“Wise, are you okay?” Stinger asked, breaking the depressing pause. “Can you fight?”
“Give me five more minutes and I’ll start breakdancing.”
“You’re all jokes...” Mashta sighed, nervously ruffling the curls on the back of her head with her hand. “We might not have those five minutes, you know.”
“So let’s use our time to the max,” I advised calmly, uncorking my flask. “While we’re recovering, check your weapons and equipment, and sort out your stats if you have to.”
Although it worked only partially, Soulcatcher managed to almost completely nullify the damage caused by the Hounds — the scars on both the hip and the tibia looked bad, but they no longer restrained my movements. The Sign hurt much worse than the wounds did. But I was bored of the sight of my own blood and gritting my teeth. I should refrain from attacking without the party’s support. Otherwise, next time, things could end up much worse for me. It’s a good thing that my intuition hadn’t failed me in the fight with the Hounds. Had I been greedy and started dispelling the corpses, I would’ve wasted precious seconds and ended up in the Cradle.
I doubted that the Demons could solve the door’s riddle, even though they knew that there was a solution. They’d have to leave empty-handed. Perhaps they would wait outside until the Flame Phase ends, but problems are better solved as they arrive. We needed to make sure that this “guard” doesn’t kick us out, directly into the welcoming arms of our pursuers.
Mentally switching Synergy’s mode to Kindred Souls: Hot Blood and thus speeding up my recovery, I treated my wounds. After having done that, I sunk my teeth into a piece of meat that I pulled from my bag. As soon as I took a bite of it, Fury immediately appeared in front of me with a greedy gleam in her eyes. She had spent tons of energy on Metamorph, and she, too, deserved some rest and food. However, Masha was right: we had no clue how much time we had left. It could’ve been minutes, but it also could’ve been seconds.
“A pity.” With undisguised annoyance, Stinger ran his fingers over his right wrist guard that was torn in several places. His breastplate, too, looked no better either — it had been cut and pierced with claws, and even shredded to pieces in some places. It looked more like Swiss cheese than armor.
“Enjoy what you have.” I shrugged without much emotion. “Had it not been for the armor, you would’ve been counting holes in your body instead.”
“Fair enough,” he reluctantly admitted. “The armor has done its job well, but we’ll have to be careful. Next time come up with something a bit better, your level is high enough. How’s your Lash progressing, by the way?”
“Not bad. 99 out of 100. Just one hit away from rank 2”
“You might get a chance to level it soon.”
“You think we won’t come to terms with the guard?” Mashta asked when I corked my flask and relaxed, leaning my back against the wall.
“Who knows? We are, technically, trespassing. The guard could be unfriendly.”
“Why are we so relaxed then?” Mashta almost shouted, infuriated with our seeming calmness. “We were nearly killed by the Demons, and the guard that’s about to arrive may as well be either an elite or even a boss...”
“Because now we know which way to go,” Stinger replied with significance in my stead. “Good God, stop panicking, we’re good.”
“True,” I supported him. “Like you, I’ve no idea what kind of pass is needed. Maybe it’s an item, like a key or something, or a secret word. It isn’t important. The information that we have is what’s important. After all, no one else knew about this passage, and I have a feeling that this is how we’ll siege the Citadel with minimal losses. As I expected, the serpentine has always been a dead end, an insurmountable obstacle. I could be wrong of course... But we’ll soon find out. And if we don’t manage it ourselves, we’ll bring in the outcasts or the Raksh. What do you think, Rawrk, will we manage to involve your kin?”
“Raksh love battle!” he confirmed with fire in his eyes.
“Honestly speaking, looking down this empty corridor, I want to think that our troubles are finally over,” Mashta sighed, getting up.
“I understand,” I nodded. “But you know that that’s unlikely. I feel like we still have to deal with the dungeon. Still, try to calm down, your nervousness affects the rest.”
“Imagine how great it would be to finally get out of this eternal cold, away from the cursed snow that had long buried this world.” Mashta sighed again, exhaustion visible in her eyes. Too long has she been here. And now, when a glimmer of hope finally appeared, her strength seemed to be at its end. “If there is so much as lick of a chance that you’re right, then I’m with you until the end.”
And if I’m wrong, it’ll break her. She wouldn’t be able to withstand another disappointment. She might’ve not said it out loud, but it could be heard in her voice, and seen in her gaze.
“I appreciate that,” I said very seriously. “I’ll to do everything that I can.”
“I’m also very interested in why there are no achievements, we are the first to get here, after all,” she added bitterly.
“I agree; someone owes us some goodies.” For once, Stinger agreed with her. It seemed that the story she had told about herself and her kin finally touched him, and fighting back to back began to undermine the wall of mistrust and enmity that they had built between themselves.
“Rawrk think, be early!” he sprung to his feet as if bitten, waving his daggers like a maniac. So far, he had already sat down and jumped up twenty times from impatience. He obviously had ants in… Some place.
“He has a point,” I pulled Flame closer and made sure that there was no need to replace the Amplifier just yet. The pommel shone with a steady blue light, although not as brightly as it did immediately after being charged. “We figured out the solution, but the quest itself hasn’t yet been completed. Therefore, there are no achievements.”
“If he could start speaking coherently, that’d be grand,” Stinger grumbled, not for the first time underlining that Rawrk’s opinion was of little interest to him.
“Rawrk speak well!” the Raksh protested, obviously insulted, angrily moving his shaggy eyebrows and bristling his whiskers. “Humen understand Rawrk! Rawrk understand humen!”
“Well, why wouldn’t you?” Stinger replied, waving his hand dismissively. “We speak normal human, yours is atrocious.”
I had already figured out that maintaining good relationships with the locals was important for our survival, which meant that they, as we all the players from the Fortress, should be taken seriously. For the sake of everyone, I had to calm both of them down.
“Easy there, Sting, no need to hurt an ally. Let’s practice. Rawrk, you repeat after me: ‘the Raksh love to fight.’ ”
“Rawrk love...”
“No need to hurry, I’m not forcing you. So, ‘Rawrk loves battle.’ ”
“Love...” he struggled.
“Hmm, you’re like a broken record. Let’s try from the first person. Repeat after me: ‘I love...’ ”
“Rrrrawrrrk lov-…” It was clear that he was trying, but that this was beyond his capabilities.
So, we had to postpone his studies.
During the pause, all of us would repeatedly throw cautious glances in the direction of the stone slab. The tension could be cut with a knife, and was only getting more prominent with every second of inactivity. And since everyone was waiting for me, I had to get up. Grabbing Flame that was resting on my knees, I tried shifting the weight onto the injured shin, and it turned out that I could already walk perfectly fine.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll find out what’s waiting for us as we go, be it traps, or guards, or both.”
“Rawrk loves battle!” the Raksh blurted out, orange eyes staring at us in shock. He himself probably didn’t expect it to work out.
New skill unlocked: Mentor
Rank 1 (1/100)
Your instructions will be heard.
Cha
risma: +1 (10)
Oh wow, that was an unexpected reward.
“Loves?! Look, it worked!” Stinger grunted with genuine amazement. “You seem to be a good influence, Wise. I couldn’t teach him anything in a month.”
“Because you didn’t teach,” I smiled. Having earned an increase in Charisma, I guessed that it was precisely this stat that had influenced Rawrk’s “training.” “Dissatisfied grumbling isn’t enough. Who would’ve thought? You need to make an effort. Marana, are you ready?”
The Succubus had been standing silently, carefully listening to our discussion this entire time. When she heard the question, she nodded and took a step forward, demonstrating her willingness to continue the adventure. I really wanted to know her true reasons for joining us. My guess about the patron was only a speculation, said only to calm my companions. But who would reassure me? At the moment, she was still a dark horse, even though her loyalty had been secured by being in the clan and the pipe’s buff. For now, at least.
I had no idea about what she saw in my eyes, but I seemingly had more doubts than I thought I did. She suddenly took two quick steps in my direction; her hands darted to my face and her sharp claws dug into my temples...
A stream of weird images flushed into my consciousness, throwing me into a different reality. I have no clue how long it lasted, but when the walls of the corridor appeared before my eyes again, I was barely standing, and Mashta and Stinger had to support me. I felt intoxicated; my head was rumbling and my vision was blurry. The alarmed voices of my companions didn’t immediately reach my consciousness, and were coming through as if through a blanket.
“Wise?! Come to your senses already! This is no time to fall into a trance!”
“What did she do to you?! What’s going on?!”
“Rawrk loves to fight! Rawrk loves to kill!”
“You won’t be killing anyone,” I replied with an effort. “Everything is fine.”
Finding Marana, I let out a sigh of relief. She stood further away, looking tense. Fury stood between us, menacingly growling at the Succubus. Tinnie, with an indignant look, circled over Marana’s head, like a bomber preparing to attack. Hell, they would’ve attacked while I was unconscious if they truly considered her actions to be harmful. The pipe was probably the only thing that prevented the situation from escalating and irreparably spoiling everything.
“What happened?” Mashta continued inquiring. “Why did she do that?”
“What did it look like to you?” I shook my head to get rid of the nasty ringing in my ears. It seemingly worked.
“Well, it looked like she clawed your skull open,” Stinger explained, puzzled. “But your skull seems intact.”
I barely suppressed a grin. She did, in fact, claw it open, just not physically. But I better keep that to myself. I knew that she could master our language, but since that wouldn’t happen anytime soon, mental exchange of information was necessary. Her method wasn’t the most pleasant one, but there was seemingly no other way for her to show me exactly what she felt and thought. Lying was impossible, and now I was finally sure that she wouldn’t backstab me. Isolating from the flood of images and thoughts those she had tried to transfer to me, her point was the following.
Never before had a Heart been destroyed before the Guardian. The Succubi were but servants, faceless slaves of the Forces of Chaos, members of the lowest levels of existence and service. The rebirth queue that awaited them after death was long, or better said everlasting. If they got a chance to rise twice in one century, that was considered a miracle. After refusing to kill Marana, without knowing it, I gave her real freedom and a chance for a completely different and better life. Any life, no matter how awful, was better than oblivion. And she would stay with me until her debt was repaid. Only after that would she be free to choose her path.
That’s why she tried so hard to find me. The pipe, her guiding beacon, only aided her search. As a former Keeper, she still had an influence over other lairs, and managed to use that to her advantage, making tunnels that would lead her to where she felt I was. This arduous journey had cost her more than she was ever willing to pay and she was near the end of her strength.
But this exchange was so painful that I would rather avoid it if possible. She had no experience with such things. Pictures of another world were still flashing in my brain and there was too much fire in that world for a human being. From there, the Creepoars came, and invaded Lunar Rainbow with the intent to destroy the location and erect a new one on its remains, turning it into a part of their fiery kingdom. The Demons had done this countless times already. It was the only way to expand their Great Abyss, and the invading troops rarely lost. Their invasion of Lunar Rainbow would’ve been successful had it not been for Phoenix Shriek. Even though this all started because of him. But this was a different story.
“Are you really fine?” Mashta asked, interrupting my feverish thoughts.
“Yes.” I straightened my back with an effort and pulled myself together. “Marana? Don’t you do this anymore.”
She hesitated, but nodded guiltily.
“What exactly did you see?” Stinger asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Never mind that now. We have to move on.”
“Ooh, here it comes,” Mashta suddenly blurted out, clutching the projectiles in her pocket.
Fury hissed and backed away. I turned my head abruptly, looking at a glowing ball that had floated out of the darkness and was hovering some three feet above the ground.
Shriek Citadel Elemental Guardian, Energy Golem
Level 30
Chapter 55
Dark blue and bright, the Guardian was the size of a basketball that would occasionally release red sparks. The system highlighted it yellow, which indicated its neutral attitude toward its guests. However, that could easily change to hostility, if we, for example, attacked first or failed to produce the pass.
The Guardian hovered in the air, on the unstable border between light and dark.
“Don’t move,” I involuntarily lowered my voice. “No sudden movements. Does anyone know what to do?”
“Actually, we thought that you’d have an idea,” Mashta also whispered.
“Indeed,” Stinger responded. “Use your noggin, Wise, you’re the wise guy here.”
“It’s not like somebody suddenly turned your brains off,” I snapped. “So stop slacking.”
“Rawrk likes to think, we need attack!” the Raksh snarled excitedly, hardly holding back.
“Sure, mate, all you ever want is to fight...” Stinger said. “Uh... What was that?” he added in surprise.
Having hovered in the air, the Guardian turned around and slowly floated back into the darkness. Some ten feet further, it stopped again.
“I don’t get it either,” Mashta frowned, not forgetting to keep her sling at the ready. “What about the pass?”
“Maybe he just likes us, and we don’t need one?” Stinger grunted, no less puzzled. “By the way, is it only me or is it inviting us to follow it?”
“It’s not only you,” I nodded. “Keep your distance, just in case. Don’t get closer to it than you need to. Stinger, go ahead!”
As soon as the tank cautiously moved toward the ball, it leisurely floated on. There was no need to worry about the distance — the Guardian maintained it by itself.
It soon became clear to us that we found ourselves in an underground maze. Alan only knows how many passages were there. Well, what else was new? This seemed to be a trend among Lunar Rainbow dungeons. The passages were twisting all the time and intersecting in the most bizarre ways. Had it not been for our guide, we would’ve gotten lost long time ago. For some reason, we all somehow knew that a single word would end this journey with our sudden deaths.
Throughout the labyrinth, only the sound of our footsteps and breathing could be heard. The order of movement was formed from the very beginning and had not been changed since: Stinger went first, with Tinnie hovering over his head and acting as a
flashlight; behind him was Mashta; then Fury and I, with Rawrk breathing hoarsely down my neck, followed by the clattering of Marana’s hooves. Looking at the back of Mashta’s head, I couldn’t help but think about her story again, just so that I would have something to occupy my mind.
Her story, reluctantly told along the way, turned out to be rather grim. It wasn’t surprising that they kept me in the dark, as these weren’t things you tell just anyone or without a serious reason. You try to forget such a shame, turn over a new leaf and move on.
For beings like the Dalrokts and the Okhtans, women who didn’t belong to their race were of no interest to them. To say that Mashta, despite her not so admirable build, didn’t attract me would be a lie. She was very pretty. Maybe she appeared so because there weren’t many other options available, as rude as that might sound. Primal needs couldn’t really be switched off in the options menu. However, there were things that helped me keep my mind off such things. Firstly, Mashta and Chula had their own defenders, and I always tried not to interfere in other people’s business and relationships. At least it seemed to me that in my past life I had been behaving in such a way and so far I had no urge to change the habits that were part of my nature. Secondly, yes, I understood they were adults, but their height... They were as tall as an eight-year-old! That alone kept me from courting them and replaced attraction with something akin to parental care. In a world like this, you care first care about survival, not about sexual adventures. Such things had their time and place.
However, not everyone was as discreet as I was. Different folks, different strokes, as they say. Two very pretty females living among four dozen males... Well you can just imagine the consequences.
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