by Rick Scar
W ill peered into the unknown enemy’s face as he thought about just how much he wanted to put out its brazen, mocking eyes. But the enemy stayed in the distance, running away backwards. This made Will even angrier. And the worst part was this creature’s laugh: it was weird and grindingly repetitive. Like a neighbor drilling into the wall in the early morning.
He laughed and laughed, his sickening chuckles were getting into Will’s head. He lunged to grab him, but he only seized the air – and then he heard the alarm clock thud to the floor. Opening his eyes quickly, he realized the enemy was just a dream.
“You shouldn’t have laughed like that.” Putting the alarm clock back onto the bedside table, Will leaned back and yawned widely, staring into the ceiling. It was not the first time his mind had projected a hostile image into his dream; it was probably a side-effect of daily gaming.
Sometimes, when he was cooking or walking to the store, he felt like he was in two places at once: both inside and outside his body. It was a fleeting sensation that was probably caused by tiredness, but something about these visions was really disturbing.
Early on Sunday morning Will was welcomed onto his balcony by the fresh April air. He took a gulp of the cool air, inhaling deeply, and thought about his family.
Leah rarely called him. When they last spoke, she told Will not to distract her as she was extremely busy working on a new business project. She hadn’t given any details or asked for a specific amount of money. It must have been far more difficult to set up a new business in the real world than in the game. As smart as his sister was, she still had a lot to learn.
Dad was completing his post-surgery treatment, after which he was to be discharged from the hospital. After thinking of visiting him and starting to shiver, Will came back in to exercise, take a shower and have breakfast.
The twenty-four hours the players had to prepare for the second round were in fact forty-eight as the race was to begin late the next day.
My homeland. Will couldn’t help but smile every time he came back to his castle. A whole country under his rule! It made him happy. Sure, he was apprehensive of the brewing conflicts, but he believed he could handle this, especially consider the larger goals he had in mind.
Bumping into the hurrying Emin, Raven waved a hand at him but didn’t stop, as he was heading for the witches’ building. While he was trying to guess what development branch his pet was about to unlock, he felt like an excited child trying to figure out what their unwrapped Christmas gift was. However, the potion wasn’t ready yet. To distract himself from the gnawing impatience, he decided to visit Nanel. She really has a lot in common with Mollie. Attractive, charming, but also impulsive and determined to achieve her goals.
He didn’t have to search for long, but her choice of meeting spot was surprising. Will had never seen her walking in the garden before. “Hi, darling. I didn’t expect to find you here. I found it hard to believe when the maid told me you were here. I expected you’d be practicing as usual.”
“Glad to see you.” Nanel turned around, waving a hand.
As she was surrounded by guards, it took Will some time to see that she was bending over a small gravestone. He approached her and looked over her shoulder to see her father’s name. She must have buried him symbolically, having grown tired of waiting for his body to be discovered.
Looking at the engraved name, Will remembered his uncompleted quest to find the bodies of those killed in the Latian attack. He didn’t really believe he would ever drop upon any leads to them.
Standing silently by Nanel’s side, he waited for her to say her farewells in her head. The smile she gave him after completing this rite was one of gratitude.
“Do you have something to discuss with me?” Beckoning one of the gardeners, Nanel softly asked him a few questions before dismissing him again.
“Can we take a walk? Or maybe a ride?”
“I’d love to, but it’s not the best time to relax and enjoy ourselves, as you probably know, my king.” She was walking on his right, resting on his arm, and she would sometimes cling closer to him with her whole body whenever they rounded a tree trunk or dodged low branches.
Ever since their first kiss had transformed their relationship into Romance, Nanel behaved like she was in love with him. He had to be blind to remain oblivious to these signs of affection.
A lifetime practitioner of cold reading, Will could easily see the meaning behind her gestures, even though he didn’t have much real relationship experience. He had only dated two women so far. One was his colleague; they were together for a short while after Will had dropped out of school. And the other… things became really complicated with her. She left him after five months, disappearing as suddenly as his mother had done. After that, he would only have the occasional one-night-stand.
He smiled at Nanel. “You’re right. But we’ve done so much lately. Don’t you think we deserve a bit of rest? You certainly do, for starters.”
As they approached the stables, a servile groom ran out and bowed to the royal couple, waiting for their orders.
“Dor,” Will called him by his name. “Do you have an inconspicuous carriage for two?”
“Your Majesty,” the guard captain intervened. “If you are taking a ride, I can be your driver.”
“Good. You may,” Will allowed.
***
Upon arriving back at the palace an hour later, Raven received a message informing him that this time had not been wasted:
Current relationship status:
Romance: 57/200
A light kiss – and Nanel ran away to practice, a happy smile on her face, leaving Will alone. After cracking his neck and dismissing the guard, he decided to pay a surprise visit to Daltaro.
However, the adventurer wasn’t at home. The maid told Will that Rinnah was supposed to return from her journey to the Brotherhood two days ago, but when she didn’t, Daltaro became anxious and left to find her. She didn’t share any more details.
Raven gritted his teeth upon hearing this. He banged his fist on the table and cursed. This piece of news was really, really bad.
As bad luck would have it, he couldn’t use the beads to reach the archer: after their forest race, Daltaro had kept them all. As strong as Daltaro was, he had chosen the wrong time to travel alone.
A few hours later, after exhausting all the options he could think of and cursing some more, Will put his tired head down on the table in his office. Then, there was a knock on the door. Peeking her head in, the maid reported a visitor and, after receiving the king’s permission, opened the door to… to the archer?!
“Daltaro? Where have you been, man?” Arching his brows, Raven rushed to meet his friend – and saw that Daltaro was limping. His right hand missing a few fingers and there was a small hole in his stomach. He also had an arrow stuck in his back.
“Sorry. Would you mind helping me?” Wincing from the pain, he gasped and almost collapsed, barely managing to stay on his feet.
Using Identification, Will saw his friend’s XP almost at zero. Giving Daltaro his best potion to drink and helping him into the armchair, he perched on the edge of the table and, waiting for the archer’s wound to heal, asked his first question. “What’s happened? Please don’t tell me you’ve just tripped on the stairs.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny.” Daltaro winced. “Rinnah. She didn’t come back in time.”
“Yes, I know. But who attacked you? The Latians? The Holy Empire?”
Coughing badly and spitting up blood onto the expensive carpet, Daltaro took a few slow breaths before speaking further. “No. I don’t know who they were, but they kept asking me about the crystal. They sounded really obsessed with it. And I thought… Do you… Oh, shit. It hurts. Do you remember telling me about the day you restored the crystal?”
“Yes. It was a good day… or rather, not a bad one,” Will corrected himself, remembering Farris. “Sorry, but what does it matter now?”
Daltaro was still grimacing with
pain as he desperately tried to keep his eyes open. Will decided to sort the matter out as soon as possible to let his friend sleep.
“You…You said you’d be everyone’s target because of the crystal. Right?”
“Oh, yes. But what’s your point?” Will still couldn’t see it.
“The rumors you spread to scare your enemies. They…” Daltaro coughed. “They got out of control, dear friend. Now every… everyone and their moms are looking for it.” His voice died down. His eyes closed and he fainted.
Raven looked at his friend lying in a strange pose and breathing regularly. There was nobody to see the corner of his lips twitch with constrained fury and a dangerous gleam blaze in his eyes.
Impossible. Someone daring to hunt my friend in my – my own! – land?! You’d better pray I don’t find you bastards, or you will…
However much respect Will had within Adamarona’s borders, he apparently didn’t have any outside of them. This realization made his heart race, and now, he was craving vengeance.
Chapter 241. The Enemy That Never Sleeps
K ill them! Rip them to pieces! his seething rage demanded. His inner beast (which was, in fact, no longer inner) growled as it craved to sink its teeth into the enemies’ throats and see the terror in their eyes. But his willpower was strong enough to curb the beast.
I will do it in due time. Adjusting his cloak, Will beckoned a guard who was standing on duty in the hallway and told him to carry Daltaro to the nearest guest bedroom.
Calling another sentinel to help, the soldier transported the archer onto the wide bed. What had happened in the brotherhood? Will kept wondering in the meantime. Why didn’t Rinnah come back?
On his way back to his office, he opened the map to check the brotherhood’s location. It was a very long way to travel…
“Fuck!” The rogue threw an empty glass at the wall, shattering it into tiny pieces. He hated the very idea of just sitting here and waiting for news. He realized he would have to quit the tournament to go find Rinnah.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” He hated this choice, but he couldn’t see any other way… until the Bruxa stormed through his door, followed by a maid who was begging her to follow the rules. It felt like déjà vu.
Rinnah’s HP was in the red, just like the archer’s. Her disguise was wearing off, revealing her true, monstrous appearance. The severe lacerations which covered her body told the story of a bitter fight. Underneath her torn leather jacket you could see that her chainmail was ripped and no longer offered any protection.
Leaving the talk for later, Will quickly treated Rinnah with potions and she fell fast asleep.
“How did they get all the way in?” he wondered as Rinnah was put down on the bed by Daltaro’s side.
***
Three hours later, Daltaro came around. His body already looked normal, but his HP was still far from full. Will had ordered that he be informed of any changes in their condition, and having heard his friend was awake, Will hurried there to check on him. “As you can see, Rinnah’s here.”
“Yes. Though not in her best shape.”
“Neither are you.” Raven stood in the doorway, resting on one of the wings and crossing his arms. “I know what happened to you, but I haven’t heard her story yet.”
“Do you have any ideas?” The archer made a move to get off the bed, making sure not to wake his love, but Will shook his head.
“Stay right there. You wanted her, and here she is. Where are you going?”
“I don’t want to wake her. While she’s asleep, we could talk…”
“Sure.” The rogue nodded sarcastically, raising his eyebrows. “You mean it? You want to talk now? Even though you rushed after her, without thinking and without coming and talking to me first.”
“I wanted to help her,” Daltaro protested, although now it seemed that he had realized how stupid he had been.
“Get some rest.” Will shook his head. “I’ll come back when she wakes up.”
“Why have you come now?”
“To make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”
Without waiting for Daltaro’s answer, Will closed the door and headed for the witches’ building. He desperately needed some good news but as he approached the laboratory, he heard an explosion and a woman scream.
“Oh no.” Glancing upstairs to where the sounds were coming from, he nodded to the sentinel and entered the disinfection room. He had ordered that everyone, including the king himself, that came to visit the witches had to be tested using their powder.
After making sure he was their real king, the soldiers saluted and opened the metal door for him before going back to their duties.
The mansion was large. It had gardens to grow herbs in, hot springs, a cafeteria, and many other things to make the witches feel comfortable.
As he hurried up the stairs to the lab, Will heard another explosion and several screams.
What’s going on in there? Slowing his pace, he soon faced a group of disheveled witches, whose faces were covered in soot. Their lab overalls had burnt patches which showed their clothing beneath. They seemed to be having a heated argument, but they stopped instantly upon seeing Will. The witch who normally took the role of the spokesperson, Salemary, stepped forward.
“What’s going on?” Will asked, noticing the witches’ nervous faces and forced smiles.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.” The spokeswitch, usually confident, now sounded like a young, scared assistant. “We have a problem. According to our calculations, your pet… your pet might not survive the procedure. Oh. I’ve finally brought myself to say it. Such a relief…”
“Do the explosions I heard on my way here have something to do with that?”
“Some of them. The rest was Megan preparing for her birthday.” Hearing the mention of her name, a youthful witch immediately left her desk, pretending to remember some urgent business she had in the one of the lab’s distant corners.
“I see. What brought you to this conclusion?”
“A series of experiments on her blood has revealed… a high degree of instability. Our conclusion is: it has been caused by her human form. As you probably know, this recipe is for tamed animals. Even with a half-sapient animal, the probability of its success would still be high enough. But here… here we have a fully sapient, human being. She is no longer an animal that can turn into a human; she’s a human who can turn into an animal. Like…” She paused in search of an appropriate example.
“A werewolf?” Raven hinted.
“Yes! Exactly. Like a werewolf.” Clenching her hands in front of her and rocking them slightly, the witch continued in a firmer voice, “That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Your Majesty: please, please think twice about this. If our experiment – I think that’s the best word to describe this procedure – fails, Hade might die. We’re ready to do it, though, if you still want us to proceed.” Bowing gently, she headed off for the witches’ library.
That was not the news he had wanted to hear. His exciting Christmas gift, still unwrapped, had turned out to be a 50-50 slot machine which he had to use to bet on his loyal assistant’s life.
I knew I shouldn’t have relaxed during the tournament, but this… this… What the hell?! It was yet another problem that had been added to his existing snowball of concerns, which was now threatening to bury him under an avalanche.
He had to ask Hade first. Summoning her, Will saw pure, undiluted fidelity in her eyes. The girl seemed ready to agree to do anything he told her, but he would rather have her make independent decisions, particularly when it was about her life.
Sighing, he asked his question. Just as expected, his assistant agreed to take the risk, climbing to the table immediately, but Will stopped her. Rubbing his temples and sinking into an armchair in the recreation area, he let Hade take a tour of the lab, forgetting Daltaro and Rinnah for a while – until they appeared right in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” He stared at the couple, who were su
pporting each other. “I told you to wait for me.”
“No time for that, brother.” Rinnah’s face was gravely serious. “The Holies are gathering their army along the border. In a week or two, they’ll knock on the brotherhood’s gate. I don’t exactly know the Swarm’s role, but they probably have a finger in the pie. My reconnaissance mission failed before I could learn more.”
“So… so you went to the Holies? Not the brotherhood? Or… or was it the task you got there?” Raven was totally confused.
“Sort of… but no. Not really. I’m not going to offer any apologies, and I will not hear a word of reproach from any of you.” She sounded desperate – and tired. “I’ve lived with this curse for too long. All I want is to get rid of it, once and for all. Even if I get rejected by the Great Shadow, I will do it!” She stared at Raven with defiance, making it perfectly clear that no words could persuade her to change her mind.
He returned a calm gaze, showing her that he understood. The Lamia’s truth had probably disturbed Rinnah much more than either Will or Daltaro could have imagined.
“I’ve been telling you this since we left the palace.” Taking Rinnah by the shoulders and turning her to face him, Daltaro said it again, “We are here for you. Raven and me. We are here for you. Accept it. Just tell any of us if you need help. If you need more of it, get it from your brothers. They will always be there for you just the same. You are one of them.”
Rinnah said nothing and looked down. Then, both of them saw traces of tears on her cheeks.
“Hey! Who ever thought that my formidable lady could cry?” Lifting her chin up, Daltaro smiled and kissed her on the lips.
“Fine.” Having seen that Rinnah was okay, Will got down to business. “I guess you haven’t found that man?”
“No. But I learned about the Holies’ plans.”
“How good was your source?”
“As good as a dying enemy can be.”
“Oh. I must have been cursed to have to deal with all this,” Will groaned, looking up at the ceiling.
