man through his binoculars. “I need to hear what they’re saying.”
He rushed toward the tower, already knowing exactly how he would get in. Wings. Once only fifty yards remained between Will and the tower, he bowed down, touched the ground with his fingertips, and then pushed off with force and soared into the air, activating Double Jump and Clone. His double then seized Will by the hands, whirled his body around and tossed it even higher.
Leap. Wings. Invisibility.
Activated one after the other, these skills brought him to a height of one hundred feet. Flapping his wings, Will gradually approached the tower. One of the four guards manning the roof turned and squinted in his direction. He couldn’t see Will, but the crossbow in his hands growled like a feral dog, shooting five arrows one after the other.
…but it was all in vain. After using Twilight Walker, Will had just slipped into the tower between the thick, iron bars that formed a grill over the window.
ATTENTION! You are entering a forbidden area.
Penalties for getting killed:
Detention for 10 days;
Relationship with the Ulihao family down to Hatred;
-3000 gold coins.
Think twice before you proceed.
That’s a lot to lose.
Will’s gut feeling screamed that something was wrong, but he had no choice but complete this quest.
The tower had three floors. Will was on the third, which was filled with small boxes and chests. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean he could pick up some easy loot; all of them were open and empty.
Sure. I didn’t get any system messages. I should have guessed.
Having already spotted a set of stairs leading below, Raven looked around for another route, but he soon understood that there was only ever one way into the lion’s mouth. He could use Through a Wall, but that was better left for emergencies. Waiting for Twilight Walker to cool down, Will applied it again to move down the wall.
As he reached the second floor, he was startled by the contrast between the tower’s exterior and interior. Shabby walls and rusty bars on the outside, and gilded tapestries, expensive fabrics, ornate chests and jewels inside. These chambers looked like the dwelling of an Arab sheikh.
But the worst thing was that there were lots of armed and armored guards dispersed all across the floor, as though they were waiting for something. Several minutes later, after hiding in a handy wardrobe on the way, Will realized what exactly they were preparing for.
“Everyone, keep your guard up!” A bodiless, strong male voice caught Will’s attention. “Just as the lord had foreseen, the prison has failed to protect the prisoners. I’ve just received a message that they have been violently killed, so…”
The speaker suddenly stopped. Will was confused about what that could mean – until his hiding place was shattered into splinters.
“Hi rat. You two,” the speaker turned towards two short men wrapped in black rags, “protect the lady. The rest – attack. Don’t get in each other’s way. Kill him! He must not escape.”
The rogue was in a difficult situation. It wasn’t even the number of opponents that bothered him; it was the likely consequences of killing them. The system only stated the penalties that would apply if he died, but what would happen if he killed the soldiers?
The enemies’ levels were between 45 and 60. Raven estimated their number at seventeen. To kill or not to kill? Will tried his best to suppress their blows, occasionally getting hit by a sword or a crossbow bolt, but he wouldn’t counter-attack and continued working his way toward the door that the two guards, who had been told to protect the lady, had vanished behind.
Will pulled out his Mist scroll and activated it. With a pshhh the scroll crumbled to dust, sending dense puffs of smoke into the air. The effect was similar to that of a smoke grenade. Smiling contentedly, Will was about to use Invisibility when the smoke suddenly disappeared. A grinning soldier flashed an amulet in his hand.
“A feeble attempt. You should try better to stay alive.” The soldier’s hand twitched, replacing the amulet with a knife, which he immediately threw at Raven.
I knew I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The tower’s defenders had much lower levels than his, but they were seasoned soldiers, who could respond to sudden changes instantly.
Soul Cry.
A roar escaped Will’s throat and a pair of ghostly jaws locked onto his opponents, debuffing them with Confusion. Only three soldiers who were standing the farthest away managed to avoid this skill by drinking some kind of potion. Nonetheless, the path had been cleared. Double Jump-ing, Will reached the door instantly, like a gust of wind.
“Of course, it’s locked. Shit.”
-370 HP
He took a blow to the head. The damage figure made it clear the damage was near-critical. Due to his high resistance, Will rarely lost more than 200 HP.<
br />
“Bastard.” Wheeling around, Raven snapped his fingers, activating Finger Snap. The soldier dropped his axe and grabbed at his own head. Seeing this, his two comrades, who hadn’t succumbed to the roar, became wary and circled at a distance, looking for a new opportunity to attack.
But Will’s Twilight Walker had already cooled down. The rogue turned into black smoke and slipped beneath the door. He could hear the guards shouting warnings to those inside the room.
He could now see his target: a woman was sitting in front of the mirror in a beautiful, slightly revealing robe. She had crossed her legs and was making her eyelashes up slowly, showing no concern about the assassin coming to kill her.
How odd. Staring at her from his gray world, Will glanced around for traces of those two guards. But however hard he squinted, he couldn’t see anyone but the woman in front of him.
Not that it really mattered. Falling out of the shade right behind the woman, Will dug both daggers into her neck as he gave his usual greeting. On his last word, the woman’s body exploded like a burst bubble, the impact flinging him into the wall and deducing 400 HP.
“Ahahaha. That’s real funny. So, you came to avenge my sister? Is that vile slut still alive? Who would’ve thought it.” The voice was coming from all around him, but Will already knew this trick. Once he had activated the Sphere of Revelation, he saw a grinning young woman in the corner, and two bodies wrapped in familiar black rags at her feet.
Did this crazy beast kill her protectors? Dressed in a black gown that clung to her body and clutching a small black-and-red staff, she resembled one of the Conclave’s witches.
“Oh, look. You’ve managed to escape my trap. Now I can see how you were able to pull off that stunt in the prison. But you really didn’t need to come here…”
She’s crazy. After walking up to the female traitor, who for some reason wouldn’t stop talking, Will leaned in and smiled his nicest smile. Her eyes opened wide in fear. “And you should have struck me, you crazy fool. I’m an enemy, not a nice old lady. You’ve heard it once already, but I’ll say it again: Greetings from Mezilita and Christina.” Will preferred not to kick the hornet’s nest by interrogating this mad woman. Instead, he simply stuck two daggers in her throat. Her blood washed over his hands, striking the final chord of this quest.
